No. 1 Punahou stays perfect

For a moment, the Kamehameha Warriors made it a tantalizing challenge to No. 1 Punahou.

By the end, it was another thoroughly dominant performance by the defending ILH champions against a very good team. Punahou routed No. 4 Kamehameha 47-7 on Friday at Aloha Stadium to secure the top seed in the upcoming ILH Division I football playoffs. 

The Buffanblu will have a bye next weekend while Kamehameha and Saint Louis square off in the opening round. 

Punahou (6-0, 6-0 ILH) fell behind early, but got into a rhythm with quarterback Ephraim Tuliloa distributing the ball all over the field. Once he got going, Kamehameha couldn’t stack the box regularly, and running back Wayne Taulapapa took advantage. He finished with 126 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries, all in the first half. 

The Buffanblu led 34-7 at the break and were never threatened after that. Tuliloa finished with 15-for-19 passing, 207 yards and three TD strikes. Punahou finished with 446 total yards, including 207 on the ground. 

Kanawai Noa, who caught a touchdown pass and returned a punt for another TD, finished with seven receptions for 82 yards. 

Punahou’s defense stonewalled Kamehameha’s normally stout ground game: 24 carries for 33 yards. Quarterback Fatu Sua-Godinet had to run all night, managing to get sacked only twice. He threw for 236 yards and a TD, but was picked off twice. 

It wasn’t so easy for Punahou at the start. Dylan Kane’s TD catch gave the Warriors a 7-0 lead with 7:50 left in the opening quarter. That capped a stunning, hurry-up, no-huddle attack that had the Buffanblu reeling temporarily. 

Coach Doug Cosbie and his staff held nothing back, trying a flea-flicker on the next play from scrimmage, but the play backfired when Sua-Godinet was called for intentional grounding. Punahou needed just four plays to score on its next possession, with Tuliloa finding Micah Ma’a for an 11-yard TD pass on play-action. Punahou missed the PAT kick and trailed 7-6 with 3:35 to go in the first quarter. 

After a Kamehameha three-and-out, Tuliloa directed a five-play, 50-yard drive. He found Noa over the middle for a 12-yard TD pass, and the Buffanblu led 13-7 with 1:22 to go in the opening quarter. 

Momentum clearly switched sides by Punahou’s next series. Taulapapa got the ball on every snap, picking up gains of 7, 5, 16 and 16 yards before bolting for a 44-yard TD run. 

A Warriors three-and-out followed, and it was more Taulapapa. He gained 10 and 25 yards on the ground before scoring on a 4-yard run, bouncing off a big hit in the backfield and running to the left pylon. The Buffanblu had a 27-7 lead with 3:24 left in the first half. On eight carries in a row, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound junior gained 127 yards. 

The Buffanblu put an exclamation mark on the half moments later, when Noa returned a punt right up the middle, then cut to the right pylon for a 51-yard touchdown. It was 34-7 with 2:08 to go until the half. 

The Buffanblu tacked on a 1-yard TD run by Ronley Lakalaka and an 11-yard scoring pass from Tuliloa to tight end Matthew Christman in the third quarter. 

 KS–Dylan Kane 34 pas from Fatu Sua-Godinet (Noah Crabbe kick)

Pun–Micah Ma’a 11 pass from Ephraim Tuliloa (kick failed)

Pun–Kanawai Noa 12 pass from Tuliloa (John Toner kick)

Pun–Wayne Taulapapa 44 run (Toner kick)

Pun–Taulapapa 4 run (Alexander Trifonovitch kick)

Pun–Noa 51 punt return (Trifonovitch kick)

Pun–Ronley Lakalaka 1 run (run failed)

Pun–Matt Christman 11 pass from Tuliloa (Toner kick)

RUSHING–Kamehameha: Jordan Bayudan 12-26, Sua-Godinet 10-13, Jaycob Cabunoc 1-(minus 2), Kaulana Werner 1-(minus 4). Punahou: Taulapapa 11-126, Heisman Hosoda 8-53, Tuliloa 6-21, Nicholas Kapule 3-10, Ronley Lakalaka 1-1, Cade Brittain 2-(minus 3). 

PASSING–Kamehameha: Sua-Godinet 17-38-2-236. Punahou: Tuliloa 15-19-0-207, Kapule 3-4-1-32. 

RECEIVING–Kamehameha: Werner 9-106, Kumoku Noa 5-93, Kane 2-40, Cabunoc 1-(minus 3). Punahou: Noa 7-82, Heisman Hosoda 2-40, Ma’a 2-40, Matthew Christman 2-29, Judd Crockett 2-16, Ethan Takeyama 2-13, Keala Martinson 1-19. 

Damien 26, Pac-Five 21

Dallas Labasan connected with Kapi’ina King on a 31-yard bomb to give the Monarchs the lead, and they held on in the fourth quarter for a close win. 

Samson Low led Damien (3-4, 2-4 ILH) with 101 rushing yards, while Labasan passed for 199 yards (15-for-30) and two touchdowns without a pick. 

The Monarchs relied on their veer-style, two-back attack to produce balanced numbers: 182 rushing yards to go with Labasan’s 199 through the air. But they failed to punch it in on two drives into the red zone in the fourth quarter, giving Pac-Five a big opportunity. 

The Wolfpack (2-5, 1-5) drove deep into Damien territory with less than five minutes remaining, and on fourth-and-goal, Damien stopped Tsubasa Brennan at the 1-yard line after he caught a pass from Kainoa Ferreira. 

Two plays later, the Monarchs appeared to fumble inside the 10-yard line, but officials ruled the play down. The replay on the stadium’s jumbo screen showed otherwise, drawing the ire of Pac-Five fans. On fourth-and-1 at their own 17, coach Eddie Klaneski opted to go for it, and Dutch Claybaugh raced around right end for a 7-yard gain. The Monarchs converted another first down moments later and ran out the final minutes. 

Ferreira, a sophomore, finished with 338 passing yards (28-for-60), three TDs and one pick. Brennan had 13 receptions for 150 yards and two TDs, and Sean Kinel tallied seven grabs for 112 yards and one TD. 

The win means Damien finishes second in ILH D-II and Pac-Five takes third. The teams will match up in the league playoffs next weekend. 

DMS–Dallas Labanon 5 run (Elijah Brown kick)

P5–Tsubasa Brennan 6 pass from Kainoa Ferreira (Riley Asuncion kick)

P5–Sean Kinel 17 pass from Ferreira (Asuncion kick)

DMS–Ian Lundberg 17 pass from Labanon (Brown kick)

DMS–Dutch Claybaugh 7 run (kick failed)

P5–Brennan 6 pass from Ferreira (Asuncion kick)

DMS–King 31 pass from Labasan (run failed)

RUSHING–P5: Ferreira 4-(-13). DMS: Kepono Kawaakoa 5-21, Samson Low 19-101, Labanon 9-21, Claybaugh 9-27, Brown 5-12.

PASSING–P5: Ferreira 28-60-1-338. DMS: Labanon 15-30-0-199.  

RECEIVING–P5: Brennan 13-150, Jarrod Infante 7-59, Kinel 7-112, Grey Ihu 1-17. DMS: King 4-79, Brown 1-7, Low 1-(-2), Lundberg 5-55, Kana’i Picanco 3-51, Claybaugh 1-9.