'Iolani blanks Kaua'i, 14-0


A resilient Iolani defense kept Kauai RB Darren Acoba in check all afternoon. Brien Ing | SL
Without two of its top three rushers, Kaua'i was handcuffed by 'Iolani, 14-0, in a semifinal of the First Hawaiian Bank Division I State Football Tournament Saturday at Kozuki Stadium on 'Iolani's campus.

The three-time defending state champion Raiders (8-3), ranked seventh in the ScoringLive-OC16 Power Rankings, will play Kaimuki (12-1) for the Division II state title Friday at Aloha Stadium. The Bulldogs will be looking for their first state crown.

The Red Raiders (8-2), who operate out of the wishbone, were without their second-leading rusher in Jake Leake (shoulder) and their third-leading rusher Kele Hanohano (knee) since about midseason.

"That definitely hurt," 'Iolani coach Wendell Look said. "That definitely would've made a difference. The type of offense that they run, to lose two guys like that, it's like losing two quarterbacks. That makes a big difference."

"That's why it's hard to feel sad about a loss like this," Kaua'i coach Derek Borerro said. "This is what we've gone through all season. We just didn't have enough time to get guys healed up. Jake was a ground-rusher guy. Kele was an explosive running back. It's tough. When you don't have a passing attack, when you get into the postseason, you cannot just depend on the run game."

Although the Red Raiders had 212 yards of offense to the Raiders' 195, a fumble by Kaua'i was quickly recycled into 'Iolani's second TD of the game. And 'Iolani took advantage of the situation by playing it conservative after taking the 14-0 lead into the half. The Raiders, who averaged 162.3 yards per game passing entering the game, settled at 111 from QB Reece Foy's 14-of-19 passing.

"Defense was playing really well," Look said. "I played it real conservatively, let the defense do their thing and play field position."

Running back Ammon Baldomero ran the ball 20 times for 74 yards for the Raiders, who had 31 running plays to 11 pass plays.

Foy completed 12 consecutive passes at one stretch and his first pass was incomplete. His 25-yard TD pass Kevin Barayuga in the second quarter came after the Raiders' Cody Petro-Sakuma recovered a fumble and returned it 35 yards to the Kaua'i 20.

The Raiders first got on the board on their third series of the game. A 14-play, 75-yard drive that featured three third-down conversions was capped by a seven-yard TD run by Jordan Lee on third down with 1:10 left in the first quarter.

Darren Acoba, Kaua'i's leading rusher for the season, led all rushers with 86 yards on 24 carries.

The Red Raiders longest play of the game was a 29-yard pass from sophomore Trey Aguano to Shimabukuro, who moved to receiver, late in the game. But Shimabukuro fumbled and the Raiders were able to run out the clock.


Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].