No. 3 Punahou overwhelms Pac-Five in 42-7 rout


HALAWA - Punahou's offense set the tone for the game from the outset, and the Buffanblu never looked back as they cruised to a 42-7 win over Pac-Five in the second game of Friday's ILH doubleheader at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium.

Punahou quarterback Larry Tuileta finished with 10 of 17 passing for 191 yards and 4 touchdowns, all in the first half.

Kanawai Noa, a favorite target of Tuileta, had 5 catches for 154 yards and accounted for 3 of Tuileta's 4 touchdowns in the first half. Noa also made his presence felt on special teams as a lethal returner with a 41-yard punt return and a 39-yard kickoff return.

Punahou got on the scoreboard 11 seconds into the game as Larry Tuileta hit a streaking Kanawai Noa for 69 yards on the first play of their drive and Charles McDonald made the PAT.

Punahou would score on special teams as Isaac Savaiianaea partially blocked Pac-Five's punt and Nikolai Bulanow caught it and returned it 28 yards to the end zone, to go up 14-0 with 5:18 left in the first quarter.

After a short punt by Pac-Five, Punahou marched down the field and the drive culminated in a 14-yard touchdown pass from Tuileta to Noa with 1:16 remaining, giving the Buffanblu a commanding 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Pac-Five punted once again and Noa returned the punt 41 yards to the Pac-Five 19 yd line, and Ryan Tuiasoa would run it in for the score from 6 yards out just 53 seconds into the second quarter,

Pac-Five's Keoni Tom-Millare lined up under center in the wildcat, providing much needed offense for the Wolf Pack. He took the direct snap from 6 yards out and scored Pac-Five's only touchdown of the game with 10:05 in the second quarter, cutting the lead to 28-7.

On the ensuing kickoff, Noa returned it 39 yards to the Pac-Five 36 yard line. Then the next play, Tuileta would find Noa for a 36 yard touchdown at the 9:45 mark.

After Pac-Five turned the ball over on downs, Tuileta finished a 9-play drive with a throw to Noah Willey for a 19-yard score with 1:48 left in the second to complete the scoring for the half and ultimately the game.



Reach Brandon Ching at [email protected].