‘Iolani will play for its first Division I football state championship.
Brock Hedani rushed for two scores and caught a touchdown pass from Jonah Chong as ‘Iolani beat host Moanalua 35-9 in the semifinals of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Division I State Championships on Saturday.
‘Iolani (10-2) will play Hilo for the Division I title at 4 p.m. Friday at Aloha Stadium.
>> Click here to see photos of the game between ‘Iolani and Moanalua.
“It’s been a long but fun process from last summer,” said ‘Iolani coach Wendell Look. “They had a plan, they had goals and they executed what they wanted done. We’re one step away and it’s just a great situation to be in.”
‘Iolani fell to Mililani 31-20 in its only D-I title game appearance in 2016. The Raiders have won eight D-II state crowns.
Moanalua outgained ‘Iolani in total offense 474 yards to 271. The Raiders didn’t get much pressure on Na Menehune quarterback RJ Javar, but they got two interceptions by Meki Pei, including a pick-6, two more from Micah Shikada and another interception from Stirling Sakashita.
“We knew they’re mainly a passing team,” Pei said. “We inputted new coverages to man up with each and every one of their wide receivers and hopefully slow them down.”
‘Iolani recorded three sacks due to outstanding coverage in the secondary. The Raiders played coverage and kept a close eye on Javar.
“We were worried about the quarterback running and scrambling,” Look said.
Javar was knocked out and taken to the hospital in the OIA Division I title game against Leilehua on Oct. 26.
He finished 35-for-56 for 368 yards against the Raiders.
“He did well, answered the call, I’m proud,” Moanalua coach Savai’i Eselu said.
Moanalua (10-2) just couldn’t make the big plays when it counted.
“We had everything set, we just couldn’t hit,” Eselu said. “When you don’t hit against a team like that you get smashed.”
Hedani finished with 24 carries for 90 yards.
“This game is all credit to my offensive linemen,” he said. “They created holes for me to go through.”
‘Iolani scored on the third play from scrimmage on a 50-yard pass from Chong to Cole Ichikawa. Wailoa Manuel made the PAT kick.
The Raiders scored in the second quarter on 1- and-17-yard runs by Hedani to take a 21-0 lead with 2:38 left before halftime.
Na Menehune drove to the Raiders’ 4 with eight seconds left before halftime, but Javar’s pass was intercepted by Shikada.
Moanalua outgained ‘Iolani 194-169 yards in the first half, but Na Menehune committed six penalties for 73 yards and threw two interceptions.
Moanalua got on the scoreboard on Griffin Motas’ 28-yard field goal with 4:14 left in the third quarter to cut Na Menehune’s deficit to 21-3.
Moanalua drove to the ‘Iolani 6 later in the quarter, but a 14-yard sack by Joshua Miyazawa short-circuited the drive. Na Menehune turned it over on downs on the next play.
“We just never came to play,” Eselu said. “That’s the bottom line. The stakes are high, you don’t come to play — that happens.”
Moanalua made it 21-9 on a 1-yard pass from Javar to Jansen York with 7:03 remaining in the game.
The Raiders put the game away on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Chong to Hedani with 5:15 remaining. Manuel’s PAT made it 28-9.
‘Iolani added a 28-yard pick-6 from Pei and Mason Mizuta’s PAT with 1:11 left.
“I did my job. I sat under and found wide receivers,” Pei said. “I was exactly where I needed to be to make that play.”
In the teams’ regular-season meeting Aug. 10, Na Menehune prevailed 21-20 on Motas’ 27-yard field goal on the final play of the game.
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‘IOLANI 35, MOANALUA 9
>> ‘Iolani (10-2) 7 14 0 14 — 35
>> Moanalua (10-2) 0 0 3 6 — 9
‘Iolani — Cole Ichikawa 50 pass from Jonah Chong (Wailoa Manuel kick)
‘Iolani — Brock Hedani 1 run (Manuel kick)
‘Iolani — Hedani 17 run ( 6 Manuel kick)
Moanalua — FG Griffin Motas 28
Moanalua — Jansen York 1 pass from RJ Javar (kick failed)
‘Iolani — Hedani 7 pass from Chong (Manuel kick)
‘Iolani — Meki Pei 28 interception return (Mason Mizuta kick)
RUSHING — ‘Iolani: Hedani 24-90, Brody Logan Bantolina 9-24, TEAM 1-(minus 2), Chong 1-(minus 9). Moanalua: Javar 12- 65, Darius Johnson 9-22, Rudy Kealohi 2-4.
PASSING — ‘Iolani: Chong 11-19-0-168. Moanalua: Javar 35-56-5-368, Kealohi 2-3-0-15.
RECEIVING — ‘Iolani: Carter Kamana 4-73, Manuel 3-23, Ichikawa 2-57, Hedani 2-15. Moanalua: York 16-168, Dacryes Domingo 10-124, Lawsen Lee 5-51, Kealohi 5-26, Jacob Richmond 1-14.
