Saint Louis rallies past Farrington, 24-7

By Wes Nakama

The state’s best high school basketball player is proving to be one of the best in football, as well.

Pupu Sepulona, the reigning two-time State Player of the Year in hoops, made a team-high six tackles — including two and half sacks — broke up a pass and added a touchdown catch for good measure Friday night to help visiting Saint Louis rally past Farrington, 24-7, in hard-hitting interleague action.

A near-capacity crowd of about 2,500 and statewide TV audience on Spectrum OC16 watched the Crusaders overcome an early 7-0 deficit and three lost fumbles in the first half to improve to 2-2. The Governors, coming off an impressive 42-0 victory over Rancho Mirage (Calif.) last week, dropped to 3-1.

“Obviously Saint Louis has a great defense,” Farrington coach Mike Lafaele said. “And they did a good job on offense, managing the clock and moving the ball down the field. It was tough, we couldn’t really run the ball, so it made us one-dimensional and that’s always hard to do against a really good defense.”

It was actually the Governors’ defense which impressed early, with Zaden Mariteragi sacking quarterback Mose Lilo and causing a fumble that Shannon Iosua-Talamoa scooped up and ran into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown. Ku Ponciano’s extra point gave Farrington a 7-0 lead just 22 seconds into the game.

The Crusaders’ next two drives ended in punts, and then the following two ended in lost fumbles. They finally cashed in a minute before halftime, with Tahlen Kekawa’s 8-yard run capping an 8-play, 69-yard drive and Makena Kauai’s PAT tying the score at 7-7.

Saint Louis then took the lead for good with 3:39 remaining in the third quarter after a four-play, 44-yard scoring drive culminating in Nainoa Lopes’ 4-yard pass to Sepulona, who had just entered the game as a tight end from his usual defensive tackle position.

“I’ve been working in the tight end scheme, Coach Tupu (Alualu) has me in the Rhino package, where I come in as the tight end,” said Sepulona, . “All the work that I put in at practice has shown, and I got my first ‘tuddy’ of the season, I’m so happy. All the glory to God.”

Sepulona, who helped the Crusaders win the past two state championships in basketball, sacrificed his normal summer hoops travel schedule to focus on the gridiron.

“I’m so happy I made this decision to mainly focus on football, because now I can see the results,” Sepulona said.

Lafaele said Sepulona was a difference-maker Friday night.

“He’s a stud, I love that kid,” Lafaele said. “He has a big heart, big motor, and his IQ for the game … he’s not just classified as a basketball player (anymore). He was a huge threat tonight, and he showed up big.”

Saint Louis extended the lead to 17-7 midway through the fourth quarter on Kauai’s 23-yard field goal, then effectively sealed the victory with Kekawa’s 3-yard TD run with 2:42 showing on the clock.

Kekawa finished with a game-high 158 yards and two touchdowns rushing on 16 carries. Lopes, who started the second half, completed 10 of 14 passes for 154 yards and one TD.

Farrington’s starting fullback, Solovi Samuelu, was nursing an injury and limited to one play.

“(Having) him healthy adds a huge dynamic to our offense,” Lafaele said. “Not having him in the lineup obviously hurt us, we couldn’t really do much (running).”

It was an emotional and hard-fought game for both sides, with several Saint Louis players living in the Kalihi area.

“This meant a lot, it was real personal, to play my home school that I was supposed to go to,” Sepulona said. “I live across the street from here, all my boys here (at Farrington), some of them I’ve known since preschool. This was a team win. Coming into halftime we knew the score was tied, so I just told the offense, ‘Just keep doing your thing, forget about the first half, that’s in the past, just move on.’

“In the second half, they executed their plays, we got two touchdowns, and we did our thing and came out with the win.”

Photos: Grant Shishido