Punahou’s offense still has to take one more step to get the state title it covets, but last night’s accomplishments are the next best thing.

Kanawai Noa broke Miah Ostrowski’s school record for receiver yards in a game in the state championship era and quarterback Larry Tuileta did the same for passing yards in Punahou’s 49-19 win over Mililani last night in the Division I semifinals of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Football Championships at Aloha Stadium.

Now Punahou’s passing game only has to solve Kahuku’s defense for the school’s first state championship since 2008.

"It’s not really me," Noa said. "It’s the O-line, the quarterback, the coordinator, just all working together."

Noa finished with 229 yards on 11 catches and a touchdown to pass Ostrowski’s 221 yards against Waianae in a preseason game in 2006. Tuileta passed for 420 yards to beat the 412 Cayman Shutter put up against Farrington in 2008.

But the duo’s performance was not limited to school records. Only Leilehua’s Kenan Sadanaga has thrown for more yards in the state tournament than Tuileta, with 474 against Baldwin in 2010. Sadanaga also threw for 420 yards in a game, in 2010 against Saint Louis. Only Desmond Hanohano of Saint Louis has had more receiver yards in the tournament than Noa, covering 307 yards against Mililani in 2003.

Tuileta had 190 yards at halftime, 150 of them to Noa. But what mattered most to both of them was that the Buffanblu had the lead.

Punahou got that advantage in the second quarter when Tuileta noticed something and took advantage of it for a 68-yard touchdown pass to Noa. It was the first play of the drive, and Noa found himself wide open with only a safety to outrun. He was caught on the 1-yard line earlier in the game to lead to Punahou’s second touchdown, but was not to be denied this time.

"The play right before that, the corner was hopping our outs," Tuileta said. "I asked Coach if we could run that certain play, just a speed out fade to the boundary side. I pumped the corner and he hopped it and (Noa) got wide open."

Mililani refused to rotate coverage to Noa’s side, but he was still relatively quiet in the second half. No matter, the rest of Punahou’s receivers picked it up, with Ryan Tuiasoa finishing with 99 yards and Trent Sitar getting 47. Tuileta hit six different receivers before it was over.

Still, Noa was the spark that lit the fire. It was the sophomore’s seventh time over 100 yards in seven games this year. He sat out the title clincher against Saint Louis with an ankle injury and the meaningless game the following week against Kamehameha. No football had hit his mitts since Oct. 5. Tuileta had not played since Oct. 19.

"It felt like just the start of a new season," Noa said. "I had a little chip on my shoulder after (the drop)," Noa said. "I got it at its highest point and I just tipped it. I wanted to catch everything after that."

Before Noa showed up, Punahou had only a single 100-yard receiving game since Robby Toma and Mark Silverstein took care of business in the 2008 state championship. That the big numbers come up when Punahou wins is no coincidence. They had gone 28 straight games without a receiver over the century mark before Noa went for 176 in Punahou’s opener against West Anchorage. And now this group can put itself up with the 2008 crew.

"We are just looking forward to whoever we play next week," Noa said. "Just glad we are in the big dance, that is all that matters."