HALAWA - Larry Tuileta threw four touchdown passes to lead Punahou to a 35-0 shutout of Baldwin in a semifinal game of the First Hawaiian Bank/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I Football State Championships at Aloha Stadium Friday night.

A crowd of about 2,500 saw the Buffanblu improve to 11-2 to reach next Friday's state championship final. Punahou, ranked third in the ScoringLive/OC16 Power Rankings, will play Kahuku, which beat Leilehua in the other semifinal, at 7 p.m. at Aloha Stadium.

Baldwin, the Maui Interscholastic League champion and No. 7 in the SL/OC16 Power Rankings, saw its season come to an end at 9-2.

"It feels great and it's nice for these kids to get rewarded for all their hard work," Punahou coach Kale Ane said. "It's been a long journey and the seniors were freshmen the last time we came here and they remember the whole process, so we're all excited for them."

It is the Buffanblu's first trip to the title game since 2008, when it beat Leilehua for its first state crown.

Last night, the Punahou used an aerial assault to pick apart the Bears' defense. Quarterback Larry Tuileta completed 24 of his 33 passes for 264 yards and no interceptions. The sophomore threw touchdowns to four different receivers and to 10 players overall.

"We threw the ball a little bit more - and dropped a couple - but the kids were resilient and caught balls," Ane said. "(Baldwin) is a tough team, they're tough to run against and we felt that we could take advantage passing wise."

Punahou got on the board on its opening drive. The Buffanblu drove 76 yards in nine plays, capped by a 3-yard touchdown pass from Tuileta to Kotoni Sekona. After a play-action fake to running back Steven Lakalaka, Tuileta found Sekona open in the left, rear corner of the end zone on the scoring play. Kaimi Fairbairn's extra-point attempt was good with seven minutes and 10 seconds to play in the first quarter.

Late in the second quarter, Lakalaka walked in from five yards out to extend the Buffanblu lead. The drive - which covered 57 yards on eight plays - was extended by a pair of third-down conversions and a 15-yard pass interference penalty against Baldwin.

The Bears gambled on a fake punt on a fourth-and-5 on their ensuing drive, but punter Pasoni Tasini was stopped for a six-yard loss and Punahou took over at the Baldwin 34-yard line with 1:12 remaining in the first half.

Punahou needed just three plays to score, as Tuileta found Ryan Tuiasoa for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 24 seconds left on the clock. After Fairbairn tacked on the PAT, the Buffanblu lead was 21-0.

Baldwin drove to the Punahou 27 in the closing seconds of the first half, but a 45-yard field goal was short by about five yards as time expired.

Punahou capitalized early in the third quarter on a Baldwin miscue. Defensive lineman Luke Kaumatule - who was playing in his first game since he suffered a knee injury in the Buffanblu's final preseason game on Aug. 26 against Campbell - forced the fumble by Bears' quarterback Keelan Ewaliko, which was recovered by Zachary Hernandez at the Baldwin 42. Kaumatule forced two fumbles and added two tackles for loss.

Four plays later, Tuileta threw his third touchdown pass of the game - a 28-yarder to Cody Lee - who made a spectacular diving grab in the end zone to make it, 28-0, midway through the third quarter.

"We picked up a really good game plan and I guess it was just to go long on this team and it ended up working well," Tuileta said. "Our O-line was great tonight, I couldn't have done it without them."

Punahou added a score - and induced the running clock due to the 35-point differential mercy rule - early in the fourth quarter on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Tuileta to Malik Johnson. The score highlighted an 11-play, 90-yard drive that took nearly four minutes off the clock.

Baldwin, which entered the game averaging over 30 points and 350 offensive yards a game, was held to just 85 yards and was 2-of-12 on third downs.

The Buffanblu racked up 370 yards of total offense and was an efficient 9-of-13 on third downs and 3-of-3 on red zone opportunities.

"Our defense, we told each other that whoever was out there, we just had to do our job, be disciplined, execute what we needed to do and that's what we did tonight," said Punahou defensive end DeForest Buckner, who recorded a game-high 11 tackles, including four and a half for losses."

Ane said having played just two games in the past four weeks did not seem to affect his team.

"I think that as a coach, you will always find something to worry about, but the kids really played well and they were outstanding tonight," he said. "Baldwin was an outstanding team, their defense was tough and they never quit. On offense, their quarterback especially, kept us nervous all game."

Fairbairn converted on all five of his PAT attempts, booted five of his seven kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks and averaged 46.3 yards on three punts.

BJ Wilhelm-Ioane had a team-high 10 tackles for Baldwin.