‘Iolani turns it on after half

After getting torched on a late touchdown pass in the first half, the ‘Iolani secondary made up for it in a big way.

The Raiders intercepted Damien quarterback Dallas Labanon three times in the second half, and Keoni-Kordell Makekau kicked three field goals and caught a 61-yard touchdown pass in a 37-14 win on Friday afternoon in the ILH opener for both teams at ‘Iolani.

Sophomore KJ Pascua rushed for 132 yards, and Makekau finished with nine catches for 154 yards as the Raiders (2-0) outscored the Monarchs 20-0 in the second half.

"We accomplished what we wanted to do," ‘Iolani coach Wendell Look said. "We put up 37 points. That was pretty good."

The game was closer than the final score as the Raiders nursed a three-point lead at halftime.

Damien (1-1) trailed 17-7 with 31 seconds left when 6-foot-5 receiver Kapiinaokala King got behind the Raiders defense and hauled in a 35-yard touchdown pass from Labanon to make it 17-14.

‘Iolani had called a timeout before the play to set up its defense but still couldn’t defend the go route to King, who had three catches for 65 yards.

"That was on us," Look said. "That was on the coaches. It was just stupid."

Labanon completed 10 of his first 13 throws before finishing 16-for-31 for 186 yards.

Both teams punted on their first two possessions in the second half, and the Monarchs were driving when a Labanon pass intended for Kepono Kawaakoa deflected off his shoulder pads into the hands of defensive back Wyatt Ma’a.

‘Iolani then drove 57 yards in seven plays as quarterback Austin Jim On hit Travis Teruya for a quick 2-yard touchdown strike on third-and-goal to make it 24-14.

"I was just trying to make a play on that and (the ball) came to my hands like magic," Ma’a said.

Down 10, Damien was forced to throw the ball more frequently and it resulted in two more interceptions as defensive back Bradley Hayashi and linebacker Melvin Hoomanawanui also came up with picks.

"They decided to play well on third down," Look said. "We played well on first and second down, and then on third down we kind of stunk up the place."

Labanon started in place of starter Bransen Apao, who had a wrist injury that kept him from throwing passes.

Apao caught five balls for 65 yards, and Samson Low added 62 rushing yards, but the three turnovers were too costly.

"We got away from some of the things we wanted to do in the second half a little bit," Damien coach Eddie Klaneski said. "We think we’re OK. We think we did a good job but just kind of let it slip away there and that fourth quarter just killed us."

Iol–FG Keoni-Kordell Makekau 25

Iol–KJ Pascua 8 run (Evan Minami kick)

Dam–Dallas Labanon 1 run (Elijah Brown kick)

Iol–Makekau 61 pass from Austin Jim On (Minami kick)

Dam– Kapiinaokala King 35 pass from Labanon (Brown kick)

Iol–Tyler Teruya 2 pass from Jim On (Minami kick)

Iol– FG Makekau 34

Iol–FG Makekau 33

Iol–Storm Lotomau 8 run (Minami kick)

RUSHING–Damien: Samson Low 14-62, Labanon 7-7, Kepono Kawaakoa 2-5, Brown 9-3. ‘Iolani: Pascua 23-132, Lotomau 8-35, team 1-6, Tamatane Aga 1-(minus 3), Jim On 6-(minus 6).

PASSING–Damien: Labanon 16-31-3-186. ‘Iolani: Jim On 17-25-0-241.

RECEIVING–Damien: Bransen Apao 5-65, Ian Lundberg 4-34, King 3-65, Low 2-10, Kawaakoa 1-7, Brown 1-5. ‘Iolani: Makekau 9-154, Connor Ohira 4-32, Teruya 2-10, Pascua 1-39, Nick Kennedy 1-6.