The Prep Report

HONOR ROLL

FOOTBALL

» James Bukoski, Kauai: Led the Red Raiders’ defense with eight tackles and came down with an interception.

» Derek Costa, Kaiser: The defensive tackle had five stops for the Cougars against Kauai, four of them for losses.

» Fitou Fisiiahi, Kaiser: Punted the ball four times for 145 yards, three of them backing Kauai inside the 20-yard line. He also contributed three tackles for loss from his linebacker spot.

» Melvin Kahunanui, Kaiser: Intercepted a pass to dash Kauai’s hopes and added a touchdown when he picked up a blocked punt.

» Blake Kondo, Mililani: Got to Punahou quarterback Larry Tuileta for sacks twice, setting the Buffanblu back 23 yards.

» Bronson Ramos, Mililani: Caught two passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns against Punahou.

» Canaan Saole, Kaiser: Had nine solo tackles and a sack against Kauai and blocked a punt for the go-ahead score.

» Dakota Torres, Punahou: Caught four passes for 66 yards and a touchdown against Mililani.

» Wayne Taulapapa, Punahou: Rushed for 74 yards and a TD in the win over Mililani.

» Larry Tuileta, Punahou: Threw for 265 yards and three touchdowns against Mililani.

» Kainoa Wilson, Mililani: Completed both his passes for 98 yards and two touchdowns against Punahou. The receiver also caught eight passes from McKenzie Milton for 80 yards.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Saitui Moea’i, Punahou linebacker

Credited with 14 solo tackles and one assist in the Buffanblu’s state-championship win over Mililani. The junior had one sack and 31/2 tackles for loss in the win. He was all over the place, making five tackles on receiver Kainoa Wilson, four on running back Vavae Malepeai, three on quarterback McKenzie Milton and three more on receiver Bronsen Ader.

TOP 10 POLLS

Voted on by coaches and media from around the state. First-place votes in parentheses. Ten points for first-place votes, nine for second, eight for third, etc.

FOOTBALL

Also receiving votes: Kapolei 13, Lahainaluna 9, Leilehua 1.

Moanalua and Punahou win sand titles

It hasn’t been sanctioned by the HHSAA yet, but the first-ever high school state sand volleyball tournament went in favor of the mighty mites.

The Moanalua duo of Skylan Engleman and Austin Amian earned the boys crown with a 21-11, 21-10 win over Punahou’s Pono Kaaa and Michael Luna.

The girls final was a matchup of Punahou teams. Freshman Teiana Cacaldo and sophomore Brandee Markwith outlasted seniors Kelly Matthews and Clare Anderson 21-13, 21-12.

The finals of the three-day tourney at Waikiki Beach were televised on OC 16. The boys division had 12 teams; the girls had 24, including teams from Seabury Hall on Maui.

Engleman and Amian are normally back-row players at Moanalua, but outdoors, their range and versatility proved supreme.

"Playing on sand helps with the jump. It prepares you for the indoor game," Engleman said. "We’ve been playing together about five years now. It’s our first year playing together outdoors."

Amian’s older sister, Brianna, played at Moanalua and recently graduated from San Jose State, where she played for four years.

"It takes the basics. There’s an old saying, ball control is wins, so we banked on that," Amian said.

Markwith and Cacaldo were especially crafty. Markwith normally plays libero and Cacaldo is a setter. Both prefer the sand game to indoors.

"Coach Tanya (Fuamatu-Anderson) does a beach club," Markwith said, referring to her high school coach.

Matthews will play volleyball at Princeton. One of their teammates, Mackenzie Feldman, recently signed a letter of intent to play sand volleyball at Cal.

State tournaments draw healthy crowds

The 20,934 attendance total for Saturday’s First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships capped a robust fall season.

Solid attendance at Keaau for the Campbell-Hilo quarterfinal game was noteworthy.

"That outdrew the other (quarterfinal) games. We netted more on that one," HHSAA executive director Chris Chun said.

The Lahainaluna-Kaiser Division II semifinal at War Memorial Stadium was another good draw, exceeding 5,000 and probably coming closer to 6,000. As a whole, the D-II tournament is faring well.

"D-II at least broke even, I know that. There was just more cost because there were more neighbor-island teams," Chun said, noting that Kauai traveled for its semifinal and championship games.

Kauai’s opening-round game against Pearl City was not a great draw, possibly because of rainy conditions.

Volleyball also did fairly well, even though the D-I tourney was in Keaau. The final between Kamehameha and Punahou had good attendance.

"The cost was less," Chun added, "because it was at Kamehameha-Hawaii rather than Blaisdell (Arena)."

The D-II final in Honolulu featured two BIIF teams, Konawaena and Hawaii Prep.

"If we could’ve switched the (championship) sites, we would’ve killed it," Chun said.

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Paul Honda, Star-Advertiser