1. The muff
>> Situation: Kahuku 0, Punahou 0, about 8:35 remaining, first quarter, Kahuku ball, fourth and 7 at its 28-yard line.
>> The Play: PR Dylan Combs muffs the ball near the sideline and Kahuku’s Jayven Mohetau recovers at the Punahou 39-yard line.
>> Impact: The extra possession keeps Punahou’s offense on the sideline and leads to a 38-yard field goal by PK Kekahu Aluli, giving Kahuku an early edge on special teams.
>> Kahuku coach Reggie Torres: “It was a great lift for us. We made one first down and we stalled, and it gave us an opportunity to get that field goal. It gives an edge. We’d struggled offensively the week before, so that score gave us a big lift on the sideline.”
2. Playbook search
>> Situation: Kahuku 10, Punahou 0, just over 10 minutes remaining, second quarter, Kahuku ball, second and 5 at its 23.
>> The Play: Two plays after another big gain by Aofaga Wily on the stretch play, QB Viliami Livai fakes to FB Mahonilai Fakatou, then delivers a pass to him straight down the middle of the hashmarks for a 23-yard touchdown pass.
>> Impact: There was no way to prepare for this defensively. Kahuku had not called this play all season, and with the box filled and either perimeter jammed with defenders, nobody took note of Fakatou. Except Livai.
>> Torres: “We had it in our book, but it opened up tonight. Mahonilai has great hands and great speed, too. He did a good job.”
3. Read the eyes
>> Situation: Kahuku 17, Punahou 0, about 8:45 remaining, second quarter, Punahou ball, second and 10 at the Kahuku 49.
>> The Play: DB Bronson Beatty intercepts a deep post pass by QB Larry Tuileta and returns the ball 25 yards.
>> Impact: Tuileta had started to pick up some rhythm after two completions earlier in the drive, but Beatty came up with yet another pick to set up another Kahuku score.
>> Torres: “(Punahou) was throwing those hooks, so they started to fade him. Our coaches had Bronson line up deep and creep up looking for that route. He baited them and baited them until he’d jump it.”
4. The gift
>> Situation: Kahuku 24, Punahou 0, 1:25 remaining, second quarter, Kahuku ball, third and 9 at the Kahuku 3.
>> The Play: Fakatou takes the handoff, gets hit by Quincy Marting and apparently loses the ball. DL Logan Hanohano recovers in the end zone for Punahou’s first touchdown.
>> Impact: With the offense stalling out, Punahou needed a break desperately and got one just before the half, starting a 17-point run.
>> Torres: “The thing was, the ball’s in his arm, his forearm touched the ground and the ground caused it. Two refs were there and there wasn’t much we could do.”
5. Last gasp
>> Situation: Kahuku 30, Punahou 24, 0:24 remaining, fourth quarter, Punahou kicks off.
>> The Play: With an onside kick coming from the right hashmark, Kahuku’s hands team had numbers on the wide side. However, PK Kaimi Fairbairn crossed up and tried a left-footed onside kick to the right side, which was short of the 10-yard minimum and recovered by Kahuku’s Devailo Motuga.
>> Impact: With the failed onside attempt, Punahou was out of chances and Kahuku ran out the clock.
>> Torres: “All we had to do was recover. We wanted to see what they were going to come out in. We prepped the ref that we were going to take the timeout.”
