Saint Louis buckled itself into the driver's seat of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu football title chase last night, holding off Punahou 33-27 before a vocal crowd of 8,487 at Aloha Stadium.

The Crusaders, ranked No. 1 in The Advertiser's statewide Top 10 poll of coaches and media, improved to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the ILH, with regular-season games remaining against Kamehameha, Damien and 'Iolani. The Buffanblu, ranked No. 2, dropped to 5-2 and 2-2.

Saint Louis can clinch a tie for first place in the regular season by defeating Kamehameha on Friday.

"We still have three more games, so we're not celebrating yet," said Crusaders quarterback Micah Mamiya, who threw for 141 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 106 yards. "We'll wait till the end (of the ILH season), then we'll celebrate."

But the Saints definitely have the upper hand now, thanks to another impressive showing last night that featured a balanced offense (208 yards rushing, 141 passing) and an opportunistic defense (two interceptions).

And unlike the teams' meeting two weeks ago, in which Saint Louis built a 31-0 halftime lead only to hold off a furious Punahou rally for a 38-35 victory, this time the Crusaders answered every second-half challenge by the Buffanblu.

Punahou closed it to 20-14 after Dalton Hilliard's 2-yard touchdown run and River Kim's extra point with 1:02 remaining in the third quarter. Saint Louis responded with a 17-yard TD pass from Mamiya to Shane Ahlo (the extra-point snap was muffed). The Buffanblu then cut it to 26-21 with 7:18 left in the game on Brett Kan's 22-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Whitford and Kim's extra point. But again the Crusaders came right back with another scoring pass from Mamiya to Ahlo, this time from 23 yards out.

Kenton Chun's extra point made it 33-21 with 2:23 remaining.

Punahou's ensuing drive ended with Kan's 3-yard TD run, but it was the last play of the game.

"I'm pleased with the way our offense answered (Punahou's) scores and was controlling the clock, because it kept our defense fresh and it kept Brett and all his weapons off the field," Saints coach Delbert Tengan said.

The Buffanblu suffered a key loss early in the game when starting linebacker Adam Morris left with a knee injury, and Punahou coach Kale Ane said the Crusaders' ability to sustain drives proved crucial.

"We didn't get any big stops," Ane said. "We gave up first downs on third-and-12, third-and-15. Saint Louis did a good job, they came through when they had to."

That remains a goal for the Crusaders in the next three weeks.

"We still have three tough games in a row," Tengan said. "This is a tough league, and we have to be ready every week."

PUNAHOU (5-2, 2-2) 0 7 7 13—27

SAINT LOUIS (7-0, 4-0) 6 14 0 13—33

SL — Billy Stutzmann 33 pass from Micah Mamiya (kick blocked)

Pun — Miah Ostrowski 37 pass from Brett Kan (River Kim kick)

SL — Austin Wakinekona 2 run (Kenton Chun kick)

SL — Wakinekona 5 run (Chun kick)

Pun — Dalton Hilliard 2 run (Kim kick)

SL — Shane Ahlo 17 pass from Mamiya (run failed)

Pun — Kyle Whitford 22 pass from Kan (Kim kick)

SL — Ahlo 23 pass from Mamiya (Chun kick)

Pun — Kan 3 run (time expired)

RUSHING — Pun: Hilliard 9-57, Kainoa Carlson 1-(minus-2), Kan 5-7, Ostrowski 2-17. SL: Mamiya 14-106, Lene Auelua 6-63, Devan Essner 1-3, Keani Nishigaya 2-16, Wakinekona 10-27, Ahlo 1-0, Ryan Iaea 5-(minus-1), Chase Alcott 1-(minus-6).

PASSING — Pun: Kan 29-50-2—292. SL: Mamiya 11-21-0—141.

RECEIVING — Pun: Ostrowski 8-112, Manti Te'o 1-3, Whitford 3-34, Carlson 2-9, Kameron Steinhoff 1-6, Hilliard 6-64, Kim 8-64. SL: Iaea 4-36, Stutzmann 3-57, Kulia Aiona 1-4, Ahlo 3-44.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.