Punahou's Ethan Takeyama had 14 receptions for 216 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Kamehameha. Steve Erler | Special to SL

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Thu, Oct 8, 2015 @ Aloha Stadium [ 6:00 pm ]

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Kamehameha

23

Punahou

26

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Kamehameha (5-4-0)	10	13	0	0	23
Punahou (8-2-0)	7	6	7	6	26

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Ephraim Tuliloa 446 yd 4 TD

Justice Young 242 yd 1 TD

Wayne Taulapapa 80 yd

Kanoa Shannon 79 yd 1 TD

Ethan Takeyama 216 yd 2 TD

Kumoku Noa 133 yd

HALAWA — Ephraim Tuliloa's return was a triumphant one.

The senior quarterback threw for a career-high 446 yards and four touchdowns on 40-of-51 passing to help Punahou rally to a 26-23 win over Kamehameha Thursday night.

A crowd of about 3,500 fans at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium saw the top-ranked Buffanblu score the final 19 points of the game to improve to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.

Tuliloa had not played since he suffered a shoulder injury in the first half against Iolani back on Sept. 11.

"I was super eager to get back," Tuliloa said. "It was fun to finally get back out and be with the team and be able to play again. It always feels good when you come back from injury and get out on the field."

Tuliloa completed passes to seven different pass-catchers. Junior wide receivers Ethan Takeyama (14 receptions for 216 yards) and Judd Cockett (13 receptions for 97 yards) were his favorite targets.

"It feels great. Everyone's working hard. We never stop pushing ourselves in practice" said Takeyama, who twice gave the Buffanblu the lead on touchdown grabs.

Takeyama's first score — a 34-yard TD pass — came with 4:02 left in the first quarter and put Punahou ahead, 7-3. His second TD came on a 14-yard pass from Tuliloa with 4:15 left in the game.

Punahou trailed Kamehameha 23-7 at the 1:11 mark of the second quarter following Justice Young's 5-yard TD pass to Koby Ford. It ended a string of 20 straight points by the Warriors with Tuliloa's 30-yard scoring strike to Eamon Brady with just five ticks left on the clock before halftime.

Kamehameha had 277 yards of total offense by halftime, but was shutout in the second half.

"As a team we just woke up, I guess," Tuliloa said, whose previous career high was 428 passing yards in a win over Saint Louis on Aug. 29 of last year. "We just played harder and we just wanted it more than we did in the first half. I think we just started playing our game that we knew we can play. It was sort of a switch that we just had to turn on."

The Warriors had just 73 yards and six first downs after the intermission.

"The coaches made great adjustments and the kids executed well," Punahou coach Kale Ane said. "I think there was a sense of urgency in the second half for us — what I'd like to see in the first half — but again, Kamehameha had a lot to do with that, so hats off to them."

Kanoa Shannon led the Warriors in rushing with 79 yards on 16 carries, including a 5-yard TD run that put his team ahead 10-7 late in the first quarter. Adam Stack was a perfect 3 for 3 on field goals, converting from 43, 18 and 32 yards. He averaged 43.8 yards per punt, including an 81-yard boot early in the third quarter.

Young was 16-of-23 passing for 226 yards in the first half, but completed just three of his final 20 attempts. He threw a costly interception with just over five minutes to play when Seyddrick Lakalaka tipped his pass near the left sideline and Devin Dung snagged the ball out of the air. Dung returned it 15 yards to the Warriors' 24-yard line.

Three plays later, Tuliloa connected with Takeyama on a 14-yard TD pass to the rear right pylon for the go-ahead score.

"I ran a corner and I saw the (defensive back) was lined up on the inside of me so I gave him a little move in and I cut to the corner and Ephraim threw a great ball," Takeyama said.

The Buffanblu were actually pushed back five yards one play prior when they were whistled for a false start, but it provided more spacing for Takeyama on the TD grab.

"We were running the ball hard with Wayne and we saw one-on-one coverage so I have a lot of confidence in our receivers that if they're one on one, I'll give them a chance to make a play and that's what we did," Tuliloa said.

Punahou finished with 550 yards of total offense — 352 coming after halftime — and 26 first downs. It converted on 10 of 18 third downs, while Kamehameha was 6-of-17 on third downs. The Warriors were just 1 of 9 on third downs in the second half.

"(Kamehameha) had a strong running back, they threw the ball wide and stretched us out," Ane said. "We had to make some adjustments and give up some things, but take away some things that they were doing consistently."

Kumoku Noa, who had 14 receiving TDs on the year coming into the game, finished with six catches for 133 yards, but was held out of the end zone. Cornerback Blaysen Terukina made a game-high 14 tackles and forced a fumble. Kainalu Martin recovered a pair of fumbles for Kamehameha.

"We just didn't make plays," Kamehameha coach Doug Cosbie said. "Dropped passes and we just didn't make plays."

The fifth-ranked Warriors fell to 4-4 overall and 1-4 in league play and have lost four of their last five games.

It was the second meeting between the teams this season. Punahou beat Kamehameha 28-17 on Sept. 18.

The Warriors conclude the regular season at No. 10 Iolani next Friday, while the Buffanblu will have nine days off before facing No. 2 Saint Louis at Aloha Stadium on Oct. 17.