In a game that featured 1,132 yards of total offense, it was a defensive player who made the biggest difference.

Taniela Taliauli picked off a pass in the end zone with less than 20 seconds left and ‘Iolani outlasted Damien 63-56 in front of a packed homecoming crowd at Kozuki Stadium on Friday night.

His defensive play was one of the very few in the high-scoring affair that featured 14 touchdown passes and school records falling like dominoes.

“We have our best player playing safety and he ended up making a play,” ‘Iolani coach Wendell Look said. “It was about time. He waited until what, 15 seconds in the game? But at least he made a play.”

‘Iolani took a 63-56 lead in the wild affair with 2:11 left when quarterback CJ Villanueva hit Kekama Kane on a crossing route and watched him slide through Damien’s defense for a 51-yard touchdown. That was the good news. The bad news, for the home team, was that the quick score left 2:11 on the clock for Damien quarterback AJ Tuifua.

Tuifua had been nearly unstoppable to that point and already had the school’s passing record in his pocket. The Monarchs started their drive at the 14-yard line after a flubbed kick return, and Tuifua worked the ball to the 9-yard line with 24 seconds left on the clock thanks in part to an ‘Iolani facemask.

Tuifua dropped back and had a wide-open receiver crossing the middle of the end zone but threw a tad too late and Taliauli, who was credited with ‘Iolani’s first touchdown of the game on a blocked punt, jumped the route and collected the pass and the game.

Look said that the contest was no different than the other battles the Raiders have waged with the Monarchs in his 32 years at the helm. Look has earned 51 of his 231 career victories against Damien.

“Back in the day, we have always had pretty good shootouts with Damien,” Look said. “When they had Kealoha Pilares, remember that game? It was dark. We have had a history with them.”

That Pilares game in 2005 was 57-49 in favor of Damien. Pilares rushed for 300 yards and Mike Hirokawa earned 210 on the ground. The difference between that game and this one is that the legends only passed for a total of 361. Both sophomore quarterbacks in this game exceeded that total before halftime.

Villanueva threw for 427 yards to move to No. 4 on the school’s single-game passing list. Kane was his favorite target and hauled in 198 yards worth of passes on 13 catches to tie Carter Kamana for the program’s record for receiving yards. Damien’s Tuifua broke his own school record with 439 yards through the air. Dayton Savea collected 198 of them, breaking John Santiago’s record of 169 that has stood since 1988. Running back Sylas Alaimalo churned out 236 yards rushing, just short of a spot in the top 10 for a program that counts Kama Bailey and Pilares as alumni.

Damien jumped on ‘Iolani early in this one, running up a 21-0 lead after the first 12 minutes. ‘Iolani, which forfeited a game against Kapolei due to the flu, showed up with 40 players for the first time all season, and the Raiders needed every man.

Tuifua hit Ian Sera for 20 yards on fourth-and-1 for the first score of the game and then started the Monarchs’ next drive with a 60-yard scoring strike to Nalu Chinen-Zablan. He hit on seven of his first nine passes before converting another fourth down with a 19-yard pass to Sera. That drive ended with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Savea and Damien enjoyed a 21-0 lead in front of ‘Iolani’s large hometown crowd. The Raiders, who haven’t lost to an ILH foe since falling to now-defunct Saint Francis in 2017, didn’t panic at the deficit.

“I saw hope,” Look said. “We always talk about hope, it’s not over until you see triple zeroes on the clock. They showed me some fight.”

Damien didn’t roll out its punt formation until the second quarter after wide receiver Jordan DeCenzo committed a false start on another fourth-and-1, and ‘Iolani capitalized with Kualau Manuel blocking a punt and celebrating after the tumbling orb was picked up and returned 12 yards for ‘Iolani’s first score.

The rivals play again Oct. 14 at Skippa Diaz Stadium with a state berth on the line since they are the only two teams in ILH Division I. The 119 total points matches the total put up in Saint Louis’ 77-42 win over ‘Iolani in 1998 and more could be in store in the rematch.

“You saw two pretty good sophomore quarterbacks performing today,” Look said. “You hate to see someone lose, but both were excellent today.”

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At ‘Iolani

Damien (4-3, 2-1) 21 14 7 14 — 56

‘Iolani (4-1, 3-0) 0 21 21 21 — 63

DMS—Ian Sera 19 pass from Alani Tuifua (Samuel Kawakami kick)

DMS—Nalu Chinen-Zablan 59 pass from Tuifua (Kawakami kick)

DMS—Dayton Savea 13 pass from Tuifua (Kawakami kick)

IOL— Taniela Taliauli 4 blocked punt return (Marcos King kick)

DMS—Savea 15 pass from Tuifua (Kawakami kick)

IOL—Hyrum Horita 8 pass from CJ Villanueva (King kick)

IOL—Horita 37 pass from Villanueva (King kick)

DMS—Wyatt Ho-Williams 25 pass from Tuifua (Kawakami kick)

IOL—Jones Vierra 5 run (King kick)

IOL—Kekama Kane 7 pass from Villanueva (King kick)

IOL—Kane 19 pass from Villanueva (King kick)

DMS—Savea 16 pass from Tuifua (Kawakami kick)

IOL—Horita 11 pass from Villanueva (King kick)

DMS—Sylas Alaimalo 47 run (Kawakami kick)

IOL—Kane 31 pass from Villanueva (King kick)

DMS—Savea 62 pass from Tuifua (Kawakami kick)

IOL—Kane 51 pass from Villanueva (King kick)

RUSHING—‘Iolani: Jones Vierra 12-35, Ronin Fanelli 3-9, Horita 1-0. Damien: Alaimalo 20- 236, Tuifua 6-38.

PASSING—‘Iolani: Villanueva 29-43-0-427. Damien: Tuifua 26-40-1-439.

RECEIVING—‘Iolani: Kane 13-222, Horita 7-108, Keon Preusser 6-80, Vierra 3-17. Damien: Savea 12-198, Chinen-Zablan 4-109, Sera 4-63, Alaimalo 3-31, Ho-Williams 1-25, Kawakami 1-10, Kameron Castillo 1-3.