‘Iolani gets shot at D-I crown

‘Iolani is going to its first Division I state title game, something that seemed almost impossible when the Raiders moved up from D-II before last season.

The Raiders rolled over Campbell 35-12 on Friday night in the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Football Championships semifinals at John Kauinana Stadium in Mililani.

‘Iolani’s path to the big game was made a bit easier due to the creation of the new Open Division this season. It pushed many of the Raiders’ top former D-I foes one notch higher.

Now, after having won eight Division II state championships, ‘Iolani (5-7) is gearing up for next week’s D-I showdown that pits Raiders coach Wendell Look against his former player, Rod York, Mililani’s head coach. York’s Trojans (8-3) beat Leilehua 51-35 in Friday’s other semifinal at Kauinana Stadium.

The Raiders did it Friday night with a fine-tuned short passing game and the rugged running of KJ Pascua, who gained 82 yards on 20 carries. They also did it with an opportunistic defense that came up with six turnovers and stopped the Sabers’ running game.

“I think we needed to stop the run,” ‘Iolani’s Look said. “That was the main thing early on. We did a helluva job on defense. I haven’t thought about the matchup yet, but it will be interesting. Rod’s done a helluva job with his program. I think it’s going to be one exciting game.”

At quarterback, ‘Iolani’s Tai-John Mizutani went 23-for-35 and tossed three TD passes, including two to Rayden Kaneshiro. Pascua added two rushing touchdowns as the Raiders grabbed a 35-0 halftime lead.

Four of those five touchdowns were set up by the defense — a fumble recovery by Jonah Buchanan and interceptions by Kyler Mento, Kaua Nishigaya and Makana LaBoy.

Campbell (7-5) got across midfield just twice in the first half, but fought back in the second with two touchdowns to stop the bleeding. Late in the third quarter, the Sabers put an end to a running clock when Dustin Abellanida tossed a 1-yard TD pass to Markus Ramos.

“Hats off to ‘Iolani,” said Sabers coach Amosa Amosa, whose team was whistled for multiple personal-foul penalties. “They spread the ball out and slowed our offense down. We just have to play smart. If we want to be a championship team, we have to eliminate penalties.”

Late in the contest, the running of Kawika Ulufale kept the chains moving before the senior QB went in from 1 yard out to make it 35-12.