Three was indeed the magic number for Kainalu Pu‘u-Robinson.
The Punahou cornerback was stymied on his first two attempts to block a punt on Friday. But those efforts set up his game-turning play in the Buffanblu’s 30-14 win over Kamehameha at Aloha Stadium.
After the teams went into halftime tied at 14, Pu‘u-Robinson stuffed a Warriors punt to give Punahou the ball at the Kamehameha 17 midway through the third quarter. Sitiveni Kaufusi needed two carries to break the tie and his 2-yard touchdown run helped push No. 3 Punahou to the ILH Open Division victory in the 190th meeting between the schools.
“The first two times I tried to go around the back-line guy and he blocked me outside,” Pu‘u-Robinson said. “The third time, I stemmed outside and cut back in and luckily enough I was able to be there and block it.”
Punahou quarterback Hugh Brady rebounded from a rough start to pass for 282 yards and two touchdowns. Both scoring throws went to Tamatoa Falatea, who caught nine passes for 163 yards, 75 coming on the final score of the night.
Brady got out to an 0-for-6 start, with the sixth attempt resulting in the game’s first score when Kamehameha defensive back Jonah Morikawa intercepted an overthrown pass and returned it 48 yards for a touchdown.
Brady responded by leading a 12-play drive sparked by an 18-yard completion to Falatea on third-and-17. Brady went 5-for-6 on the 73-yard march and finished it with a 3-yard touchdown run.
The Buffanblu appeared to find their rhythm when Brady went 4-for-5 in a 76-yard second-quarter drive capped by a 4-yard fade to Falatea to give the Buffanblu a 14-7 lead.
“I think we haven’t been able to put together four full quarters as a team, (but) every week we’re getting better and better and getting closer to playing a complete game,” Brady said.
“I have to take responsibility for that pick, and I’m just glad we bounced back in the second half and basically shut them out and scored a few more times.”
Kamehameha running back Alec Serrao accounted for the bulk of the Warriors’ offense with 131 yards on 20 carries. An interception by Tiger Peterson in the second quarter set up a six-play scoring drive that Hoku Arias finished with a 3-yard run to tie the game.
But the Punahou defense kept the Warriors out of the end zone in the second half while the offense pulled away after the break.
The regular-season meeting could be prelude to a higher-stakes matchup in a few weeks. If No. 1 Saint Louis remains atop the ILH Open standings, Punahou and Kamehameha could meet again in the postseason.
But first, “we have to go finish out strong against Waianae and Saint Louis,” Kamehameha coach Abu Maafala said. “We practiced hard this week and now we have to get more detail-oriented and we have to get some things cleaned up.”
GAME SUMMARY
No. 3. Punahou 30, No. 6 Kamehameha 14
At Aloha Stadium
>> Punahou (5-2, 4-2) 7 7 6 10 — 30
>> KS (3-4, 2-3) 7 7 0 0 — 14
KS — Jonah Morikawa 48 interception return (Preston Rezentes kick)
Punahou — Hugh Brady 3 run (Tim Horn kick)
Punahou — Tamatoa Falatea 4 pass from Brady (Horn kick)
KS — Hoku Arias 3 run (Rezentes kick)
Punahou — Sitiveni Kaufusi 2 run (run failed)
Punahou — FG Horn 48
Punahou — Falatea 75 pass from Brady (Horn kick)
RUSHING — Punahou: Vincent Terrell 5-53, Kaufusi 14-51, Brady 7-(minus-20). Kamehameha: Alec Serrao 20-121, Laakea Ane 7-20, Braden Akima 5-15,Arias 1-3, Christmas Togiai 4-(minus-4), Kiai Keone 5-(minus-13).
PASSING — Punahou: Brady 18-33-2-282. Kamehameha: Togiai 0-2-0-0, Keone 11-22-1-80.
RECEIVING — Punahou: Falatea 9-163, Moku Dancil-Evans 4-52, Terrell 2-33, Kaufusi 2-13, Koa Eldredge 1-21. Kamehameha: Akima 4-46, Skyler Ramos 3-15, Micah Pasion 1-11, Serrao 1-4, Titus Maunakea 1-3, Brock Ai 1-1.
