It’s one of the most helpless situations in all of sports.

There you are, the three-year starting quarterback at one of the top high schools in the state standing idly on the sidelines, only able to watch.

Needing one last victory to put the final stamp on a decorated high school career, all Punahou senior Larry Tuileta could do was trust his defensive teammates on the field with the Buffanblu leading by six with two minutes remaining.

Only when Joseph Aufaga intercepted McKenzie Milton’s fourth-down pass could Tuileta take a deep breath and exhale as three years of ups and downs — mostly ups — and many, many touchdowns finally resulted in a state championship.

After coming up short in 2011 and 2012 against Kahuku, Tuileta finally was on the winning end, throwing for 265 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-22 victory over Mililani on Saturday night at Aloha Stadium.

"There’s just a lot of history behind the program and I think ‘To whom much is given, much is expected’ is the saying," Tuileta said. "A lot of us are given a good opportunity to go to Punahou and play with such a great staff and I think just capitalizing and getting the championship is another steppingstone for the program."

The 6-foot-3 quarterback will move on to the University of Hawaii next year, leaving behind a high school career that produced 29 wins in 34 career starts.

He finishes with 6,962 passing yards, falling 38 short of becoming the third quarterback from an Oahu school to throw for 7,000 in the state championship era.

He threw 77 touchdowns with only 19 interceptions and completed 60 percent of his passes (485-for-811), winning three ILH championships and one state title.

"He’s such a great ambassador for our sport and for our school and his family, so to go 11-0, it’s probably one of the best, if not the best football team out of Punahou ever," Buffanblu coach Kale Ane said. "For him to be a part of that and to be our leader is awesome."

Tuileta’s most reliable target the past two years was junior Kanawai Noa. The two hooked up for a touchdown for the 26th time when Noa got behind the Mililani secondary for a 26-yard score and a 14-0 lead.

The beauty of Tuileta, however, is he doesn’t play favorites. After throwing five touchdowns to five different receivers in last week’s semifinal win over Farrington, Tuileta hit three different guys for scores against the Trojans.

Noa, who had three catches for 51 yards and a score, has another year to continue his assault on the Punahou record books.

But he’ll have to do it with a new quarterback.

"I’m so happy for him because he’s been here the last two state championships and he finally did it," said Noa, who has 114 catches for 2,397 yards and 26 touchdowns with a year to go.

"I’m going to miss him a lot."

So is the rest of Buffanblu nation.