To the very end, the ‘Iolani Raiders just needed one break offensively.
The Clackamas Cavaliers wouldn’t hear of it. In a matchup of offensive juggernauts, the visitors from Oregon looked absolutely unbreakable defensively, shutting out ‘Iolani 7-0 on a hot afternoon at Eddie Hamada Field.
It was the first loss after three wins for ‘Iolani, ranked No. 8 in the Star-Advertiser Football Top 10. This was the season opener for Clackamas, the defending state champions of Oregon in the highest classification, 6-A. They arrived in the islands ranked No. 2 in their state by MaxPreps.
“I think this is a different experience for our kids. They’re tuckered out. Halftime felt like the eighth round of a championship fight,” said Joe Bushman, Clackamas’ 14th-year head coach.
The Cavaliers racked up yardage, 347 yards in total offense, but couldn’t fully solve an undersized but relentless Raiders defense.
“I’m proud of them. They played their hearts out,” ‘Iolani coach Wendell Look said. “Defensively, they played a whale of a game. Offensively, we put our defense in tough situations, but it still came down to a couple of plays. You’ve got to give Clackamas a lot of credit. They came to play, that’s for sure.”
The Cavaliers didn’t get in the end zone until quarterback Austin Atkenson leaned over the goal line with 1:12 left in the first half.
The team in all white also picked off ‘Iolani quarterback Jonah Chong three times before intermission, but a seven-point lead is all the Cavaliers had to show for it. Key penalties brought back some big gains.
“Second down was our nemesis,” Bushman said. “We would’ve had three or four touchdowns, but penalties wiped them out. ‘Iolani’s defense stiffened up. Credit to them, they flew around the field.”
The home team was determined to move the ball on the ground in the second half. After Raiders DB Trevor Kam recovered a fumble by Nemo Dedmon, the Raiders drove to the Clackamas 18-yard line and stalled. Mika Makekau’s 35-yard field goal try had plenty of distance, but pulled left with 9:38 to play in the third stanza.
After a Clackamas three-and-out, ‘Iolani went back to Kaua Nishigaya on the ground. After a flag on the visitors for having 12 men on the field, the Raiders had the ball at the visitors’ 14-yard line. But then came a 1-yard loss, an incompletion, and then one of the biggest plays of the game. Wide receiver Richard Kennewell, playing part-time at outside linebacker, sprinted from the weak side to sack Chong for a 15-yard loss.
On fourth and long, Chong lofted a spiral to the back of the end zone, where Rayden Kaneshiro made a diving catch. However, he was ruled out of bounds, and the Cavaliers escaped another threat.
Kyler Mento and Meki Pei came up with big stops defensively for ‘Iolani. Pei’s tackle of Hobbs on fourth-and-short with 10:01 remaining gave ‘Iolani momentum, but in their final three possessions, the Raiders never got past midfield.
Their final series began at the ‘Iolani 25, and after a three-and-out punt, Clackamas ran out the final 3:05.
Running back Noah Hobbs, who finished with a hard-earned 55 yards on 16 carries, came through with two first-down runs to seal the deal.
Clackamas, with interceptions by Grant Schoen, JeanElie Fleck and Ahmir Calhoun, limited a normally explosive ‘Iolani offense to 173 yards of total offense.
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GAME SUMMARY
Clackamas (Ore.) 7, ‘Iolani 0
At Eddie Hamada Field
>> Clackamas 0 7 0 0 — 7
>> ‘Iolani 0 0 0 0 — 0
Clackamas — Austin Atkenson 2 run (Jeffrey Nelson kick)
RUSHING — Clackamas: Noah Hobbs 16-55, Atkenson 6-37, Jordan 5-23, Anthony Talavera 6-10, Nemo Dedmon 1-4, Caleb Jailen Hammer 1-2, team 1-(minus-1). ‘Iolani: Kaua Nishigaya 14-59, Jonah Chong 6-17.
PASSING — Clackamas: Jordan 13-16-1-126, Atkinson 10-15-0-91. ‘Iolani: Chong 16-36-3-97.
RECEIVING — Clackamas: Dedmon 6-99, Richard Kennewell 6-44, Thomas Tolonen 4-34, Hobbs 1-15, Talavera 2-12, Jack Dollens 3-10, Jailen Hammer 1-3. ‘Iolani: Carter Kamana 6-60, Jonah Miyazawa 4-17, Rayden Kaneshiro 3-0, Rexton Suzuki 1-9, Cole Ichikawa 1-9, Nishigaya 1-2.
