The Father Bray Classic gave ‘Iolani a chance to break away from its Division I schedule to play a D-II opponent.
It was not a break by any means for the Raiders, who had to grind out a 34-24 victory over a physical Kaimuki squad on Saturday afternoon at Kozuki Stadium.
Brody Bantolina rushed for 99 yards and two touchdowns and fellow running back Brock Hedani also scored twice for ‘Iolani (3-1, 1-1 ILH Division I), which used a 20-point third quarter to hand the Bulldogs (2-1, 1-0 OIA Division II) their first loss of the season.
“It takes us a while to get used to the size differential and the speed, and once we get used to that and settle down a little bit we can kind of manage things a little bit better,” ‘Iolani coach Wendell Look said. “(Kaimuki) has got a lot of weapons. They got athletes. I told my team don’t overlook them because they only have 30 or whatever guys. They are tough kids and well coached.”
>> Click here to see photos of the game between ‘Iolani and Kaimuki.
The respect was mutual from the other side, as Kaimuki coach David Tautofi relished the opportunity for his group to take a week off from D-II play to challenge themselves against a Raiders team that made the state tournament last year.
“This was something that we have been looking forward to,” Tautofi said. “I think (‘Iolani) is going to be a contender for sure. Division I is shaking up to be something crazy this year.”
Kaimuki sophomore quarterback Jayden Maiava threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns, including a 17-yarder to Matt Williams with 1:25 remaining in the first half to cut the deficit to 14-10 going into the break.
‘Iolani senior quarterback Jonah Chong started the second half completing all three of his throws on an eight-play, 66-yard drive capped off by Bantolina’s 3-yard run for a 21-10 lead.
After a Kaimuki three-and-out, junior Sam Faumuina got his first snaps at QB and had a 41-yard TD called back on his first throw. Unfazed by the flag, Faumuina’s screen pass to Hedani on the next play went for 46 yards and a score for a 27-10 advantage.
Hedani then escaped out of a pile near the line of scrimmage on the next drive for a 35-yard TD for a 34-10 lead.
“I think just fatigue kicked in,” Tautofi said. “It challenges the boys and tests the boys mentally and we are able to shake them up a little bit and get them straight again.”
Running back Naomas Asuega-Fualaau busted loose for a 77-yard touchdown run and Maiava found Koby Moananu for an 11-yard TD to pull within 10 in the fourth quarter.
‘Iolani failed to score on its final three drives, which included a fumble at the Kaimuki 2-yard line.
“I didn’t like how we finished the game,” Look said. “These guys need to learn that they can’t finish games like that regardless of who is in there or the score. We expect a certain standard of play.”
‘Iolani showed a balanced offensive attack with 30 rushing attempts and 29 passes. It finished with 165 rushing yards and 192 yards through the air.
“Coach always tell us if we can run the ball we can do anything,” said Bantolina, who was nearly tackled on his 37-yard touchdown run in the first quarter but managed to get a hand down and somehow keep his knee off the ground — or so the referee ruled.
“Honestly, I thought I was down, but I didn’t hear the whistle or anything,” Bantolina said. “I got up and kept running.”
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NONLEAGUE
‘Iolani 34, Kaimuki 24
At Kozuki Stadium
>> Kaimuki (2-0, 1-0) 3 7 7 7 — 24
>> ‘Iolani (3-1, 2-1) 7 7 20 0 — 34
Kaimuki — FG Kurt Kawamoto 36
‘Iolani — Brody Logan Bantolina 37 run (Wailoa Manuel kick) Iol—Noah Gaudi 11 pass from Jonah Chong (Manuel kick)
Kaimuki — Matt Williams 17 pass from Jayden Maiava (Kawamoto kick)
‘Iolani — Bantolina 3 run (Manuel kick)
‘Iolani — Brock Hedani 46 pass from Samuel Faumuina (kick failed) Iol—Hedani 35 run (Mason Mizuta kick) Kaim—Naomas Asuega-Fualaau 77 run (Kawamoto kick) Kaim—Koby Moananu 11 pass from Maiava (Kawamoto kick)
RUSHING — Kaimuki: Asuga-Fualaau 19-144, Jonah Fa’asoa 1-1, Blade Pfeiffer-Kekoa 1-(minus 1), team 1-(minus 1), Maiava 5-(minus 7). ‘Iolani: Bantolina 15-99, Hedani 11-45, Faumuina 2-32, Chong 2-(minus 11).
PASSING — Kaimuki: Maiava 15-30-0-248. ‘Iolani: Chong 14-21-0-118, Faumuina 6-8-0-74.
RECEIVING — Kaimuki: Williams 5-64, Fa’asoa 3-68, Asuega-Fualaau 2-67, Moananu 2-23, Niko Eason 2-13, Kaulana Kaluna Jr. 1-13. ‘Iolani: Wailoa Manuel 7-57, Ryan Sunada 5-31, Gaudi 4-52, Cole Ichikawa 2-2, Hedani 1-46, Rexton Suzuki 1-4.
