Punahouâ??s 28-7 victory over Kamehameha Friday
night at Aloha Stadium was a study of two teams trying to establish new
identities.
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At Kamehameha, the Warriors have a new head coach in former University
of Hawaii Warrior David Stant. Coach Stant is trying to mold his young
team into a cohesive unit that is aggressive on defense with the
ability to control the ball on offense. At Punahou, veteran head coach
Kale Ane is trying to bring aggressiveness into a system that has
always been known for its finesse.
The aggressive identities of both teams showed up quickly in the ILH
opener. Punahou showed its defensive prowess on Kamehamehaâ??s first
series, forcing a fumble behind the line of scrimmage on a Michael Hoke
pass with tenacious linebacker Manti Teâ??o recovering at the 37-yard
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The Buffanblue took advantage of three Warrior penalties,
including a face mask call that showed the Warriorsâ?? defensive
aggressiveness, to march the ball to the Kamehameha seven-yard line.
From there, junior Kimo Makaula, rotating once again with Cayman
Shutter as Punahouâ??s two-headed quarterback, ran it into the endzone
for a quick 7-nothing Buffanblue lead.
Punahouâ??s defensive ferocity showed its teeth again on the next
Kamehameha series. Dane Okamura and Teâ??o made tackles behind the line
of scrimmage, thus forcing the Warriors into a third and long
situation. When Hoke delivered a pass to Samuel Walker, the receiver
was ripped high and low simultaneously by two Punahou defenders.
Walker lost his helmet on the play, and the stage was set for vicious
hitting by both sides.
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Throughout the rest of the first quarter and most of the second
period, the game boiled down to one question—who could play the
better defense? The Warrior secondary, with Josh Costa, Jordan Gomes,
Jordan Que, and Kevin Doo blanketing the speedy Buffanblue receivers,
forced Makaula and Shutter into incompletion after incompletion.
Defensive linemen Keone Morreira, Thomas Kaleikini, and Jameson
Horswill and other Warriors put the pressure on up front, and Punahou
didnâ??t complete its first pass until the final play of the first
quarter. |
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Meanwhile, Hoke was struggling against the
Punahou defense. When Okamura sacked the Warrior senior
quarterback late in the first quarter, Kamehameha stood at negative
yardage. Throughout most of the first half, the Warriors
struggled to get into positive numbers. Give credit to Punahouâ??s
Sani Fuimaono, Devon Ferguson, and Trevor Iosefa in the Buffanblueâ??s
3-4 defensive
alignment.
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Punahou finally got rolling again offensively midway through the second
quarter. Taking advantage of a 13-yard punt, the Buffanblue started
their scoring drive at the Warrior 42-yard line. Makaulaâ??s first pass
completion of the night was a 23-yard strike to 6-foot 4-inch senior
receiver Kameron Steinhoff. A late hit by the aggressive Warriors gave
the Buffanblue first and goal at the 9-yard line.
But it wasnâ??t easy for Punahou to score, as the Kamehameha defense
stiffened again. Only a pass interference call in the endzone kept the
Buffablue drive alive. Finally, on third and goal from the nine yard
line, Shutter found the elusive Robbie Toma in the back of the endzone
and Punahou was up by two scores. A bad snap on the extra point made
the score 13-nothing. |
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The Buffanblue had one more chance to score before
halftime. Okamura picked off an errant Hoke pass and returned it
27 yards deep into Warrior territory. Once again, however,
Kamehamehaâ??s defense rose up, forcing Punahou into a field goal try.
It appeared that the Buffanblueâ??s John-Henri
Iucker had nailed his try from 27-yards out, but the Warriors wisely
called time out just before the snap. Forced to try again, the
attempt sailed just wide, and Punahou had to settle for a 13-nothing
lead at intermission.
In the second half, the Buffanblue altered their offensive strategy.
On the first four successive plays of the third quarter, Makaula handed
the ball off to Dalton Hilliard and the speedy junior followed the
blocking of Abe Markowitz and Chris Chun for back-to-back first downs.
With Makaula and Shutter both adding pass completions, Punahou appeared
to be poised to go up by three scores.
Thatâ??s when the Warrior defense made its presence felt again. Doo,
a 5-foot 8-inch 160-pound free safety, snatched an interception in the
endzone, thus thwarting the Buffanblue drive.
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After another short punt by Kamehameha, Punahou had
another chance to score, but failed to capitalize again. A
monstrous hit by Gomes at the goalline forced one key incompletion and
the Buffanblue were turned the ball over on downs at the Warriorsâ??
17-yard line.
In a game of field position, Punahou hoped to
force the Warriors into desperation mode. It almost worked.
On first down, JJ Autele recorded a huge stick on Warrior tailback
Brandon Dumlao. One play later, Teâ??o came on a blitz and sacked
Hoke at his own eight-yard line.
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But Hoke and the Warriors came back. The senior signalcaller
dumped off a short pass to Kaulupono Perez, and Perez turned into a
24-yard gain. Three plays later, Hoke found Shawn Bode open for 16
more yards. As the fourth quarter began, the Warriors 83-yard march
continued, with Truman Ray Chun picking up a key first down on 4th-and
two at the Punahou 38.
On the next play after that emotional boost for the Warriors,
Perez dashed 20 yards to the Buffanblue 18-yard line and you could feel
the momentum of the game shifting. Two plays later, Hoke hit sophomore
Wave Ryder in the endzone, and the extra point pulled the Warriors to
within 13-7.
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Nine minutes remained in the game and Punahou knew
it had to reach deep down to answer back. After back-to-back
incompletions started their drive, Shutter made a big play by hitting
Toma for 23 yards and a first down. Hilliard followed with a
14-yard burst and a 19-yard pass reception and suddenly the Buffanblue
were knocking at the door again.
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Teâ??o came in on offense and caught a pass inside the five, but he was
hit hard at the one-yard line and he laid on the Aloha Stadium turf for
quite some time. Punahou personnel announced that it was just a cramp
afterwards, but Buffanblue fans held their collective breaths concerned
about losing one of the stateâ??s top players to injury.
After a tackle-for-loss by Kamehamehaâ??s Ula Nakamura, Punahou
scored its much-needed touchdown on a three-yard toss from Shutter to
Steinhoff. The drive covered 69-yards in nine plays and made the score
21-7.
Teâ??o then shook off his cramp and returned to defensive line-up to
record a sack on Hoke on the Warriorsâ?? ensuing possession, and then
with Teâ??o chasing Hoke out of the pocket, the Kamehameha quarterback
was forced into an incompletion on 4th and long and Punahou took over
on downs. |
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Starting at the 42-yard line, the Buffanblue
added an insurance touchdown in the gameâ??s final minutes. Makaula
hit senior receiver Toby Reeuwik from nine yards out for the gameâ??s
final score and Punahou had its first ILH victory of the season, 28-7.
It was a hard-fought game for both sides, and a game
that both teams will remember. Theyâ??ll face each other again in
this long ILH season in a year when the ability to survive may be the
toughest challenge yet.
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