Saint Louis senior QB Ryder Kuhns, the incumbent, has been battling with sophomore Tua Tagavailoa, last year's JV starter, to take the reins of offensive coordinator Ron Lee's run-and-shoot attack. Evan Asato | SL

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Evan Asato | SL

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With just one returning defensive starter in 2014, the Saint Louis football team has many ongoing position battles on that side of the ball, but another one on the offensive side could prove quite interesting as well.

The Crusaders, who are ranked third in the ScoringLive/OC16 Preseason Football Power Rankings and will open the season against second-ranked Mililani Saturday night, have a pair of worthy candidates competing for the starting quarterback job.

Senior Ryder Kuhns, the incumbent, has been battling with sophomore Tua Tagovailoa, last year's JV starter, to take the reins of offensive coordinator Ron Lee's run-and-shoot attack.

It may have been somewhat of an unexpected competition headed into the preseason with Kuhns having thrown for 1,911 yards (66.5 completion percentage) with 25 touchdowns against six interceptions and Tagovailoa being unproven at the varsity level, but the two are not far apart according to Saint Louis coach Cal Lee.

"Ryder, of course, is our senior veteran and he's experienced, but we also have a sophomore, Tua, who we really like as well," Lee said.

Vince Passas, the longtime Crusaders' quarterbacks coach, said each candidate has his strengths.

"Ryder is more of a pocket guy, but he can run when he needs to," Passas said. "Tua is a better runner and when he gets into the open field he's got some pretty good vision and he can slice it up pretty well, like a running back would."

Kuhns "started" both scrimmages last week against Kapolei and Kailua, but Tagovailoa also got much playing time behind him.

Against the Hurricanes, Kuhns displayed quick decision making and nice touch on passes of varying lengths.

"Ryder just has the experience of being battled-tested," Passas said. "He's one of those rare quarterbacks that really processes information really well and very rarely makes the same mistake twice. He really understands what's going on and coach Ron's offense, gosh, I can only see him flourishing in that."

Tagavailoa, a lefty, missed a few open throws along the sidelines, but didn't really get a chance to flash his athleticism. Saint Louis ran two read-option plays with Tagovailoa in at quarterback, but he gave the ball to the running back both times.

"Tua, even though he's a sophomore, he's been throwing in our camps since he was eight years old and even at that age he was throwing with big boys," Passas said. "He's just gotten better and better and better every day, but of them are totally talented and so accurate."

According to Passas, the pair will only continue to help each other improve.

"I think everyday they'll continue to make each other better and help prepare each other," Passas said. "They both complement each other with the throws that they make. At this point I think Ryder has been making the more consistent decisions in practice, but Tua's not too far off and he just makes up for it with his athleticism, arm strength and accuracy."

Kuhns is taking the daily competition in stride.

"He's a great teammate and he makes me better everyday," Kuhns said of Tagovailoa. "We compete everyday and it makes just us both better."

Passas said he does not foresee a two-quarterback situation.

"I really don't think so, but it's not my call," Passas said. "I think both of them will do whatever it takes to help our team and I think both of them are adequate. If we choose one over the other, we won't miss a beat and we could go to the next one if we had to."

Both Kuhns and Tagovailoa are expected to play against Mililani Saturday.

2014 Saint Louis football schedule
All games at Aloha Stadium unless otherwise noted
Aug. 9 — at Mililani (SL livestream)
Aug. 22 — vs. St. John Bosco
Aug. 29 — vs. Punahou
Sept. 5 — vs. Pac-Five
Sept. 13 — at Iolani
Sept. 20 — vs. Kamehameha
Sept. 27 — vs. Saint Francis
Oct. 3 — vs. Damien