The Saint Louis Varsity football team hasn’t lost a game since 2016. Six seasons of victory. But this year has been challenging for the Crusaders, suffering a defeat by Kamehameha this 2021football season. The question is: Can the Crusaders make a comeback to win the 2022 Football State Championship?
On both occasions this season, the Crusaders have led at halftime; although with powerhouse high school football teams, the game can easily be determined with two or three plays which is why the Saint Louis team focuses on perfecting the “little things” in a game.
“Against Kamehameha and Punahou it comes down to like 2 – 3 plays. You look at the missed field goal, you look at the fumble, two plays on our side, they made the plays and they won,” says Head Coach Ron Lee. However, despite these mistakes, there is always room for improvement.
During the week, the running backs practice fumble drills. The kicker continues to work on PAT’s (Point After Touchdowns), and field goals. “We worked a lot on our fumbles, ball security, our mesh between the quarterback and the full-back. That was the reason we fumbled. Our kicker did some field goals the other day,” notes Coach Lee.
The Crusader offense has also shown their ability to improve, dominating the recent game against Punahou, showing what they could do. Crusader quarterback, AJ Bianco lead an offense that dominated the recent games against Punahou and Kamehameha.
“I thought we did a lot better the second time against Kamehameha than the first time. You know we had an 11 point lead,” says Coach Lee. This proves the point that there’s always room to grow. The Crusader offense has a reputation for being fast and cohesive in their execution. They were non-stop. The offense needs to dominate Kamehameha.” And that’s exactly what they did.
Defensively, the Saint Louis Crusaders have a reputation for having a tough defense. but in a season like this, it comes down to the little things. With that in mind, the defense has also focused on the small details to perfect their game.
Iona Purcell, the Crusaders starting middle linebacker, shared his thoughts on the season so far. “We did good staying together as one, staying together as a team, one defense,” says Purcell. “I think our coverage with our DBs was good, and our D-Line did well as well.” With Saint Louis’ defense letting Noah Bartley get around the edge or finding ways through the holes, the opposing offense has a difficult time scoring. Purcell added, “Noah Bartley spilled out on the edge,” which allows the linebacker to block for the receiver. “That was pretty hard for us,” explains Purcell. With challenges ahead, the coaches continue to adjust the Crusader defense each week.
Defensive Coordinator, Calvin Lee, shared his perspective as the Crusaders prepare for games ahead. “Well you know there [were] some parts in our defense [where] we had a pick [interception] and we ran it in for a score,” says Lee. “That’s always good when we can turn it over and score.” To Coach Cal Lee, the Crusaders had a decent defensive game as a defensive whole. With plenty of room to grow, they can always do something better in every aspect.
With a tremendous double victory over Kamehameha to take the 2021 ILH Championship, Saint Louis now advances to the Hawaii State Championship tournament. The Crusader’s defense and offense continue to enjoy a reputation as the toughest and fastest in the state, with a shot at the state title. It’ll be a battle between four powerhouse teams from both the ILH and OIA in the coming weeks. However, the question still remains….”Can the Crusaders do it?” Without a doubt, the entire Saint Louis ‘ohana has no doubt that the Saint Louis Crusaders have what it takes to keep this championship legacy alive.