Gabriel holds his own against No. 1
For a brief moment, Mililani held a lead against the No. 1 team in the land.
Facing a St. John Bosco squad that had not given up a point yet this season and allowed only 9 total yards all game last week, the Trojans scored on their opening drive and took a 7-0 lead against the team ranked No. 1 by MaxPreps and No. 2 by USA Today.
That lead didn’t last long however as George Holani scored on an 80-yard TD run on the Braves’ first offensive play from scrimmage. Junior DJ Uiagalelei, the No. 1-rated QB prospect in the nation in the class of 2020, added six touchdown passes and the Braves ended up squashing the Trojans 52-14 in just their second home game at their brand new $7.2 million stadium.
“Those guys are No. 1 for a reason and you could see why,” Mililani quarterback Dillon Gabriel said in a phone interview after the game. “It was a great opportunity for us to kind of get better and see the top talent.”
Gabriel held his own against a Braves team that has 11 players with at least 10 Division I scholarship offers. The Army commit finished 21-for-34 for 251 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover.
Punahou’s 1-2 punch at running back
Punahou quarterback Hugh Brady passed 50 times in Saturday’s 40-14 victory over Farrington. A casual fan might think that the Buffanblu are all about the aerial game, but that is wrong. No. 5 Punahou has a real-deal backfield, with the nimble Vincent Terrell and the smashmouth Sitiveni Kaufusi.
So while Brady was throwing for 290 yards on a somewhat erratic night in which he completed 19 of those 50 passes, Terrell and Kaufusi were lighting it up on the ground.
Terrell’s time to shine was the first half, when he picked up 89 of his 103 rushing yards. He was a handful with his moves and he’s uncannily light on his feet.
In the second half, Kaufusi, who is 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, came right at the Govs with all 71 of his yards.
“Our running backs are unbelievable,” said Punahou receiver Koa Eldredge, who caught five Brady passes for 115 yards and two TDs. “Terrell in the open field is a dangerous man, breaking tackles, so shifty. Sitiveni is a power, D-I-type running back. Anything in his way he plows over.”
Stout ‘D’ keeps ‘Iolani in it against Oregon champ
It was the kind of rarity that had to be seen to be believed, even against Oregon’s defending 6-A state champion.
Clackamas, with five returning starters on defense, was dominant on that side of the ball. If not for that, things may have turned out differently for the visiting Cavaliers in a 7-0 win over ‘Iolani on Saturday afternoon.
The Raiders didn’t have a single first down in the opening half. In fact, four possessions were three-and-out, and three more ended with interceptions. And yet, there they were, the scrappy Raiders staying within one score of the team that went 14-0 in Oregon last season. Clackamas arrived in the islands ranked No. 2 in Oregon by MaxPreps.
“I’m proud of them. They played their hearts out,” ‘Iolani coach Wendell Look said. “Our defense has played lights out all year. They’ll set the tempo for our team. Everything feeds off their play. Clackamas came up with big plays when they needed to. We’ve just got to go back to work and learn how to put the ball in the end zone when things aren’t going our way.”
It was a classic battle for ‘Iolani (3-1, 2-0 ILH Open), which was significantly undersized against the big Cavaliers. Clackamas outgained the Raiders 347-173 in total yardage. However, the visitors struggled often to pick up first downs in short-yardage situations as Raiders linebackers Kyler Mento and Lanakila Pei led the charge. Clackamas finished with 130 hard-earned rushing yards on 36 carries, including a good chunk of 37 yards in the final three minutes and five seconds.
St. Francis about more than just Aina-Chaves
St. Francis’ most prolific playmaker spent most of Friday night on a trainer’s table, his right ankle heavily wrapped.
But before and after an injury to running back Jonan Aina-Chaves, the Saints defense set the tone for a 27-13 OIA-ILH Division II win over Pearl City.
St. Francis junior Shepherd Kekahuna opened a dynamic two-way performance with a 57-yard interception return on Pearl City’s second play from scrimmage and finished with two of the Saints’ four picks. Tapena Tuitupou was in on three sacks, Sione Lolohea was a menacing presence on the defensive front and the Saints held the host Chargers to 145 yards of total offense, including 30 on the ground.
“Our offense struggled a little bit and you have to give credit to St. Francis’ defense,” Pearl City coach Robin Kami said. “They’re fast and strong and they came attacking us.”
Kekahuna nearly had a third interception and contributed three receptions for 96 yards on offense with receptions going for 33, 42 and 54 yards.
“He is awesome,” St. Francis coach Kip Akana said. “Jonan Aina-Chaves gets a lot of ink, but Shepherd is the same kind of player and that’s what I tell everyone.”
Kekahuna’s receiving production was part of a record-setting night for quarterback Bubba Akana, who finished with 256 passing yards and two touchdowns. His yardage total surpassed the previous program record of 245 he set last season against Damien.
Aina-Chaves was carted off the field after a 46-yard run with 2:26 left in the first quarter and did not return.
Kaimuki takes OIA D-II lead
There were injuries galore, penalties aplenty, the odd scuffle and no timeouts spared.
Kaimuki’s battle against McKinley at Farrington’s Skippa Diaz Stadium went long and late into Friday night. Maybe it was fitting that there was no working public address in the press box stemming from last week’s power outages due to Hurricane Lane; it was just a weird game, period, with both teams coming off inactivity.
Finally, the Bulldogs put to bed a 22-0 win over the Tigers, as they moved to 3-0 overall as well as in OIA Division II play. Pearl City stands at 2-0, despite a loss to St. Francis on Friday, because the OIA-ILH crossover games are not counted as league games by the OIA teams.
Next week Kaimuki heads up to Las Vegas to play Sierra Vista — which happens to be the new school of former Kaimuki quarterback Jordan Solomon, as well as two other Hawaii players.
This week
The last three high school football seasons in Hawaii ended with Saint Louis and Kahuku clashing at Aloha Stadium.
The teams will meet for the first time since 2013 in a game not with a state title on the line Friday night as the two-time defending state champion Crusaders attempt to extend their winning streak to 18 games.
They have split the past 14 meetings dating back to 1997, but Saint Louis has won three of the past four.
This is the 17th time in the history of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Top 10 poll that No. 1 will play No. 2. Kahuku is 7-3 in those games, while Saint Louis is 4-3.
