unpaid D-I football

[HS Football Fanatic]

On Hawaii Prep (where I don't post, too much bullshit) a few Kahuku people were saying STL defense don't want to play running teams and Punahou was easier to deal with because they are a passing team. I see it the other way around. STL has been brutal against runs. Waianae had -30ish against the first team D. Kam's RB put up very little against the first team D. Punahou moved the ball most so far this season against the Crusader D with their passing game.

Honestly it's not a huge surprise to me that Barber couldn't run much and the few run plays they did call up didn't get far. Game planning against a scrambling qb is like any day at practice. Scrambling QBs are a strength of STL. I'm sure that is a huge benefit in this match up. Barber is 100% capable and may break free for a long run against STL this season but it won't be as easy as it's been for him till now.

Anyway always happy to come away with a win against such a tough opponent. Next meeting will be a different beast

@genks: Didn't St Louis' D sack Barber about 6 or 7 times? How many of those were coverage sacks? If at least 3 or 4 were coverage sacks, St Louis' DBs are just about as good as their LBs. I wonder what Ane will do when Punahou plays St Louis again. I don't think he can run the ball; I don't think Punahou has really good RBs this year, at least not that I know of. gopunahou suggested that Barber throw short passes up the middle. Would that work? As for Kahuku, well, I do prefer Kahuku to St Louis. But, I just don't think Kahuku has what it takes to beat St Louis this year, especially on O.

[Neighbor]

People forget this is Barber's first and only year of being a starter, and they lost at least five of their top receivers from a year ago and their top RB in Nawahine now at Kahuku. I've felt like Punahou's offense the past several years has been hitting these medium to long passes and then they come and run the ball. But Barber either doesn't do a good job at reading defense, or he just gets too antsy back there and is quick to try to use his legs. He also misses a lot of receivers but it also doesn't help that they drop a lot of balls too. With the running game, I dunno, I don't really remember too much cause they don't really run the ball that well or that much the past two games. The Terrell kid looks like he could be good but he's only a sophomore and still kinda small.

But I will say that Chevan looked the best I've seen him all season though against Punahou

[genks]

I was very proud of Chevan. Even under pressure, he didn't throw a pick and once he got comfortable he was a sniper. Hopefully the boys ride this confidence and use it as fire against Narbonne. I have no idea how good Narbonne's competition has been but if they've been having issues on offense hopefully our D will make it a long and miserable night for them. Offense lights em up and Defense takes em out

[HS Football Fanatic]

People forget this is Barber's first and only year of being a starter, and they lost at least five of their top receivers from a year ago and their top RB in Nawahine now at Kahuku. I've felt like Punahou's offense the past several years has been hitting these medium to long passes and then they come and run the ball. But Barber either doesn't do a good job at reading defense, or he just gets too antsy back there and is quick to try to use his legs. He also misses a lot of receivers but it also doesn't help that they drop a lot of balls too. With the running game, I dunno, I don't really remember too much cause they don't really run the ball that well or that much the past two games. The Terrell kid looks like he could be good but he's only a sophomore and still kinda small.

But I will say that Chevan looked the best I've seen him all season though against Punahou

@Neighbor: OK, this is Barber's first year starting, but as I recall, he had more than a little playing time last year spelling Kapule. I hadn't even heard of Nawahine, and you say he was Punahou's top RB. So, it seems that Punahou doesn't really have a good RB this year. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, Barber usually gets the most rushing yards for Punahou, simply because he's a dual-threat QB who can run. Terrell? As you say, only a soph, and too small.

[genks]

Man Kahuku put Nawahine right to work, he's had the most carried he's probably ever gotten

[HS Football Fanatic]

Man Kahuku put Nawahine right to work, he's had the most carried he's probably ever gotten

@genks: As I had mentioned before, I had never heard of Nawahine. But, if Kahuku is using him that often, perhaps he's one of their best RBs? Boy, Ane must be pissed. Punahou doesn't seem to have much of a run game, so Ane could really have used him. Ane must be thinking, "Where in the heck are the Taulapapas at this school?" Well, if it's any consolation to him, St Louis doesn't seem to have an outstanding RB, either. But, the way St Louis throws the ball and plays defense, they don't need one. Speaking of outstanding D, St Louis' Faatui Tuitele really kicked some butt at his DT position.

[gopunahou]

I don't think Kaufusi played last week against SLS. He might be our best RB and gives us size and pass-catching ability. However, he is still a work in progress.

Edit: yes Kaufusi didn't play because of an injury sustained against Kamehameha. It would suck if he can't play the rest of the year.

[unpaid]

St.Louis is all about the aerial game. The QB has been the leading rusher in recent years. Take five defenders tackle to tackle,some to pressure Cordeiro,and the rest to stop him or the occasional one back from breaking a long rushing gain. The other six blanket the four receivers. The Crusaders have no reliable ground attack, so stuff the QB and you have them dancing to your tune.It will be interesting to see what defensive plan Narbonne puts in place to stop the Crusader offense. The Gauchos will need to keep this a low scoring game because their offense isn't too good. Their QB was around 2-12 or something like that in the passing game against Centennial. after getting beat by Corona Centennial 52-6 last week,you would have to guess they are not so good at running the football either.

[HS Football Fanatic]

I don't think Kaufusi played last week against SLS. He might be our best RB and gives us size and pass-catching ability. However, he is still a work in progress.

Edit: yes Kaufusi didn't play because of an injury sustained against Kamehameha. It would suck if he can't play the rest of the year.

@gopunahou: Doggone it, that Kaufusi kid is huge for an RB. 6'3" 225 lbs? Heck, that's big enough to play D-line. Kamehameha had better hope he can't play this week. Having said that, I think Kamehameha's RB, Shannon, is better than Kaufusi, even though he's only 5'9" 165 lbs. Guess the saying, "Size isn't everything" applies to RBs, too. Funny that Neighbor didn't mention Kaufusi in an earlier post on this thread, when he was posting about Punahou RBs. Neighbor: Is that because Kaufusi can't play this week? Please advise. I think an RB as big as Kaufusi can make a difference.

[HS Football Fanatic]

St.Louis is all about the aerial game. The QB has been the leading rusher in recent years. Take five defenders tackle to tackle,some to pressure Cordeiro,and the rest to stop him or the occasional one back from breaking a long rushing gain. The other six blanket the four receivers. The Crusaders have no reliable ground attack, so stuff the QB and you have them dancing to your tune.It will be interesting to see what defensive plan Narbonne puts in place to stop the Crusader offense. The Gauchos will need to keep this a low scoring game because their offense isn't too good. Their QB was around 2-12 or something like that in the passing game against Centennial. after getting beat by Corona Centennial 52-6 last week,you would have to guess they are not so good at running the football either.

@unpaid: I suspect that St Louis alumni might be concerned about injuries that the team might incur against Narbonne. After all, this is a throwaway game; it doesn't really mean a darn thing, as it doesn't count in St Louis' race against Punahou for the ILH D1 title. The last thing St Louis alumni want is to see someone like QB Cordeiro, for example, go down with an injury. Like Punahou's Barber, St Louis' Cordeiro is about 80% of the O. Or, on the other side of the ball, St Louis would hate to see D-lineman Tuitele go down with an injury. He was almost a one-man wrecking crew against Punahou. Big deal if St Louis beats Narbonne, but suffers enough injuries to lose to Punahou in a close one, particularly when winning that game would have won the title. If I were a St Louis alumnus, I would prefer to see them scratch the Narbonne game. After all, at this point St Louis' #1 priority is--or should be--winning the ILH D1 title. To heck with exhibition games.

[genks]

Yeah Tuitele is an animal. an animal amongst animals in that front 7. STL RBs may not break free for a huge run but they get those 3 to 5 yard gains and get us closer to the 1st down. Those 3 yard runs turn into 7 yard runs when the defense only rush 3 to get extra pass coverage. In the past we've also had receivers score running TDs like Ronson Young did in winning the ILH championship last year.

Chevan is a different type of scrambler than Tua. When Tua runs he's going forward. Chevan scrambles to extend the play and allow his receivers to get open or allow the routes to develop. He's done an excellent job so far. Tua probably bailed on the play a bit early a few times. The solution isn't as easy as contain Chevan. Better make sure no receiver gets open 20 yards down field because Chevan will hit them and gotta chase him around all over again.

@HS Nawahine was a good, tough RB on a very pass heavy team. He had somethjng like 30 carries in his first game as a RR against Leilehua. Punahou didn't go to him that much. He definitely looks the part at Kahuku. Similar to Vakapuna, not a super slick RB but a strong RB that's tough to bring down.

[HS Football Fanatic]

Yeah Tuitele is an animal. an animal amongst animals in that front 7. STL RBs may not break free for a huge run but they get those 3 to 5 yard gains and get us closer to the 1st down. Those 3 yard runs turn into 7 yard runs when the defense only rush 3 to get extra pass coverage. In the past we've also had receivers score running TDs like Ronson Young did in winning the ILH championship last year.

Chevan is a different type of scrambler than Tua. When Tua runs he's going forward. Chevan scrambles to extend the play and allow his receivers to get open or allow the routes to develop. He's done an excellent job so far. Tua probably bailed on the play a bit early a few times. The solution isn't as easy as contain Chevan. Better make sure no receiver gets open 20 yards down field because Chevan will hit them and gotta chase him around all over again.

@HS Nawahine was a good, tough RB on a very pass heavy team. He had somethjng like 30 carries in his first game as a RR against Leilehua. Punahou didn't go to him that much. He definitely looks the part at Kahuku. Similar to Vakapuna, not a super slick RB but a strong RB that's tough to bring down.

@genks: OK, so let me guess: Nawahine transferred to Kahuku because he'd get to play more with a run-heavy team, while Punahou is pass-heavy.

[genks]

@HS couldn't tell you why he transferred, he might be from the Kahuku area. But whatever the reason, it sure is a benefit for his last year in highschool football.

[Neighbor]

Ok so this is what I can gather about Saint Louis shutting down Punahou, and I think most of it comes down to inexperience and I wanna say Saint Louis taking advantage of Punahou RB Kaufusi not playing. We all know Saint Louis has a lot of talent and speed, and this is the first time most of the Punahou starters (at least skill position-wise) are really playing against the Crusaders.

Saint Louis mostly just played Cover 1 man with five guys rushing most of the game. For a short while, they switched it up to 4-3 and 3-4 zone coverage just to throw Barber and the Punahou offense out of what little rhythm they had. Puns mostly ran four-wide pistol look, and without Kaufusi, they used them small RBs and they didn't do too well of a job in pass protection especially when a lot of their passing routes are long and crossing patterns.

They eventually started running shorter and quicker patterns, just to get the ball out to your WR to make a play. That usually works when you're not playing a Kahuku or any ILH team because of the talent and speed differential (like what MIlilani is able to do against everyone else in the OIA). So Punahou wasn't able to break these shorter passes for anything big, but the WR also weren't doing a good job of just taking what they could get and fight for an extra yard or two. They would either catch the ball and spin to their backside instead of just turning up the field, or they would try to backcut incoming defenders, which never worked. I think that's where some inexperience comes into play where these 5–7 yard gains end up being only 3–4 because they're not just taking what they can get. But I think Barber played better than the stats show. He at least targeted a lot of "correct" WRs and his legs also allowed him to extend some plays, but either WR just dropped the ball or he just wouldn't be accurate.

Punahou also tried running a pistol power package with a fullback, tailback, h-back, an either a TE with one WR or just two WR. Mostly tried to run some read-option and pitch option plays but Saint Louis just put 8 in the box and Punahou guys don't have enough speed to really be effective against Saint Louis when running that type of offense.

[genks]

Man I don't think you can call a lack of RAC yards, inexperience. Not all receivers are good at that. Ethan Takayama was a great receiver. Could catch anything and break tackles and get an extra 3 or more yards. I don't think they all develop that ability when the db is right in their face.