Saint Louis QB Chevan Cordeiro will lead the unbeaten Crusaders against Punahou for the second time this year. John Lujan | SL

Purchase image 1 of 1

No matter what happens this weekend, Saint Louis will be the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I first round champion.

The only question is whether or not the top-ranked Crusaders want to share that honor with the Punahou football team.

Saint Louis (6-0 overall, 3-0 ILH D1) can lock up the league's first round title outright with a win over the fourth-ranked Buffanblu Saturday night when the two teams face at Hawaiian Tel FCU Field at Aloha Stadium in the second meeting between the two squads this year.

A win for Saint Louis will give the Crusaders a bye in the league's second round, which is a single-elimination tournament between the three teams in the division that starts next week. If Saint Louis loses to either Kamehameha or Punahou during second round play, the second round champion will still have to defeat the Crusaders a second time for the league's overall title and lone berth into the Division I-Open state tournament.

However, that added protection for Saint Louis will not be available if Punahou (5-1, 2-1) comes out victorious this weekend as a Buffanblu victory would make both teams share the first round title with identical 3-1 league records. If this happens, the ILH will hold a card draw to determine which team gets a bye during second round play. Should Saint Louis and Punahou meet up again in the final game of the second round, the rubber match will serve as the ILH's championship game for all the marbles.

Even though his team defeated Punahou, 49-13, early in the season, Saint Louis coach Cal Lee is not overlooking the Buffanblu in the rematch.

"They're always tough, it's another sleepless night thinking about them," said Lee. "They're a good football team, are well coached. I'm just excited, I get to prepare for a big game."

Saint Louis, who won the past two ILH D1 titles and the inaugural Open Division state title last year and is nationally ranked, has breezed through the competition thanks to a stingy defense led by defensive linemen Faatui Tuitele and linebacker Noa Purcell. Since a 33-20 loss to Punahou in 2016, the Crusaders have not let up more than 14 points to a Hawaii opponent in 10 consecutive games.

Still, Lee said that his defense hasn't reached its full potential just yet.

"We got to play better defense, and all you can do is practice and prepare."

Against the Buffanblu, Lee said it all starts with containing dual-threat senior quarterback Stephen Barber.

"He's got the ball every down with the ball in his hands. He cannot only throw the deep passes and got good receivers, but he can run. He's definitely a real threat that we have to contain and keep him in the pocket. Any time he's got that ball, he has the option to run, and we sure don't want him running as well."

While the Crusaders will look to keep their perfect record intact after the weekend, Punahou coach Kale Ane said that his team will need to be near-perfect if it hopes to challenge the defending champs come Saturday.

"The margin of error is very small," said Ane. "(Saint Louis) demonstrated that they are very deserving of the No. 1 ranking in the state and to be nationally ranked as well. We got our hands full."

Instead of pinpointing one particular player or position group that needs to come up big against the Crusaders, Ane said it will have to be a team effort if the Buffanblu hopes to come out on top.

"Everybody has to do their role and perform and execute," he said. "Everybody needs to work together in concert. Without everyone blending in with each other, it's going to be difficult."

Lee talked about stopping Barber first and foremost, but the Buffanblu had many players contribute on offense in their most recent victory over Kamehameha on Sept. 22. In Punahou's 21-17 win over the Warriors, four different players attempted a pass, seven total players ran the ball and two listed linemen caught a pass.

"It's whatever presents itself," said Ane. "It's whatever we feel we can take advantage of with mismatches, momentum and those kind of things. We want to prepare for every situation that presents itself."

Should the Buffanblu manage to crack the Saint Louis defense, the Crusaders' offense is still a well-oiled machine that can put up points in a hurry. Even though Saint Louis has suffered injuries to its receiving corps, senior quarterback Chevan Cordeiro has masterfully piloted the offense, helping the Crusaders average 47 points and 435.8 yards of total offense per game with backup receivers stepping into the starting role.

"We're really pleased with the people that have worked hard," said Lee. "When they get that opportunity, they're ready to go. So far we're really lucky with things working out with the injuries that we have. I'm really pleased with the players that are stepping up and doing their job."

Kickoff between the Crusaders and Buffanblu is schedule for 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Damien and Saint Francis game, which begins at 3 p.m.