Lahainaluna took away ‘Iolani’s favorite weapon, so the Raiders found another way to win the Division I football state championship.
Sophomore Kualau Manuel passed for three touchdowns and ‘Iolani’s stout defense shut down Lahainaluna’s potent ground attack in a 38-0 win for the crown Thursday afternoon at Skippa Diaz Stadium.
“I feel good. I couldn’t do it without my team. Much respect to the coaches on our team. They got me to execute,” said Manuel, making only his second start since a season-ending injury to Micah Hoomanawanui.
Manuel’s playmaking compensated on a day when Lahainaluna stifled Raiders running back Brody Bantolina, who had just 15 yards in the first half. Bantolina got rolling in the second half and finished with 87 yards on 23 carries.
‘Iolani completed the long 2021 season 11-0, winning its ninth state crown under coach Wendell Look. After the game, the longtime coach saw former players from the 2020 squad who lost their season when it was cancelled in Hawaii due to the pandemic.
“This is for you guys, too,” he said they hugged their former coach. “We did it. We did it.”
Sterling Sakashita, a senior hybrid in ‘Iolani’s modified defense, had six tackles, as did Jacob Gaudi. Bronson Morioka had a team-high eight tackles.
“Last year’s seniors, this is for you guys,” Sakashita said.
The title is ‘Iolani’s first in D-I after two losses in the final during the 2016 and ’19 seasons. The Raiders won D-II championships eight times and shared an Oahu Prep Bowl title with Waianae in 1980.
On a windy Thursday afternoon in Kalihi, defensive coordinator Delbert Tengan’s unit delivered its second shutout in as many state tournament games. It limited the Lunas to 132 yards of total offense (2.5 per play). A young Lahainaluna squad (7-1) never got into ‘Iolani territory. The Lunas had the ball at the 50-yard line once, on the final series of the game, after recovering a fumble.
“We emphasize all three phases of the game. The way these kids have been executing all year, it’s been amazing,” Look said. “Going 11-0, I have no words to describe it. That’s a credit to these kids. They’ve been so resilient and they persevered, they never lost focus and they were purposeful every single day. I can’t say enough about them.”
The Raiders blanked OIA champion Aiea 21-0 over the weekend to reach the final. Defense made its impact almost immediately during Thursday’s opening drive. A big hit by the Raider defense led to a fumble recovery by Ha‘aheo Dela Cruz on a Lunas run, giving ‘Iolani first down at the Lahainaluna 31. On fourth-and-1, Tristan Martinez scored on a 19-yard reverse to the left pylon, and ‘Iolani led 7-0 with 9:22 on the clock.
The first quarter was a battle for field position as the Lunas faced the headwind coming from the Koolaus. Lahainaluna’s starting points in the opening quarter: 20-, 20-, 20-, 32- and 6-yard lines. The Lunas got no further than their own 39-yard line through the first 12 minutes.
Sakashita’s 64-yard punt return for a TD was called back by a penalty in the midst of the teams punting a total of six times before the second quarter.
‘Iolani’s kicking game came through, even while punting into the 30 mph wind, as punter Mason Mizuta’s squib-style punt was downed at the Lahainaluna 1-yard line. That helped ‘Iolani set up at the 50-yard line after a Lunas punt. Four plays later, Manuel pumped once and launched a bomb to Kai Preusser for a 28-yard TD. ‘Iolani led 14-0 with 6:07 to go in the first half.
The Raiders limited the Lunas to 66 yards of total offense (2.4 yards per play). Lahainaluna did a job on Bantolina, limiting him to 15 yards on 11 carries.
Bantolina then opened the second half with a 14-yard carry, fumbling, but was saved by Preusser, who recovered. Manuel, who barely missed a wide-open receiver for a TD in the first half, connected four plays later with Nela Taliauli, who was wide open behind the secondary for a 29-yard TD. The Raiders led 21-0 with 10:06 to go in the third quarter.
After a 12-yard punt into the wind by the Lunas, ‘Iolani unleashed a dagger on a 41-yard TD by Keao Miyahira on a forward lateral pass from Manuel. Miyahira raced around right end and down the sideline untouched to give the Raiders a 28-0 lead with 6:16 remaining in the third.
Allison Chang drilled a 19-yard field goal for a 31-0 ‘Iolani lead with 4 seconds left in the third stanza.
After the Lunas’ ninth punt of the afternoon, the Raiders tacked on a 6-yard TD run by Manuel. It was 38-0 with 5:54 to play.
Lahainaluna was playing in its first D-I final after winning the last four D-I state titles.
—
At Skippa Diaz Stadium
‘Iolani (11-0) 7 7 17 7 — 38
Lahainaluna (7-1) 0 0 0 0 — 0
IOL—Tristan Martinez 22 run (Allison Chang kick)
IOL—Kai Preusser 28 pass from Kualau Manuel (Chang kick)
IOL—Taniela Taliauli 29 pass from Manuel (Chang kick)
IOL—Keao Miyahira 41 pass from Manuel (Chang kick)
IOL—FG Chang 19
IOL—Manuel 6 run (Chang kick)
RUSHING—’Iolani: Bantolina 23-87, Martinez 1-22, Miyahira 6-22, Cainen Torres 3-18, TEAM 2-(minus 3), Manuel 3-(minus 7). Lahainaluna: Kaulana Tihada 9-41, Ian-Jay Cabanilla 10-23, Blare Sylva-Viela 5-22, Noa Gordon 10-17.
PASSING—’Iolani: Manuel 13-16-0—174. Lahainaluna: Gordon 4-9-0—29, Kahula 1-9-0—0.
RECEIVING—’Iolani: Miyahira 4-63, Preusser 4-42, Martinez 3-31, Taliauli 1-29, Bantolina 1-9. Lahainaluna: Sylva-Viela 3-19, Noah Arase 1-7, Tihada 1-3.
