Saint Louis, the defending state champion and top-ranked team in the Cover2 Hawai‘i state rankings, will put its undefeated record on the line Friday in a nationally anticipated matchup against St. John Bosco in Southern California.
The Crusaders (3-0) travel to face the nation’s No. 1-ranked team in Bellflower, Calif., a two-time national championship program. The showdown offers Saint Louis an opportunity to make waves on the national stage.
Quarterback Nainoa Lopes, a Cal commit, and defensive back Jahren Altura, who is bound for Hawai‘i, lead a Crusaders squad that has built momentum early this season.
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“It’s a big opportunity for us,” sophomore defensive end Ricky Li‘ili‘i said. “We’ve been looking forward to that since camp. It’ll show us what we’re really good at and what we need to work on. Going up there and pressing them is one of the biggest dreams I’ve had.”
Senior linebacker Mahana Alameda said the matchup is valuable for exposure.
“It’s a great opportunity, especially for the young boys on our team,” Alameda said. “They’ll get a lot of eyes from scouts. It’ll give us a great look against good competition and show us where we are now and where we can be.”
Sophomore running back Tenari Fuamatu-Ma‘afala added the Crusaders are sticking to their process.
“We just try to keep it as a normal week,” he said. “We know we’ve got to pick up the intensity during practice. They’re a really fast team, but so are we. We’re just going to take it day by day and get better.”
Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. HST Friday and will stream on the NFHS Network.
