Pedrina’s 3 TDs lead Kamehameha past Punahou

For the Punahou Buffanblu, getting through a regular-season finale injury-free was priority one.

For Alii Pedrina, sparking the Kamehameha Warriors to victory was a bit of redemption. Pedrina, who missed several games in the heart of the ILH season, scored three touchdowns as No. 5 Kamehameha held on to beat No. 2 Punahou 42-27 on Thursday night at Aloha Stadium.

Pedrina, who caught four passes for 76 yards and two touchdowns, also shined at running back down the stretch with Kamehameha clinging to its lead. It was his first time at running back since Pop Warner, and he rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown.

"It felt good doing it for my team, not for myself. For my boys," the senior said, choking back tears. "I got in trouble, made some bad choices. I feel like I let down my team."

Kamehameha coach David Stant was thankful for a strong finish — three wins to close the ILH season.

"The seniors have something for their memories. I asked them, ‘Give us something for your legacy.’ Hopefully, we can continue and have a long streak," Stant said. "Alii made some bad decisions, but everybody backed him up. He’s a great player."

Punahou (6-1 ILH, 7-2 overall) sat 17 starters, including 10 on offense, after clinching the league title and a state-tournament berth last week in a win over Saint Louis. They got a superb performance from backup quarterback Luke Morris, who passed for 322 yards and four touchdowns. He was also the only Buffanblu to run with the ball, finishing with 64 yards on 19 carries as Punahou kept the playcalling very basic for much of the game. Junior Trent Sitar had eight catches for 145 yards.

"It gave us a chance to play a lot of kids against a very good team in Kamehameha," Punahou coach Kale Ane said. "I don’t want to take anything away from Kamehameha. They played very well and deserved to win today. We tried to make it close."

Morris often passed out of empty-backfield sets, a first for Punahou this season, Ane said. Punahou kept standout quarterback Larry Tuileta, running back Ryan Tuiasoa and wide receiver Kanawai Noa in street clothes on the bench.

Kamehameha (5-2 ILH, 7-3) went to sophomore running back Kaulana Apelu early and often, but he suffered an ankle injury in the second half. That meant a move from wide receiver to running back for Pedrina, who had gotten a heavy dose of reps on the scout team.

He wound up carrying the ball 10 times after Apelu had run 13 times for 86 yards and two touchdowns before the injury. The Warriors totaled 202 rushing yards. Makoa Camanse-Stevens passed for 190 yards and three touchdowns in his final game. He closed the year with 17 touchdown passes and only one pick.

"Alii, unfortunately, hasn’t played with us every game, but I have so much confidence in him and any of our receivers," Camanse-Stevens said. "Tonight, we peaked. We were fully meshed tonight."