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It’s hard to believe after more than three decades, but Wendell Look says he’s never found himself in a situation like this.
Entering his 31st season as ‘Iolani’s head football coach, Look has three capable quarterbacks competing for the starting job.
All three delivered in Friday night’s season opener at Kaiser Stadium as the Raiders’ trio combined to throw for 337 yards and four touchdowns in a 62-27 win over defending OIA Division II champion Kaiser.
Senior Micah Hoomanawanui, who was the starter last year until an injury late in the season, completed seven of eight attempts for 127 yards and two touchdowns.
Junior Kualau Manuel, who took over for Hoomanawanui and led ‘Iolani to both of its wins in the state tournament to win the Division I championship, added 70 passing yards on six of nine attempts.
And then there’s freshman CJ Villanueva, who needed just five pass attempts to throw for 140 yards and two touchdowns.
“I haven’t been in this situation. It’s a good problem to have,” said Look, who now has 218 career wins. “You’ve got three guys that can play. Micah hasn’t done anything to lose his job, but the other two guys have done pretty good things to earn some playing time. Hard to say what we’re going to do.”
All three will benefit from having junior Nela Taliauli to throw to. The 6-foot, 182-pound receiver, who led the Raiders with seven touchdown catches as a sophomore, finished with a career-high 203 yards and three touchdowns on six receptions.
He became just the fourth player in a long line of stellar Raiders pass catchers to go over the 200-yard mark in a single game.
“It’s not me. It’s the whole team,” Taliauli said. “We work hard in practice with the routes we do. We work on it every day and make each other better and it’s not just me. It’s the whole team and the whole ‘Iolani community.”
Taliauli caught both of Hoomanawanui’s touchdown passes and ended the scoring by taking a throw from Villanueva 66 yards to the end zone late in the third quarter for the final margin.
“They all definitely are good,” Taliauli said of his QBs. “They read the defenses right. It’s a good feeling to know that you have three quarterbacks you can rely on 100 percent.”
There doesn’t seem to be much worry about replacing first-team All-State running back Brody Bantolina, who graduated.
Senior Keao Kawa‘akoa rushed for 100 yards on eight carries and scored four times in the first half to help ‘Iolani take a 41-14 lead at the break.
The Raiders scored on five of their first six possessions and were whistled for only one penalty.
“We’re not ready to compete with a team of ‘Iolani’s caliber,” Kaiser coach Tim Seaman said. “We obviously have a lot to work on and, to be honest, that’s to be expected at this time of year. I liked the effort. Guys went hard.”
The Cougars fell behind 28-0 early in the second quarter before the offense got going.
Kaiser senior Easton Yoshino, one of the most experienced returning quarterbacks in the state, put the Cougars on the board with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Makana Naleieha midway through the second quarter.
It ended up being his final pass as he finished 13-for-22 for 153 yards. He came out for the second half not wearing his shoulder pads and was replaced by Donovan Reis, who threw for 136 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 122 yards and two scores.
Reis eventually left the game in the third quarter after suffering cramps following an 18-yard touchdown run that made it a 48-27 game, forcing Brody Maeda into action.
Junior slotback Keagan Lime, who had a 67-yard reception on Kaiser’s first offensive play, finished with 106 yards on six catches.
Senior Makana Naleieha, a 6-foot-1 receiver who transferred from Utah, had 87 yards on 10 catches with two touchdowns.
“He’s a talented kid and is somebody we’re going to lean on this season,” Seaman said of Naleieha. “He’s got a ton of potential — a good leader — and he’s fitting in nicely to the team concept. We’re glad we have him.”
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‘IOLANI 62, KAISER 27
At Kaiser Stadium
‘Iolani (1-0) 21 20 21 0 — 62
Kaiser (0-1) 0 14 13 0 — 27
Iol—Keao Kawa’akoa 6 run (Allison Chang kick)
Iol—Kawa’akoa 7 run (Chang kick)
Iol—Asher Matsui 22 fumble return (Chang kick)
Iol—Nela Taliauli 28 pass from Micah Hoomanawanui (Chang kick)
Kais—Makana Naleieha 15 pass from Easton Yoshino (Ian Shearer kick)
Iol—Kawa’akoa 51 run (Chang kick)
Kais—Naleieha 5 pass from Donovan Reis(Shearer kick)
Iol—Kawa’akoa 43 pass from CJ Villanueva (run failed)
Kais—Reis 60 run (Shearer kick)
Iol—Taliauli 61 pass from Hoomanawanui (Chang kick)
Kais—Reis 18 run (kick failed)
Iol—Daniel Asada 1 run (Chang kick)
Iol—Taliauli 66 pass from Villanueva (Chang kick)
RUSHING—‘Iolani: Kawa’akoa 8-100, Asada 9-30, Kualau Manuel 1-14, team 1-(minus 2), Hoomanawanui 1-(minus 9). Kaiser: Reis 7-122, Kai Blackston 10-66, Dillion Reis 5-20, Te’a Nu’uhiwa-Santos 5-12, Hansel Barrios 2-5, Brody Maeda 1-1, Yoshino 3-(minus 3), team 1-(minus 22).
PASSING—‘Iolani: Villanueva 4-5-0-140, Hoomanawanui 7-8–0-127, Manuel 6-9-0-70. Kaiser: Yoshino 13-22-0-153, Do. Reis 10-17–0-136, Maeda 4-8-1-32.
RECEIVING—‘Iolani: Taliauli 6-203, Kawa’akoa 1-43, Jazz Priester 3-23, Keon Preusser 2-23, Asada 2-21, Sean Weiss 2-16, Tyger Hayashi 1-8. Kaiser: Keagan Lime 6-106, Naleieha 10-87, Do. Reis 2-34, Jesse Shinagawa 1-24, Rico Marceleno 2-23, Logan Collins 2-15, Rayne Sumida 1-9, Di. Reis 1-9, Mason Nelson 1-8, Blackston 1-6.
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