Punahou gave all it had to give

Punahou left everything on the turf. The Buffanblu lost right tackle Derek Nishimoto in the midst of their comeback attempt. Defensive end Canton Kaumatule limped back onto the field after an in-game injury.

Taulapapa was astounding with career highs in carries and rushing yardage, but he, too, came up gimpy late in the game with a thigh injury and kept pushing on.

Punahou’s defense came up with enough plays to spark a rally. Laakea Look had 10.5 tackles, Ronley Lakalaka and Chung had seven each. Chung had one of his team’s four tackles for loss. They did what they could, limiting breakaway runners Milton and Malepeai to a combined 127 yards on the ground.

The Buffanblu also had an edge in kickoffs and field position. Jet Toner sent five of seven kickoffs to the back of the end zone for touchbacks, while Punahou returned six of eight kickoffs for an average of 34 yards each.

It wasn’t enough to overcome amazing performances by the Trojans. The O-line played beyond the threshold of pain. Milton was brilliantly accurate all night. Reserves stepped up in the clutch: Tyler Santos at right tackle and Constantino at running back.

"Tyler stepped up big. I got faith in all my guys and he did an awesome job," Milton said.

When Malepeai got hurt, Mililani was clinging to a 46-38 lead.

"Just had to grind it out one play at a time," Milton said. "That’s what we did. We got a couple drives, couldn’t punch it in, but our defense picked us up. We picked up our defense early and they picked us up in the end. That’s what it’s all about."

Punahou trailed 33-14 in the second quarter but kept knocking on that door, the game never quite feeling like a true blowout. They got their best chance to tie the game in the final minute, trailing by eight points. Starting at its 12-yard line with 2:47 remaining, Punahou got a couple of 28-yard passes from Ephraim Tuliloa to get the drive going — and their thousands of fans frenzied with anticipation.

A 13-yard completion to Kanawai Noa on a hitch route set the Buffanblu up at the Mililani 14-yard line. Taulapapa then bolted off the left side and came close to scoring near the left pylon, but as Taulapapa was tackled, Trojans cornerback Ty Purcell-Apana, who had turned an interception into a touchdown in the first quarter, stripped the ball from Taulapapa.

The ball sailed over the goal line and out of the end zone. An official raised his arm over his head, signaling … a touchback? Punahou’s fans went silent. Even the Mililani side of Aloha Stadium was in disbelief for a moment. It was, for the first time all night, completely quiet for just a second or two, all 19,254 fans on the edge of their seats.

Officials conferred and ruled that it was a touchback. The replay on the stadium’s video screen showed that Taulapapa may have been down — his left knee was close to the turf — when the fumble occurred. But a shot by Star-Advertiser photographer Jamm Aquino showed the ball out of Taulapapa’s hands as his left knee was mere inches off the ground.

It was the right call, though it may have felt like an unjust call for fans of drama and entertainment: One more snap from the 3-yard line and Punahou was in prime shape to score another TD and possibly tie the game with a 2-point conversion.

Mililani ran out the final 56 seconds, but even that was stoked with the fires of hope. On third down, the play clock expired before the game clock did, and when officials ruled that the seconds would be put back on the game clock, some Punahou fans — and players, it seemed — got confused and thought the Buffanblu would get the ball back with another chance to score. Instead, it was fourth down for Mililani. Milton took the shotgun snap, took a step forward and kneeled at the 1-yard line to bring an end to the most interesting state tournament game in at least eight years.

See more, including a recap on the Division II, championship game win by ‘Iolani over Lahainaluna, at hawaiiprepworld.com.