Punahou WR Trent Sitar lays out to make a great grab on touchdown pass from Tui Tuileta against Kamehameha. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Kamehameha's Kainoa Simao makes his way down the field in the first half. Amber Popovich | Special to SL

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Punahou's Kanawai Noa carries the ball down the field on a punt return. Nick Endo | Special to SL

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Punahou's Wayne Taulapapa fights his way into the endzone for the first of two touchdowns on the night. Celine Truong | Special to SL

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Punahou QB Larry Tuileta makes a pass attempt against Kamehameha. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Punahou RB Wayne Taulapapa rumbles his way to a late score against Kamehameha. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Punahou WR Kanawai Noa drags a Kamehameha defender after a reception in the first half Greg Yamamoto | SL

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• Views of the game - Punahou

• Views of the game - Kamehameha

HALAWA — Punahou served notice that it is still the team to beat in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.

Wayne Taulapapa scored a pair of rushing touchdowns and the Buffanblu defense more than held its own in a 24-0 win over Kamehameha Saturday night. With the win, Punahou remained undefeated at 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the ILH. The Warriors suffered their first loss of the season to fall to 5-1 and 2-1. The game headlined a tripleheader in front of about 6,000 fans at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium.

"Anytime you can beat a team like Kamehameha it's gratifying, but it takes a lot of work and I know our coaches stayed up all night, scheming and planning," Ane said. "They're a great team and for us to — I don't want to say dominate — but really control the game for the most part, even though I don't feel like it, it's great."

Punahou, the No. 1-ranked team in the ScoringLive/OC16 Division I Power Rankings, posted a season-low 264 yards of total offense, but allowed just 154 by Kamehameha. The second-ranked Warriors, who averaged more than 246 rushing yards entering the game, managed just 109.

"The defense did great," said Taulapapa, who scored on a 2-yard run in the first quarter and a 14-yard run in the fourth. "Kamehameha has a great offense, but our defense shut them down."

The Warriors converted just one of their 14 third-down attempts and notched just 11 first downs for the game. Quarterback Noah Sua-Godinet was held to 7-of-23 passing for 28 yards and was intercepted once.

Kamehameha's best scoring opportunity came in the game's closing seconds when it had first-and-goal from the Punahou 1-yard line. However, the Buffanblu defense held on three consecutive plays to preserve the shutout.

"You hate to give up a score right at the end and we had some of our back-ups in there and so it was really great for them to have a chance to do something and the whole sideline was cheering for them so it really brought our team together and anytime you can stop somebody and shut them out, it's great," Ane said.

Kanawai Noa set-up Punahou's first score with his 41-yard punt return to the Kamehameha 9-yard line midway through the first quarter. Taulapapa scampered into the end zone for a 2-yard score three plays later. Charles McDonald tacked on the extra point with three minutes and 42 seconds left in the first quarter.

Two plays after the score, the Buffanblu's Cole Obana intercepted Sua-Godinet at the Warriors' 28 and McDonald's capitalized with his 43-yard field goal to cap the drive and give his team a 10-0 lead.

The Buffanblu extended their lead to 17-0 late in the third quarter on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Larry Tuileta to Trent Sitar. The scoring play was set-up by a muffed Kamehameha punt return that was recovered by Sitar.

"It was just right place at the right time," Sitar said of the takeaway. "We put in a lot of work on special teams — it's one-third of the game — just as much work on offense and defense, so we take a lot of pride in special teams."

Punahou added a score with just under eight minutes to play on Taulapapa's 14-yard run up the middle.

"I think this win says a lot, you know, Kamehameha is a great team and coming out and being able to run the ball and pass the ball on them," Taulapapa said. "Our defense did a swell job doing that as well and it was a good shutout. It shows other teams what we're capable of. The O-line did a great job, as well."

The Buffanblu were bolstered by the return of running back KJ Sekona on offense and defensive end Canton Kaumatule on defense.

"They mean a lot," Sitar said. "They're playmakers and they just mean a lot to our team. Their leadership and everything, they mean a lot."

Sekona carried just four times for 17 yards and Kaumatule recorded two sacks. Tuileta completed 16 of his 30 pass attempts for 206 yards without an interception. Kanawai Noa caught four passes for 92 yards — both game-highs.

Kahookele finished with 81 rushing yards on 15 carries and Kainoa Simao added 54 rushing yards on 13 carries.

The teams split their two meetings last season.

Both teams return to Aloha Stadium Saturday. Punahou plays Saint Francis at 2 p.m. and Kamehameha meets Pac-Five at 4:45 p.m.