Kapule, receivers propel Punahou

Nick Kapule passed for 298 yards and four touchdowns as No. 3 Punahou overwhelmed eighth-ranked Kamehameha 42-15 on Friday night at Aloha Stadium.

Punahou improved to 4-1 in ILH Division I play (5-1 overall) and trails first-place, unbeaten Saint Louis in the standings.

The Buffanblu jumped to a 21-0 first-quarter lead and were never seriously threatened. Eamon Brady hauled in three touchdown passes — two in the opening quarter and one more just before the half as Punahou took a 28-7 lead into the locker room.

“It felt good. It seems like every game, one of our receivers has his day. It’s just making good reads and the offensive line giving Nick time,” Brady said. “He has a lot of trust in us. We’ve been playing together since intermediate, so he knows our speeds and our strengths.”

Punahou’s defense swarmed Kamehameha’s power ground game, limiting the Warriors to 74 rushing yards.

“It’s never going to be a perfect game in our eyes, but our kids worked their tails off,” Buffanblu linebackers coach Anthony Debold said. “Kamehameha played hard, our kids played hard and our coaches worked their tails off. Alignment assignment wins football games.”

Kamehameha’s defense had some success — Kapule had just one completion in his first four attempts and finished 14-for-25. However, Kamehameha’s offense was unable to sustain drives, and the Warriors defense was back on the field without much rest most of the night. The Buffanblu kept running routes near and far, and Kapule knew exactly where to find the gold.

Keala Martinson, who had a team-high 110 receiving yards, hauled in a 25-yard TD pass from Kapule and a 24-yard scoring strike from Stephen Barber as Punahou opened the lead to 42-7 in the third quarter.

Martinson (five receptions), Brady (four for 101 yards) and Ethan Takeyama (five, 95 yards) accounted for all but one of the catches by the Buffanblu.

For Kamehameha, it was another rough night against one of the state’s powerhouses.

“Punahou’s a great team,” Warriors coach Abu Ma‘afala said. “We just want to line up and keep making progress, stay locked in and focused. I’m proud that our guys hung in there and fought.”

Reserve QB Justice Young spiraled a 4-yard TD pass to Jaykob Cabunoc with five seconds left.

St. Francis 15, Damien 12

Wembley Mailei’s 5-yard touchdown run with 31 seconds remaining rallied the Saints over the previously unbeaten Monarchs.

St. Francis denied Damien a chance to clinch the first-round title and an automatic berth in the ILH Division II final. The Monarchs led 10-9 on a Kaimana Cameron 41-yard field goal with 3:32 left.

After a bad snap by St. Francis resulted in a safety, Damien led 12-9 with 2:18 left and recovered the ensuing on-side kick. Saints coach Kip Akana called their final time out with 1:25 left. Damien then surprisingly ran out of bounds on the next play to stop the clock with 1:16 to go, and then punted to the Saints.

Bubba Akana tossed a 30-yard pass to Scott McCleod, who was forced out of bounds at the Damien 35-yard line.

Two plays later, they hooked up again for another 30-yard gain to the 5-yard line. Mailei, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound defensive back operating as a wildcat QB, took the snap and changed direction from right to left, dragging a tackler with him over the goal line for the go-ahead touchdown.

Damien got as far as the St. Francis 43-yard line as time expired.