HHSAA Football
'Iolani dominates Kaimuki, 49-14


   



Fri, Nov 26, 2010 @ Aloha Stadium [ 4:00 pm ]


Final 1 2 3 4 T
Kaimuki (12-2-0) 0 0 14 014
Iolani (9-3-0) 0 21 21 749
Reece Foy 297 yd 5 TD
Nahoa Spencer 111 yd 1 TD
Ammon Baldomero 105 yd 1 TD
Chester Sua 77 yd
Trevyn Tulonghari 99 yd 1 TD
Kevin Tofiga 81 yd 1 TD

Another year, another title for the 'Iolani Raiders.

Reece Foy threw for 297 yards on 20-of-24 passing with five touchdowns to lead No. 6 'Iolani to a 49-14 rout of Kaimuki in the title game of the First Hawaiian Bank/Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Division II Football State Championships Friday night.

A crowd of about 6,000 at Aloha Stadium saw the Raiders improve to 9-3 in capturing their fourth consecutive state crown. The Bulldogs, who were on a 12-game winning streak, finished 12-2. 'Iolani's fifth state championship in the last six years was also the highest-scoring title game in state-tournament history.

"It does feel very good and I'm very happy for our seniors," 'Iolani coach Wendell Look said. "They had a lot of pressure on them to meet the standard that previous teams have set, but they set their own path to this championship and all the credit goes to them."

Foy, a sophomore quarterback and first-year starter, was nearly flawless against the Bulldogs. He completed passes to five different pass catchers, despite not having third-leading receiver in slotback Kevin Barayuga, who did not play due to a right knee injury suffered last week in a semifinal win over Kaua'i.

"Kevin is definitely a big loss, not only physically, but also as one our captains," said Foy. "We look to him in times of need and thankfully our guys practiced hard all week and they were ready to step up tonight and fill Kevin's shoes."

In Barayuga's absense, wideout Trevyn Tulonghari had game-highs of seven receptions for 99 yards and touchdown. Kasey Takahashi caught three passes for 69 yards, Josiah Sukumaran had five grabs for 64 yards and a score and Dane Arakawa hauled in three passes for 38 yards and two touchdowns.

However, it was through its ground game that the Raiders first found the end zone. After a scoreless first quarter, Ammon Baldomero got Iolani on the board with a 1-yard TD run. The scoring play, with nine minutes and 52 seconds left in the second quarter, made it 7-0.

The Raiders scored their second touchdown just 46 seconds later after linebacker Scott Tan recovered a fumbled kickoff return by Kaimuki. Two plays later, Foy connected with Tulonghari on a 34-yard TD pass on a double-reverse, flea-flicker play. Jordan Lee's kick gave 'Iolani a 14-0 lead.

'Iolani added a score just before the half after another Bulldogs' fumble was recovered by Dylan Goto at the Kaimuki 39-yard line. Later in the drive, Foy threw a second-down completion to Sukumaran, who tossed a lateral at the 15 to Baldomero, who ran it the rest of the way. The Raiders took a 21-0 lead into the intermission.

"It was kind of a shaky start for us, we weren't really executing how we know that we can, but coach stuck with us, he stuck with me, plus we had a couple of plays that we haven't run all year and that kind of got us going," Foy said. "The other part of that is our defense helped us with those turnovers, like they've been doing all year. They helped us out again tonight field-position wise and gave us opportunities to put points on the board."

For the game, Kaimuki was limited to 272 yards, including just 93 rushing. Star running back Chester Sua, who entered the game with 1,548 yards and 20 touchdowns on the season, was held to 77 yards on 16 carries.

"Our defense has been playing rock solid all year," Look said. "They're the reason that we're standing here. The defensive staff, the players, they just believed in what we wanted to do on the field and they went out and executed it."

Foy threw his third scoring strike to end 'Iolani's first possession of the second half. The 20-yard third-down pass found the hands of Arakawa, who was between a pair of Bulldog defenders as he crossed the goal line.

Kaimuki finally had an answer midway through the third quarter with a five-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by a 68-yard double-pass from Wiseman Demei to Kevin Tofiga. 'Iolani's lead was cut to 28-7 with 7:10 left in the third after the PAT by Keoki Kaiahua.

However, there was no stopping the Raiders. The Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion returned the favor with a 15-yard TD run by Lee, who ran around the right end after motioning from the left slot pre-snap.

The Bulldogs kept pace with a 1-yard pass from Nahoa Spencer to Mason Kuali'i-Moe, which made it 35-14 with 3:05 left in the third. But, Foy continued his mastery, connecting with Sukumaran for a 33-yard TD pass to extend the Raiders' lead to 42-14 late in the third.

"We knew coming into this game that every opportunity that we're given, we had to capitalize on and against an offense like 'Iolani's, we couldn't afford to leave opportunities on the field and tonight we did that a few times and it really ended up putting us in a situation that we couldn't get ourselves out of," Kaimuki coach Clint Onigama said.

'Iolani closed out the scoring on Foy's fifth TD pass, a 15-yarder to Arakawa midway through the fourth quarter.

Foy said his predecessor, two-year starter Jarrett Arakawa, helped him stay focused after a recent victory.

"My brother was on the previous three teams with Jarrett, so he and I are pretty close, so he'd send me some texts and encourage me throughout the season," said Foy, who is 5-foot-10 and 155 pounds. "After the Kaua'i game, he told me good job, keep it up and keep my goals in mind. Before this game, he said just go out there, don't overthink things and just do my thing."

"He's getting better," Look said of Foy. "He's growing up right before our eyes. From day one to now, he's really matured. He's getting much better with his leadership, his reads and his execution."

Onigama agreed: "Reece Foy is an outstanding quarterback. He showed so much poise in the pocket, he showed mobility and he really managed the game really well for them. They got a good one there, for sure."


Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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