‘Iolani claims another

‘Iolani is known for its precision, and with surgical skill the Raiders took apart Lahainaluna 31-14 for the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Division II Football Championship on Friday night at Aloha Stadium.

It’s familiar territory for the Raiders, who have won eight of the past 10 years.

The ILH champion and second-seeded Raiders (8-3) started fast and didn’t let off the gas.

"In order to compete with a team like Lahainaluna, we needed to be near perfect," ‘Iolani coach Wendell Look said. "And everyone was in sync and (quarterback) Austin Jim On was flawless. Spot-on."

Jim On completed 21 of 24 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns.

"We were so nervous last night. No one could sleep and we talked about that this morning," Jim On said. "The coaches put in a great game plan. The hype was on them (the Lunas) and that helped us. We came in with a David-and-Goliath mentality."

The MIL champion and top-seeded Lunas (11-1) cut into the Raiders’ fast start, making it 14-6 with a 65-yard drive, capped by quarterback Makoa Filikitonga-Lukela’s 1-yard touchdown sneak with 7:30 to go in the half.

Undaunted, ‘Iolani did not let Lahainaluna keep the momentum and finished out the half strong with 10 points and a 24-6 bulge.

Jim On delivered a 34-yard TD strike to Connor Ohira, and then Keoni-Kordell Makekau polished off an impressive two-minute drill by the Raiders, booming a 42-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.

Lahainaluna was going for its first state title and came up empty-handed again. The Lunas also lost to the Raiders in the state title game two years ago and in 2007.

"We should have played better," said an emotional Lahainaluna defensive end Penisimani Taufa, who ran for some tough yards on offense in the second half while wearing the uncharacteristic No. 56. "We got off to a bad start. This is the last time I’ll play for this team. My last year. I’m proud of our team no matter what."

Aside from that second-quarter touchdown, the Lunas did not move the ball consistently enough. Filikitonga-Lukela scored another TD, this time from 6 yards out in the fourth quarter after a 44-yard pass from halfback Jared Rocha-Islas to Scott Isaac Medeiros-Tangatailoa.

But the damage had already been done by ‘Iolani before that. A fumble recovery by Wyatt Ma’a led to the Raiders’ last TD — a 3-yard run by Storm Lotomau midway through the third period for a 31-6 bulge.

Christian Naeole also had a fumble recovery for ‘Iolani in the second half.

"’Iolani threw us off," Lahainaluna coach Garret Tihada said. "They prepared for this game much better than us. We battled, but we didn’t do a good enough job as coaches. The ‘Iolani players have been running the same system since intermediate school. They’ve thrown those passes and made those catches thousands of times."

Jim On said the Raiders won it for two teams, this year’s and last year’s.

"We were unable to get it done last year and they (last year’s seniors) were giving us shout-outs on social media and I’m so glad we were able to bring the championship home to ‘Iolani for them," he said.

Look said the team was hungry for the title.

"When we lost it last year, it hurt this group. The string (of six titles in a row) was broken on their watch. They were embarrassed by that and were determined to get it back."

Iol–Keoni-Kordell Makekau 10 pass from Austin Jim On (Evan Minami kick)

Iol–KJ Pascua 2 run (Minami kick)

Lah–Makoa Filikitonga-Lukela 1 run (kick failed)

Iol–Connor Ohira 34 pass from Jim On (Minami kick)

Iol–FG Makekau 42

Iol–Storm Lotomau 3 run (Minami kick)

Lah–Filikitonga-Lukela 6 run (Thomas Rosen St. John pass from Filikitonga-Lukela)

‘Iolani LHS

First downs 20 18

Rushes-yards 44-111 46-235

Passing yards 239 71

Total yards 350 306

Punts-Avg. 2-36.0 3-35.7

Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-2

Sacks by-yards 0-0 1-9

Penalties-yards 1-5 4-25

Possession time 26:10 21:50

RUSHING–‘Iolani: Pascua 26-60, Lotomau 15-44, Jim On 2-4, Makekau 1-3. Lahainaluna: Filikitonga-Lukela 16-83, Ansen Cabanilla 9-68, Jared Rocha-Islas 8-59, Penisimani Taufa 2-15, Donovan Defang 4-13, David Kawabata 1-7, Josten Sariby 3-4, Tyran Kuu Palea 2-2, Team 1-(-16). 

PASSING–‘Iolani: Jim On 21-24-0-239. Lahainaluna: Filikitonga-Lukela 4-5-0-28, Rocha-Islas 1-1-0-43. 

RECEIVING–‘Iolani: Tyler Teruya 9-67, Makekau 7-105, Ohira 5-67. Lahainaluna: Scott Isaac Medeiros-Tangatailoa 2-45, Defang 1-20, Rocha-Islas 1-5, Kawabata 1-1.