WAILUKU » Kenan Sadanaga’s record-breaking performance has the Leilehua Mules in the state semifinals.

Sadanaga set a tournament record with 474 passing yards, throwing for five touchdowns in the Mules’ 35-26 win over Baldwin last night in the opening round of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships at War Memorial Stadium.

Sadanaga, faced with the difficult task of replacing state player of the year Andrew Manley at quarterback, showed he can be just as effective as Manley and Bryant Moniz before him.

He completed 32 of 51 passes and carried a one-dimensional Mules offense that was held to 26 yards rushing.

"We’ve been doing this since my freshman year in JV, and Coach Nolan (Tokuda) does a great job with game-planning and making sure we’re ready in all aspects," Sadanaga said. "It pretty much goes out to the coaches and my teammates."

The Mules (9-2), who will play second-seeded Saint Louis in a 7 p.m. semifinal Friday, won despite committing six turnovers and 19 penalties.

"We are so fortunate to be able to move forward after something like this," Tokuda said. "When the kids commit all these penalties, that means it’s us, the coaches, that aren’t doing our job, and that’s something we’ll get corrected."

The Bears (9-2), who have lost to the Mules in the state tournament four years in a row, missed out on their best chance yet.

Senior Ro Wilson, who didn’t play in last year’s game due to a violation of team rules, caught a 26-yard touchdown pass and scored on a 59-yard punt return.

The Mules ramped up the pressure in the second half as senior Penitito Melei had two of Leilehua’s five sacks.

Ramsey Pacabas scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to pull Baldwin to 28-20 in the third quarter, but two fourth-quarter interceptions prevented the Bears from getting any closer.

"The team played well and that’s the main thing, we played until the very end," Baldwin coach A.J. Roloos said. "We just didn’t take advantage of the opportunities that we had, turning the ball over twice … in the red zone."

Sadanaga, who bested the previous record of 412 yards by Cayman Shutter in Punahou’s 35-28 win over Farrington in the second round in 2008, was effective spreading the ball around.

Senior Fred Padrones, the team’s leading receiver, had nine catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns. When the Bears tried to double-team him, Sadanaga connected with Jeremiah Andrade to the tune of 10 catches for 198 yards and two more scores.

Four different Leilehua receivers surpassed the 50-yard mark, including junior Allen Racette, whose 33-yard touchdown catch with 3 minutes left put the Mules up by two possessions.

"We have a lot of guys that can make big plays for us," Sadanaga said.

Baldwin’s defense forced enough turnovers to stay in the game. Quarterback Keelan Ewaliko, a sophomore, ran for a 6-yard touchdown with 25 seconds left to cut the lead to 35-26. However, all-league kicker CeeJay Santos missed his second extra point of the game to keep Baldwin from making it a one-score game.

Ewaliko, who carried the ball 21 times for 32 yards, completed 11 of 22 passing for 143 yards and a touchdown, but was picked off three times. Leilehua was able to get in his face seemingly every time he dropped back to throw.