Iolani quarterback Austin Jim On hands the ball off to running back KJ Pascua. Greg Yamamoto | SL

×

112214_IoLa_0446.jpg - Greg Yamamoto | SL

Purchase this image
4x5 5x7 8x10 image download

HALAWA — No. 2 Iolani's offense looked sharp as they toppled top-seed and No. 1 Lahainaluna, 31-14 to clinch their eight overall Division II title on Friday night at Aloha Stadium. Facing a Luna defense that held their opponents to 8.7 points per game all season and 139.1 yards of offense, the Raiders put up 31 points and amassed 350 yards of total offense— 239 net passing and 111 net rushing.

Quarterback Austin Jim On completed 21 of 24 passes and threw two touchdowns. The Raiders had 20 first downs for the game— 15 passing and five rushing.

"Our offensive motto was take what they give us— whether short, middle or deep. It sounds simple but it takes a lot. It starts with the line, they did a great job and the receivers ran the correct routes and right timing. I was able to put the ball in the right spot and they made great catches and yards after catch," said Jim On.

"He let the game come to him, he didn't force things. He made his reads, he saw and believed and executed. He was able to deliver the ball to the right people and manage the offense," said coach Wendell Look.

He started off the game throwing two straight incompletions, but from there he let the game come to him. Iolani's first scoring drive took 12 plays and covered 60 yards after Jim On threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Keoni-Kordell Makekau.

"On Monday we watched film, our quarterback coach Joel Lane said this will be the toughest defense we'll face so far this season and they were. I'm thankful we were able to establish the run game for the passing. As a basis for the run, we were able to spread them out and have success," said Jim On.

"It was a team effort and we had double teams everywhere and somehow we gave Austin some time to throw and opened up some lanes to be successful," said center Devin Ide.

Jim On threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Connor Ohira to put the Raiders up, 21-6.

The reason for Iolani's offensive success can be traced to their offensive line. KJ Pascua rushed for a 2-yard touchdown and Storm Lotomau scored on a 3-yard run. Look mentioned it starts with these guys and they played outstanding tonight.

"I think the line did great and hats off to whole line, it was a five man effort and we wouldn't have been successful without every man on the line," said Ide.

The impressive thing about Iolani is they were only called for one penalty for 5-yards— a false start, for the entire game. They may not be the biggest guys in the state, but they make it up with execution, playing smart, and playing together.

"There were still mistakes, but overall it was good. The thing I'm happiest about is we had two guys go down this year and we started with eight. We had to move a guy from defense Cameron Chang and had to a couple weeks to prep him and he came through for us," said offensive line coach Sam Cropsey.

"This group is really smart, Kamu (Borden) and Nathaniel (Oishi), have been with us three years and they knew our system. Ide is really smart and he is not afraid to come up with his own calls so he helps by taking control of the o-line," added Cropsey.

After missing out on the title game last year, the Raiders are back on top of Division II once again.

"Over the summer we worked so hard with this goal set in mind, it feels great that hard work pays off in the end," said Ide.