BERKELEY >> Del Oro High School-Loomis (Calif.) receiver Trey Udoffia crouched at his own goal line in disbelief. Seconds earlier, he had been the intended receiver of a Stone Smartt pass as the Golden Eagles were driving toward what they believed would be a go-ahead score in the Brothers In Arms Classic on Friday at the University of California’s Memorial Stadium.
Instead, Punahou’s Logan Williams intercepted the ball and returned it all the way to the Del Oro 9-yard line with 57 seconds to play. Wayne Taulapapa took it from there, carrying it three consecutive times, including the 2-yard touchdown with five seconds remaining, to lift the Buffanblu to a wild come-from-behind 22-15 win.
“I saw the play coming,” Williams said. “I just read it. My adrenaline was going, I saw the pick coming and I just jumped it.”
The play capped a terrific comeback for Punahou (5-0). The Buffanblu trailed 15-0 in the third quarter after a putrid first half offensively – just 64 total yards and two turnovers. Worse, Del Oro (1-1) was handed a touchdown late in the half on one of those turnovers, an interception of Ephraim Tuliloa by Mason Hurst, who returned the ball 45 yards to the Punahou 3. That turned a 3-0 game at the half into a 9-0 game after the Golden Eagles missed the extra point.
“They’re a good team,” Buffanblu coach Kale Ane said. “Well-coached, the kids played very well, kept us on our heels. We popped back in the second half. Our staff made some adjustments and our kids performed.”
Added Taulapapa, “For us, it was all mental mistakes. We were making too many penalties. No discredit to their defense, but we were killing ourselves in the first half.”
They needed to. Punahou kept shooting itself in the foot throughout the game, committing five personal fouls. Del Oro’s Christian Guerrero scored on a 1-yard run. A failed 2-point conversion left the score 15-0 with 3:40 to go in the third quarter.
On the next possession, Taulapapa woke the Buffanblu up, bursting free for a 57-yard run to the Golden Eagles 14. Five plays later, he did the honors himself, taking the ball in from the 2.
Del Oro went three-and-out, and Punahou came right back down the field. This time, Tuliloa connected on a 34-yard pass deep down the left sideline to Eamon Brady. That set up Tuliloa’s 1-yard keeper for the score. Tuliloa also ran in the 2-point conversion to tie the score at 15.
The Golden Eagles advanced into Buffanblu territory but failed on a fourth-down play. Punahou marched down to the 11, but John Toner sent off a wounded duck on a 28-yard field-goal attempt and failed miserably. With 3:46 to go in the game, Del Oro had a chance to hold the ball last and get the winning points.
It didn’t work out. On a third-and-6 at the 37, Smartt tried to go to Udoffia on the left side on a deep ball. He missed badly. Williams was waiting all alone and brought it back 26 yards.
“We had made so many mistakes and some miscues, but these guys are so resilient,” Ane said. “They fought back and I’m very proud of them.”
Taulapapa finished the night with 181 yards on 23 carries and the two touchdowns. Dalton Gee led the Golden Eagles with 109 yards on 16 carries.
