AJ Tuifua passed for 375 yards, including touchdown strikes of 50 and 44 yards to Ian Sera, as Damien pulled away for a 29-10 win over Pac-Five on Saturday night at Skippa Diaz Stadium.
Damien is 1-0 in ILH play (3-2 overall) after withstanding an impressive ground attack by the Wolfpack. Sera was in big-play mode all night, adding a 50-yard catch before the scoring hauls.
“I would feel better, but it wasn’t the outcome we wanted. We kind of underperformed. Too many mistakes and dropped balls,” Sera said. “Once we got the ball rolling, it was easier, but we need to get it rolling earlier.”
Running back Seth Miller finished with 170 yards on 29 attempts behind a stout Pac-Five offensive line. Clad in black jerseys, white helmets and white pants, the ’Pack pulled within 15-10 in the third quarter on a smashmouth drive, but got no closer.
Tuifua was 18-for-29 with three TDs, but also was intercepted three times. Other than that, he displayed mastery of every type of throw on short, intermediate and deep routes to his posse of speedy receivers.
“I think we could’ve done better, but we started off slow. I think they believe in me taking hold of the team, putting the team on the back. With my line and my receivers, we weren’t at our best today. I think we can do better,” Tuifua said.
Versatile Sylas Avaimalo added 76 hard-earned yards and a TD on 11 carries for Damien. He also hauled in two passes for 41 yards.
Pac-Five’s defense often bent but did not break during the first half, thanks in part to two clutch interceptions in the end zone by 6-foot-5 safety Rome Lilio. Coupled with the ground game — 45 carries for 219 yards, the ’Pack showed potential in key areas.
“What a great day for football. We battled it out on the field. In the whole scheme of things, we’re fortunate to have a home to go to. We’ve got some guys who can’t do that. We want to be able to create something for these guys to get out there and play, have opportunities and have fun,” Pac-Five coach Kena Heffernan said.
Left tackle Ghesiah Faleafine-Auwae was part of that trench crew. His family, Heffernan noted, lost their home in the Lahaina wildfire disaster.
“My man, we all have a lot of love for Lahaina,” Heffernan said. “Our line is young. Our team is predominantly ninth and 10th graders. We’re looking for good things in the future with these guys.”
Faleafine-Auwae dreams of playing tight end and even quarterback one day. For now, he has embraced his role in the trenches.
“Our house burned down, but everybody’s OK. Everything is fine,” the two-sport, 6-foot-3, 270-pound sophomore said.
Wolfpack quarterback Colten Amai-Nakagawa muffed the first snap of the game, recovered by Damien’s Ethan Ramos. Damien drove to the Pac-Five 28-yard line, but Tuifua’s pass was snatched away by Lilio, who returned it to the ’Pack 21-yard line.
Pac-Five went on a 14-play drive, culminating with a 36-yard field goal by sophomore Evan Derauf with 3:04 to play in the first quarter.
Damien’s next drive stalled out at the Pac-Five 16-yard line, but Tuifua needed just four plays to march Damien to an 81-yard scoring drive. He connected on three passes, including a 50-yard bomb to Sera. After scrambling for 8 yards and a personal foul on Pac-Five, Tuifua fired an 8-yard pass to Dayton Savea, who was wide open for a TD
Alaimalo, the holder on the PAT, took a low snap and opted to run to the pylon for two more points. Damien led 8-3 with 6:20 to go in the first half.
The Monarchs were on the verge of another score, but Tuifua’s end-zone pass was picked off again by Lilio to end the first half.
Damien drove 74 yards in three snaps to open the second half. Tuifua found Sera on a sideline route, and Sera split two defenders en route to a 41-yard TD for a 15-3 Monarchs lead.
Pac-Five patiently marched 80 yards in 14 plays, relying heavily on Miller, who scored on a 1-yard blast to bring the Wolfpack within 15-10 with three minutes to go in the third stanza.
Tuifua wasted no time once again, finding Sera for a 44-yard TD. That opened Damien’s lead to 22-10 with 2:15 left in the third.
An interception by Pac-Five safety Ken Shiraishi stymied Tuifua, but the Monarchs put the game away on a sterling 35-yard TD run by Avaimalo with 4:30 remaining.
Damien plays Punahou I-AA next Saturday at Alexander Field.
Pac-Five has a bye, then plays at Kamehameha I-AA on Sept. 22.
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Pac-Five (0-2, 0-2) 3 0 7 0 — 10
Damien (3-2, 1-0) 0 8 14 7 — 29
P5—FG Evan Derauf 37
DMS—Dayton Savea 8 pass from AJ Tuifua (Sylas Avaimalo run)
DMS—Ian Sera 41 pass from Tuifua (Samuel Kawakami kick)
P5—Seth Miller 1 run (Derauf kick)
DMS—Sera 44 pass from Tuifua (Kawakami kick)
DMS—Avaimalo 35 run (Kawakami kick)
RUSHING—Damien: Avaimalo 11-76, Tuifua 2-2, Savea 1-1. Pac-Five: Miller 29-170, Kalen Donate 6-35, Elijah Connell-Chavez 5-20, Sean Fujimoto 1-2, team 1-(minus 8).
PASSING—Damien: Tuifua 18-29-3-375. Pac-Five: Colten Amai-Nakagawa 10-22-2-72.
RECEIVING—Damien: Sera 3-135, Nalu Chinen-Zablan 4-87, Savea 6-78, Avaimalo 2-41, Kaysen Dulay-Gorai 2-26, Jordan DeCenzo 1-8. Pac-Five: Donate 6-35, Rome Lilio 1-19, Connell-Chavez 1-14, Colt Hauptman 1-5, Avari Zion-Branch 1-(minus 1).
