Punahou RB Wayne Taulapapa carries a pair of Saint Louis defenders with him on a run in the teams' first meeting this year. Taulapapa leads all Division-I rushers in the ILH with 704 yards and 15 TDs. Mason Asato | Special to SL

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The last time the Saint Louis football team lost it was nearly two months ago and came at the hands of rival Punahou in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu opener for both teams back on Aug. 29.

Both teams have made strides over the course of the season, but if the first result was any indication, the Crusaders (6-3) will have their work cut out for them Friday night, when the teams do battle in the league's second-round final at Aloha Stadium.

The Buffanblu (6-0) won the first game by a score of 55-7 and have defeated each of its six victims by an average of more than 49 points and no less than 37 points in any single game.

"We've played each other once and they had a great game against us, but we made a lot of mistakes, too," Saint Louis coach Cal Lee said. "We've tried to grow up from some of the mistakes that we made and hopefully we can prevent that from happening again and be competitive against them."

Lee's squad has turned it around since an 0-3 start with six consecutive wins. It is averaging better than 54 points scored and 24 points against per game during that stretch.

"I think slowly but surely we've gotten better," Lee said. "It's all part of the process. Game after game we try to improve and the kids are doing the best they can and that's all you can ask. You can put them in the right position to make plays, but the bottom line is they've got to make plays."

Sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has been the catalyst for the Crusaders' offense. He has 2,249 passing yards and 30 touchdowns against just three interceptions. Tagovailoa, who received a scholarship offer from UCLA last week, also leads the team in rushing with 563 yards and seven touchdowns.

"I think they've come a long way since they've stabilized the quarterback position," Punahou coach Kale Ane said of Saint Louis. "He's playing great, their offense is clicking and moving the ball against everyone they've played. That's going to be a big for us to try and contain their offense. Defensively, they've simplified things and they're utilizing their athleticism and getting after things."

The Buffanblu offense has been nothing to fret over either. They are averaging more than 518 yards of total offense per game, including nearly 200 rushing per contest.

Junior running back Wayne Taulapapa leads all Division-I rushers in the ILH with 704 yards and 15 touchdowns. He is averaging an astounding 11 yards per carry. Wide receiver Kanawai Noa ranks second in D1 statewide with 789 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.

"They have so many weapons on offense that it will be a big matchup for us on defense," Lee said of the Buffanblu. "We definitely have to prevent them from getting into the end zone. I think the key for us is playing better defense and making some stops. If our offense is on the field, I think we'll be happy."

Punahou, which is allowing just 7 points and 167.7 yards per game defensively, has drawn national attention from several publications recently.

"They're undefeated, they have history behind them from doing well year after year and it's a credit to their program to be in that position to be recognized for their accomplishments," Lee said.

Saint Louis, which beat Kamehameha 47-20 in a semifinal game last week, must beat Punahou, the first-round winner, twice in as many weeks to unseat the three-time league champions.

"I think you can't look ahead and you've got to take one game at a time because it's not going any further if you don't get by this week," Lee said. "Our focus has to be on getting the job done this week."

The game will follow the D2 second-round final between Damien (4-4) and Iolani (5-3) at 5:30 p.m.

Other games of interest this weekend:
-No. 7 Campbell vs. No. 2 Mililani, Thursday 5:30 p.m. at Aloha Stadium
The Sabers (7-2) and Trojans (9-0) will face off for the second time this season. Campbell held a 28-22 lead in the third quarter, but allowed 35 answered points by Mililani when the teams met in the regular season back on Sept. 19.

-No. 5 Kahuku vs. No. 4 Farrington, Thursday 7:30 p.m. at Aloha Stadium
The Red Raiders (7-1) and Governors (7-1) will meet in the late OIA Division I semifinal in Halawa Thursday night. Kahuku has won three consecutive games, while Farrington has won two straight.

-Radford at Pearl City, Saturday 6 p.m.
The Rams (6-3) and Chargers (7-1) played five weeks ago in an OIA Division II regular-season game. Jordan Taamu passed for a season-high 247 yards and three touchdowns and Dominic Maneafaiga factored into three scores in the 34-26 win for Pearl City.