Iolani wide receiver Tanner Nishioka tries to escape the tackle of Lahainaluna's Kiko Kohler-Fonohema. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Iolani wide reciever Chad Hanaoka reaches out for a touchdown reception against Lahainaluna. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Iolani quarterback Reece Foy gets set to make a pass attempt against Lahainaluna. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Makoa Filikitonga Lukela, Jr. carries the ball against Iolani. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Lahainaluna's Kiko Kohler-Fonohema gets into the endzone for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against Iolani. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Iolani defensive back JT Los Banos celebrates after his game-sealing interception against Lahainaluna. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Melissa Ing | SL

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Fri, Nov 23, 2012 @ Aloha Stadium [ 4:00 pm ]

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Lahainaluna

33

Iolani

36

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Lahainaluna (9-2-0)	0	14	13	6	33
Iolani (9-3-0)	7	15	7	7	36

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Reece Foy 299 yd 5 TD

Makoa Filikitonga Lukela, Jr. 77 yd 1 TD

Yuuya Kato 103 yd

Makoa Filikitonga Lukela, Jr. 103 yd 2 TD

Tanner Nishioka 134 yd 2 TD

Scott-Isaac Medeiros-Tangatailoa 26 yd 1 TD

HALAWA - The comeback kids did it one last time.

Reece Foy passed for 299 yards and five touchdowns, including the game-winner - a 26-yarder to Tanner Nishioka with one minute and 53 seconds to play - to rally Iolani to its sixth  consecutive First Hawaiian Bank/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II State Championship with a 36-33 win over Lahainaluna at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium Friday night.

Iolani, the reigning nine-time Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion, completed the season with a 9-3 record to win its eighth overall state crown. Foy, who completed his prep career with three state titles, tied a D2 state-tournament record with five passing touchdowns. Chad Hanaoka also tied a D2 state-tournament mark with three receiving scores. It was the fourth highest-scoring game in D2 state-tournament history.

"I knew that if I believed in my teammates that we could do it and I just looked up and said 'God, if it's meant to be, then let's do it,'" said Foy, who was 22-of-36 passing with two interceptions. "It was a team effort, for sure."

Kiko Kohler-Fonohema's 2-yard touchdown run gave Lahainaluna its first lead at 33-29 with 7:21 remaining. Iolani's next drive stalled at its own 46 and Nishioka punt away. However, the Raiders' defense held and got Foy the ball back with 4:00 left at their own 44-yard line.

Four plays into the drive - on a third-and-4 - Foy threaded the needle on a pass to Hanaoka for a 17-yard gain and a first down. On the ensuing play, Foy was intercepted by Lahainaluna's Scott-Isaac Medeiros-Tangatailoa near the Lunas' 20-yard line. However, Medeiros-Tangatailoa fumbled after coming down with the pick and Joshua Gonzaga recovered for Iolani. '

"We got a big break on that fumble recovery, for sure," Foy said. "We were able to punch it in after that and praise God that the defense got a stop."

On the very next play, Foy found Nishioka in the left seam for the go-ahead, 26-yard touchdown pass. Following the extra point by Jordan Genovia, Iolani held a 36-33 lead with less than two minutes to play.

"It was a tough win, but you like to win games like this," Raiders' coach Wendell Look said. "Lahainaluna was just as deserving, if not more deserving, than us to win a state championship and I have the utmost respect for their coaches and their program and we were fortunate to come out with a victory."

Lahainaluna had one last chance to mount a rally, but JT Los Banos intercepted Makoa Filikitonga, Jr. for a third time with 27 seconds remaining to seal it for the Raiders.

"All the coaches and especially Reece (Foy), as our leader, he was in our face telling us that, "This isn't over, we've been here before,' and so we knew that we weren't dead," said Los Banos, who also picked off two first-half passes. "We trusted in our offense that they would put up points and the defense knew that we would have to come back onto the field and make a big stop."

Iolani mounted rallies in early-season wins over Konawaena (43-40), Waipahu (35-34) and Pac-Five (16-10).

"When Lahainaluna went up (33-29), I kind of called the offense over and I told them, 'Hey guys, we've been here before, so just stick together and we'll be OK,'" Foy said.

Lunas' co-head coach Garrett Tihada credited the Raiders for their ability to come back from the late deficit.

"Our kids played hard and they played to the end, they never gave up and they just kept fighting," said Tihada, whose team was making its second-ever appearance in the D2 title game. "The little things cost us, but the whole experience of traveling and playing on a big stage like this on TV and in front of a large crowd, those kids will never forget that."

Lahainaluna lost to Iolani, 28-21, in the 2007 state final, which ignited the Raiders' string of six straight titles.

The Lunas racked up 518 yards of total offense to the Raiders' 414. They rushed for 441 yards, but could not overcome the three interceptions. Lahainaluna had three backs go over 100 yards in Jared Rocha-Isalas (11 carries for 106 yards), Filikitonga, Jr. (14 for 103, 2 touchdowns) and Christian Whitehead (11 for 101).

"They ran the ball right down our throats, but we made the plays when we had to," Los Banos said. "We knew that they would try and use play-action (to throw the ball) and coach kept telling me that as a corner, I had to keep my focus on the pass and be late to the run."

Iolani opened the scoring late in the first quarter on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Foy to Hanaoka, which capped the 10-play, 80-yard drive. The drive, which took four minutes and four seconds, was extended by two third-down conversions, including the scoring play.

Los Banos intercepted Filikitonga, Jr. two plays later to give the Raiders possession at the Lunas' 33-yard line. Three plays later, Foy connected with Nishioka for a 26-yard touchdown pass. Nishioka dragged several defenders across the goal line after making the reception. Max Look ran in the two-point conversion to make the score, 15-0, with 11:16 left in the second quarter.

Los Banos' second interception of the game halted Lahainaluna's next drive at the Raiders' 36, but Iolani went three-and-out. The Lunas capitalized with a five-play, 65-yard drive, culminated by Filikitonga, Jr.'s 21-yard touchdown run with 3:39 to play in the half. Filikitonga, Jr. executed the triple-option to near perfection, following his fullback, Tytus Lucas, behind left guard as he scampered in for the score. Taylor Kohler-Fonohema tacked on the extra point to cut the Iolani lead to 15-7.

Lahainaluna closed to within 15-14 following another Iolani three-and-out and 26-yard touchdown pass from Filikitonga, Jr. to Medeiros-Tangatailoa. Medeiros-Tangatailoa hauled in the pass near the 18-yard line, broke free from a pair of Raiders' defenders at the 15 and went untouched the rest of the way. Kohler-Fonohema converted the extra point with just 32 seconds to play in the second quarter.

However, Foy orchestrated a quick, 5-play, 65-yard drive that resulted in his third touchdown pass - a 2-yarder to Hanaoka - with three seconds left on the clock. The scoring play was set-up by a 46-yard pass from Foy to Yuuya Kato. Jordan Genovia's extra point gave Iolani a 22-14 halftime lead.

"I give all the credit to the O-line and the rest of the offense - that wasn't me - that was just Reece placing the ball in the right spot and everybody else doing their job that left me open," said Hanaoka, a 5-foot-6, 150-pound junior slotback.

The Lunas scored on their opening possession of the second half when Filikitonga, Jr. scrambled in from seven yards out with 8:54 left in the third quarter. However, the two-point conversion pass from Kohler-Fonohema - intended for Ernest Fatongia - was broken up by Max Look, to keep Iolani lead at 22-20.

"In the first half, we thought it would be a high-scoring game, so we thought it was a little too early to go for two, but in the second half, we thought it was time to try and make-up that two points," Tihada said.

The Raiders made it a two-score game late in the third with Foy's 18-yard scoring strike to Hanaoka, who was wide-open along the left sideline. On the previous play, it appeared that Foy and Hanaoka connected on a touchdown pass, but it was ruled that he was out of bounds. Following the Genovia PAT, Iolani led, 29-20.

"Coach always tells us that we can only control what we can control," Foy said. "We can't control what the other team does, the referees, we can only control ourselves. Those plays, yeah, sometimes you get the bounce to go your way, sometimes it doesn't, but the most important play is the next play. That's the way we operate as an offense and thankfully it paid off tonight."

Lahainaluna followed with a 9-play drive that covered 63 yards in 2:45 and was capped by Tytus Lucas' 19-yard touchdown run. The Lunas pulled a pair of offensive linemen to lead the way and Lucas turned the corner for the score. After the Kohler-Fonohema PAT, the score was 29-27 with 41 seconds left in the third quarter.

Iolani punted away on its next drive and Lahainaluna took over at its own 17-yard line with 11:16 to play. The 9-play, 83-yard drive ended with Kohler-Fonohema's 2-yard touchdown run that put the Lunas up, 33-29, with 7:21 to play.

"Reece is our team leader and he just kept telling us, 'This is nothing, we've been here before, we got this and as a team, we can do this together,' and we just believed in each other and were able to pull it out," Hanaoka said.

Look praised the composure of his senior quarterback.

"Reece has been the guy to kind of calm things down - he even calms me down at times - and he's got the composure, the confidence and the will to win, which is what makes him special," Look said.

The Maui Interscholastic League titlist Lunas complete their season with a 9-2 record. It was the third consecutive year that Lahainaluna made it deep in the state tournament. The Lunas lost in the semifinal round in each of the past two seasons. They are now 6-9 all-time in state-tournament games. It was the most points allowed by Lahainaluna all season. Opponents averaged just 3.7 points and 82.8 offensive yards entering the game.

"I think Iolani's ability to come back, to believe in themselves factored into a lot of their wins this year," Tihada said of the Raiders. "I think just being so successful year-after-year, they expect to win, they expect to come out on top every game and that's a great attitude to have."

Nishioka led all receivers with eight receptions for 134 yards. Kato finished with 206 all-purpose yards (103 rushing, 76 receiving, 27 kickoff returns). Max Look had a game-high 13 tackles for Iolani.

Iolani is now 16-2 all-time in state-tournament games and 7-1 in championship finals. The Raiders have not lost a state-tournament game since a 2006 semifinal to King Kekaulike. Their only losses this season came against the three ILH D1 opponents (Saint Louis, Kamehameha and Punahou).

"These kids have grown up throughout the year and it wasn't easy for these guys," Look said. "They battles conflicts on and off the field, but when it came time to play, they were ready to play."

Hercules Mataafa made a team-high eight tackles, including two for losses, to lead the Lunas, who played without junior lineman Pousima Galoia (6-foot-4, 340 pounds). Filikitonga, Jr., who spent the regular-season as the starting junior varsity quarterback, made his second straight start at quarterback.

The top-seeded Raiders drew a first-round bye in the six-team tournament and beat Radford, 43-0, in last week's semifinal round. The second-seeded Lunas also drew a first-round bye and topped Nanakuli, 28-0, in the other semifinal.

The original kickoff time of 4 p.m. was pushed back about 20 minutes due to inclement weather (lightning) in the Halawa area.