Punahou overpowers Kamehameha

For a half, Kamehameha stood toe to toe with Punahou.

After that, the Buffanblu were lights out in every way.

Larry Tuileta passed for 358 yards and three touchdowns as No. 3 Punahou pulled away for a 34-14 win over the fifth-ranked Warriors on Friday night at Aloha Stadium.

Tuileta benefited from a bullish ground attack. At times, Punahou went to smashmouth football, and Ryan Tuiasoa had a career night as a result.

The 214-pound senior had 146 yards on 26 carries, and caught touchdown passes of 50 and 6 yards on old-school swing passes out of Punahou’s pistol version of the West Coast offense.

"We noticed that they had a break in coverage, so we went to Ryan, and after that things started opening up for the whole offense," said Tuileta, who completed 17 of 26 attempts.

The Buffanblu defense, buoyed by the return of linebacker Isaac Savaiinaea and improving play from defensive end Canton Kaumatule, shut out Kamehameha in the second half.

It was the Interscholastic League of Honolulu opener for both teams. Punahou (2-1 overall) hadn’t played since losing to No. 1 Kahuku nearly two weeks ago.

"I feel great. Kamehameha’s a very good team, very tough, well coached and very competitive," Punahou coach Kale Ane said.

Kamehameha dropped to 2-2 after Punahou made a statement on the ground.

"We want to compete for a championship, and we can’t do that being one-dimensional, so we made it a point to run the ball today," Tuiasoa said. "Kamehameha’s very disciplined. Every yard was a hard yard."

Tuileta’s favorite target continues to be sophomore Kanawai Noa, who pulled in seven passes for 178 yards, most of them on deep routes that brought Punahou’s noisy fans to their feet.

"We really wanted to run the ball, but we also had a great receiver-and-quarterback connection," Ane said. "He was double covered a lot. It was, ‘No, no, no! Great catch.’"

A wild first half began with two Punahou touchdowns. Tuileta hit Tuiasoa on a swing pass out of the backfield on the opening series, and he sprinted down the sideline for a 50-yard touchdown.

Punahou drove 85 yards in 14 plays, and Tuileta found Tuiasoa again. A pump fake got a defensive back to bite, and Tuiasoa scored easily on a 6-yard touchdown play. Punahou led 14-0 with 1:03 left in the first quarter.

Kamehameha responded with an eight-play, 52-yard march. Makoa Camanse-Stevens found Austin Gerard and Kaulana Werner for key pass plays, and 260-pound Salanoa-Alo Wily scored from the 1-yard line on a dive play to bring the Warriors within 14-7 early in the second quarter.

Javen Sablay’s interception in Punahou territory set up a four-play, 32-yard scoring drive for Kamehameha. Camanse-Stevens found Gerard open for a 5-yard touchdown strike, and the game was tied at 14 with 7:22 to go in the first half.

Kamehameha had another good opportunity after recovering a fumbled punt return by Noa at midfield with 2:03 to go in the half, but the drive stalled at the Punahou 35-yard line.

Punahou struck on its first series of the second half, with Tuileta immediately launching a 36-yard pass to Noa. They capped the four-play, 71-yard drive with a 37-yard bomb, with Noa essentially boxing out the defensive back to bring in the spiral near the goal line for a touchdown. Punahou led 21-14 with 7:53 left in the third quarter.

By the start of the fourth quarter, Punahou took control. Tuiasoa’s 2-yard blast into the end zone pushed the Buffanblu to a 28-14 lead with 11:56 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Punahou then went to its smashmouth game, giving Tuiasoa the ball eight times in a nine-play, 62-yard drive. Tuiasoa’s fourth touchdown of the game, a 1-yard run, made it 34-14 with 6:44 left.

Punahou limited Camanse-Stevens to 2-for-14 passing in the second half.