Punahou holds off Iolani, 24-19

Steven Lakalaka rushed for a game-high 166 yards on 29 carries for the Buffanblu. Eugene Tanner | SL

Steven Lakalaka rushed for 166 yards on 29 carries and Punahou took an early 8-0 lead off 'Iolani miscues before holding off the Raiders, 24-19, Friday afternoon at Alexander Field.

The Buffanblu, ranked No. 4 in the ScoringLive-OC16 Power Rankings, improved to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu. No. 9-ranked 'Iolani fell to 5-2, 3-1.

The three-time defending Division II state champion Raiders, who upset defending DI champ Kamehameha two weeks ago and knocked off Punahou last year, threatened to pull out another stunner yesterday but a fourth-and-5 pass from the Buffanblu 7-yard line fell incomplete with 1:30 remaining in the game.

Punahou faced a fourth-and-2 situation with two seconds left from their own 16, but took a safety on the game's final play.

Wet conditions contributed to the Buffanblu taking an 8-0 lead four minutes into the game. A punt snap went out of the end zone on 'Iolani's first possession, and on the Raiders' next series, linebacker Kyle Tu'umalo recovered a fumble and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown. A two-point conversion run failed, but Punahou later went up, 15-0, on Jacob Ioane's 1-yard TD run and Kaimi Fairbairn's extra point with 1:54 remaining in the first quarter.

'Iolani closed it to 15-7 two minutes into the second quarter after Reece Foy's 29-yard scoring pass to Bret Christman on third-and-21, but a 22-yard field goal by Fairbairn with 3:13 before halftime pushed the Buffanblu lead to 18-7.

Jordan Lee's 21-yard field goal closed it to 18-10 with 2:13 left in the third quarter, but Punahou stretched it to 24-10 on Liloa Travis' 1-yard quarterback sneak with 8:49 remaining in the game. The PAT attempt failed, and the Raiders cut the lead in half after Foy and Christman connected on a 25-yard TD strike three minutes later.

'Iolani was later able to advance the ball to the Buffanblu 7 helped by three Punahou personal fouls, the last one when Foy was hit out of bounds after a 5-yard keeper on third-and-18 from the 20. But since it was a dead ball penalty, it was marked off half the distance to the goal line without an automatic first down.

Foy tried to hit Christman on a slant route in the end zone, but Christman's route was disrupted by double coverage and the pass fell in an empty area.