Lunas were near flawless despite three-week layoff

Lahainaluna DB Isaiah Biga-Rogers steps in front of Kamehameha-Hawaii's Kainalu Whitney for the interception, one of five picks by the Lunas on the evening. Glen Pascual | Special to SL

For a team that hadn't played a game in three weeks, Lahainaluna showed very little — if any — signs of rust in its 52-7 thrashing of Kamehameha-Hawaii in Wailuku Saturday night.

The Lunas, who have been ranked atop the ScoringLive/OC16 Division II Football Power Rankings all season, looked every bit the part of No. 1. They were dominant on both sides of the ball: racking up more than 300 yards in the first half alone on offense and shutting down the Warriors to the tune of 127 total yards and five takeaways.

"We just worked hard in practice," said senior defensive back Tyran Kuu Palea, who recorded a pair of interceptions Saturday. "We treated practice like games and it worked out for us. We all did good tonight."

Scott-Isaac Medeiros-Tangatailoa, Isaiah Biga-Rogers and Makoa Filikitonga-Lukela also intercepted a pass each. Filikitonga-Lukea, who plays both quarterback and safety, took his back for a 66-yard pick-6 midway through a 28-point second quarter for the Lunas.

"We've been preparing for this for three weeks straight," said Filikitonga-Lukela, who also threw a touchdown pass and ran in two other scores on offense. "With the bye it was hard because we were lazy in the beginning, (but) we just thought that if we practice hard we're going to get there somehow."

The Lunas parlayed the five turnovers, including four in the first half, into 24 points and were never really threatened. They scored on six of their eight first-half offensive possessions.

Filikitonga-Lukea explained that it wasn't a matter of chance, but a credit to their preparation leading up the game, which resulted in nearly flawless execution.

"It's just hard work and nothing can beat hard work," Filikitonga-Lukela said. "Talent can't beat hart work, so we just come to practice everyday with the mentality of winning."

Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].