'Iolani tops Pac-Five, 21-6

'Iolani RB Tanner Nishioka beat the Pac-Five defense to the corner of the end zone for a first quarter score. Brien Ing | SL

HALAWA - Tanner Nishioka ran in a touchdown and threw for another to lead 'Iolani to a 21-6 win over Pac-Five at Aloha Stadium Saturday night.

The Raiders, who improved to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, clinched their fifth straight league crown by snapping a two-game skid and punched their ticket to the Hawaii High School Athletic Association/First Hawaiian Bank Division II Football State Championships in the process.

'Iolani led throughout, holding Pac-Five to a single score and 177 yards of total offense. The Raiders showed balance offensively, rushing for 164 yards and passing for 161.

'Iolani struck first late in the first quarter. The Raiders used an eight-play, 57-yard drive that was capped by a 9-yard run by Tanner Nishioka to get on the board. On the scoring play, Nishioka motioned pre-snap from the left side of the formation, took the handoff on the fly sweep and turned the right corner for a touchdown. The drive was extended due to a helmet-to-helmet hit and consequent 15-yard penalty against Pac-Five. The PAT by Jordan Lee was good to make the score, 7-0, with two minutes and 14 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Wolf Pack answered late in the second quarter with an 11-yard touchdown run by Reece Alvarado with 25 seconds until halftime. The score highlighted a 13-play, 66-yard drive that took 6:14 off the clock. Earlier in the drive, it appeared that quarterback Jack Foster ran for a 60-yard touchdown, but it was ruled that he stepped out at the Raiders' 44-yard line. Pac-Five twice extended the drive on a pair of fourth-down conversions. The two-point conversion attempt was no good as Alvarado was stopped short of the goal line on his rush attempt and 'Iolani held a 7-6 lead at the half.

The Raiders went up by two scores on their second possession of the third quarter. After a Wolf Pack punt, the Raiders drove 64 yards in six plays, resulting in a 21-yard touchdown run by Jordan Lee. Quarterback Reece Foy faked the fly sweep to a crossing receiver before handing off to Lee, who found running room in the middle of the field en route to the end zone. The scoring play was set-up by a 16-yard completion from Foy to Kasey Takahashi on a fourth-and-6. Lee converted the PAT to make the score 14-6 with 6:21 left in the third.

Following a Pac-Five three-and-out on its ensuing possession, 'Iolani took over at its own 15-yard line. Three plays into the drive, Foy scrambled for six yards on a third-and-5 to keep the drive alive. Later in the drive, Foy hooked up with Takahashi for a 8-yard pick-up on a third-and-5 and two plays later Sheldon Gallarde hauled in a 7-yard TD pass with 17 seconds to play in the third. On the scoring play, Nishioka motioned from the left side of the formation, took the handoff from Foy before pulling up and airing it out to an open Gallarde in the front right corner of the end zone. The extra point was good by Lee to make the score 21-6 after three quarters.

Lee finished with 91 rushing yards on 14 carries and Kody Mento added 19 rushes for 68 yards for the Raiders. Gallarde had game highs of six receptions for 85 yards.

Pac-Five dropped its second straight game and fell to 4-5 overall and 1-5 in the ILH.