WAILUKU >> Ground and pound was all the rage for No. 7 Lahainaluna on Friday night, but the Lunas’ productive rushing game came crashing to a halt in the second half and they were fortunate to hold on for a 35-27 victory over ‘Iolani.

With the Division II semifinal win in the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Football Championships at War Memorial Stadium, Lahainaluna (10-1) earned the right to defend its crown in the Nov. 18 title game against second-seeded Konawaena at Aloha Stadium.

“We’ve got to be more consistent in the second half,” Lunas co-coach Garret Tihada said. “It’s been like that all season. We’re not a good second-half team. We’ve got to work on that.”

It looked like it might turn out to be a blowout as Lahainaluna grabbed a 35-10 lead in a one-sided first half as Joshua Tihada, Garret’s nephew, and Elijah Ragudo both went over the 100-yard mark in those first 24 minutes.

But the Raiders (4-6) were far from done. The school’s all-time passing leader, Tai-John Mizutani, spearheaded a courageous comeback that fell short. Mizutani hit Jonah Miyazawa with a 37-yard TD pass early in the third quarter, and after ‘Iolani’s Lanakila Pei blocked a Lahainaluna field-goal attempt, Mizutani almost got the Raiders right back into the end zone, but the ball went over to the Lunas on downs when he was stopped at the 2 on a fourth-down run.

Still, that penetration led to a safety when Kaua Nishigaya tackled Tihada, who jumped on a high-snap loose ball, for a safety and a 35-19 count late in the third.

Immediately, ‘Iolani made a march and once again, Lahainaluna came up with a goal-line stand.

“They were huge,” coach Tihada said about the two goal-line stops. “Huge.”

For Raiders coach Wendell Look, it was two giant missed opportunities.

“We didn’t make plays when we needed to make plays and that’s what it came down to,” he said. “We got off to a hellacious start, but dug ourselves out of a big hole. Our kids never give up. That’s all you can ask of your team.”

In the fourth quarter, ‘Iolani drove 75 yards to make it 35-27. Mizutani scored from 6 yards out, just beating defenders to the left pylon, and then he tossed a 2-point conversion pass to Jake Yokogawa.

Lahainaluna, however, recovered the onside kick try with 5:50 to play. Later, on the Raiders’ final possession, Kaihulau Casco’s interception of a Mizutani pass sealed it for the Lunas.

Tihada, who lined up at running back and wildcat quarterback, scored on TD runs of 1, 42 and 5 yards. Ragudo and Laakea Shim ran for long first-half TDs for the Lunas, who were shut out in the second half and only threw one pass on the night. Tihada finished with 167 yards on the ground and Ragudo had 139, with Lahainaluna as a team gaining 377 rushing yards.

“They deserve it,” coach Tihada said about his boys. “This is something they’ve worked at since January.”

Added Lunas co-coach Bobby Watson: “It was a great game. We were fortunate, I’ll tell you that much. It could have gone either way and we were fortunate to come out on the winning end. ‘Iolani came to play ball and took it to us in the second half. They’ve got a great bunch of scrappy kids.”

‘Iolani’s Mizutani finished his career with a bang, rushing for 130 yards and throwing for 290, including 193 to Miyazawa.