Buffanblu senior quarterback Stephen Barber and Raiders junior libero Naya Dong sparked key wins for their respective teams last week. ScoringLive photo illustration

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Male Athlete of the Week: Stephen Barber, Punahou football
In a showcase game against a marquee opponent, Stephen Barber shined the brightest Saturday.

The quarterback accounted for 436 yards of total offense and six touchdowns to help his Punahou football team to a monumental 56-42 win over Junipero Serra (Gardena, Calif.) in a non-league game played at San Diego over the weekend.

Barber, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior, threw for a season-high 326 yards and four touchdowns on 12-of-23 passing and rushed for 110 yards and two other scores on 12 carries.

"He played phenomenally. He grew up before our eyes," Buffanblu coach Kale Ane said. "He checked off calls, he dealt with the pressure great and like we always say, big guys gotta make big plays and he did."

Barber threw a pair of long TD passes in the first quarter. His 63-yard scoring strike to Tamatoa Falatea — followed by Tim Horn's PAT — tied it at 7. Barber connected with Andrei Iosivas later in the quarter to knot it at 13-all.

"(Serra) brought some pressure, but Stephen made the right reads. Everybody played great, but you have to go with the field general and he made things work," Ane said.

Barber tossed a 34-yard TD pass to Iosivas in the second quarter and gave his team a two-score lead with his 1-yard plunge into the end zone — and consequent two-point conversion pass to Hunter Hosoda.

However, the Cavaliers scored 21 straight points to pull ahead after three quarter, 35-28.

Barber and Iosivas connected for a third TD pass — and 29-yader — before Kaulana Makaula scored on a 58-yard interception return for the Buffanblu.

In the closing seconds, Barber sealed the victory with a 99-yard TD run.

"It was kind of like a dream. He started off really slow in the end zone and you worry about a thousand things possibly happen, then all of a sudden there's just one person breaking away and running down field with nobody around him," Ane said. "That was a crucial play. He outran one of their D1 prospects along the way, so he demonstrated a lot of heart and courage."

Ane said Barber bounced back quickly from a interception — his lone miscue of the day.

"The defensive back made a nice play on it. It was into the end zone and it was kind of a fifty-fifty ball, but a good throw," Ane said. "It's always tough when you're marching for a score and turn it over, but he shook it off and we went over other variables on the play that might have been other options, but we felt confident he could come back from it and shake it off right away."

The win was one to hang their hats on for the Buffanblu. On its team website, Serra lists three state championships, three consecutive league crowns and 117 all-California Interscholastic Federation selections. Of its most notable recent grads are former USC standouts Marqise Lee and Adoree Jackson.

That only made Barber's performance all the more impressive.

"This was a highly-ranked team, but that didn't phase him. He stayed cool under pressure and was able to make the right throws. It was grew to see. I think everybody can see that he's an athletic, strong, physical guy — all those measureables you like to see in a quarterback — but he also is able to make adjustments and puts in the time to study. He's very confident in what he does and we all feed off of that."

Barber took over the starting quarterback role after serving as a backup the past two seasons.

"It's always hard when you're a competitor to sit on the bench and then wait for your turn," Ane said. "A lot of people would give up, or play another position, or leave and go to another school, but he sat, he learned, he watched and he did well when he had his opportunities. He's progressed really quickly — people forget that this is his first year starting — but he's done great things and we expect that out of him and he does, too, so it's a great situation."

Barber and the fourth-ranked Buffanblu (3-0) will open Interscholastic League of Honolulu play against No. 5 Kamehameha Saturday night. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. at Aloha Stadium.

Female Athlete of the Week: Naya Dong, Iolani volleyball
Naya Dong is making up for lost time.

After suffering a knee injury that cut short her sophomore season last year, the 5-foot-4 libero has hit the ground running in 2017 for the Iolani girls volleyball team.

Dong helped the Raiders, who debuted at No. 1 in the inaugural ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Power Rankings released Monday, to a pair of wins to open Interscholastic League of Honolulu play last week. She posted 14 digs with an assist in a two-set win over Maryknoll Thursday and followed that up with a 17-dig, three-assist performance in a three-set win over Kamehameha Saturday.

Iolani coach Kainoa Obrey credited Dong for getting the offense into a rhythm early on against the Spartans.

"The first touch is so critical for us and she was really big in serve-receive," Obrey said. "They were trying to go after our outside hitters a little bit more than her, so it definitely shrinks the court for them serving-wise and in the first set they had a bunch of serving errors against us, so I think in that sense, that helped us and then she had some big digs against their key outside, (Rhyenne) Filisi, and that created some momentum for us throughout the match. Serving-wise, she went on a couple of pretty good runs, so she definitely helped us in those aspects against Maryknoll."

Two nights later, Dong helped the Raiders rally from a 25-16 loss in game 1 to take the next two sets by score of 25-23 and 25-23 to steal the match.

"I think in sets 2 and 3, we started to dig their middle hitters more often and she made a lot of big digs against the outsides, too. We don't necessarily always try to funnel the ball to her, but if it ends up that way we're happy," said Obrey, who noted that Dong is digging in the high 70-percent rate.

"For us, anytime she has a chance to touch the ball, she's digging it three-quarters of the time and that's pretty good for high school volleyball," Obrey said. "She was able to keep us in there, extend plays on the rallies digging-wise, which allows our hitters to feel a little more comfortable in their passing lanes."

Dong, a third-year varsity player, has seen her workload increase with each season. As a freshman she saw spot duty at defensive specialist. Going into her sophomore season, Dong was set to battle senior Sammie Worley for the libero spot.

"Naya and Sammy were in the libero position in the preseason, then in the season we went with Sammy, but Naya was our defensive specialist for the right side and she played three rotations, but about two or three matches into the ILH season she tore her ACL in a match going for a ball," Obrey said. "She's back now, she's healthy, she worked hard in the summer to get back and is our starting libero now."

Obrey said the injury allowed Dong to see the game from a different perspective. She shadowed back row coach Kelli Obrey — the coach's wife — during practices and sat with her during games as well.

"We kind of left her with (Kelli) so they ca talk and increase the IQ for her," Kainoa Obrey said. "I think it absolutely helped her, but I think the biggest thing is her commitment to be around, learn it, grow and collect information. It was a big step for her, because it could have gone either way. She could have just done her rehab and not gone to practice, but she chose to go to both and she worked really hard getting herself stronger overall."

Dong's work ethic brought her back from the injury about "two to four weeks" ahead of schedule, Obrey said.

"She has a lot of support from her family and then within our program we support her, so she definitely has a lot of people behind her and knowing that allowed her to stay in the moment rather than be so reflective of the injury," Obrey said. "It was exciting when she got back on the court in May. You could see the passion in her just being back out there."

Obrey said Dong's blue-collar mentality has made her an invaluable asset to the team.

"She's reliable and we trust her platform and ball-handling. She's definitely increased our passing numbers this season. We're handling the ball on serve-receive a lot better," Obrey said. "She's someone that holds down that libero position, but she's not that extremely outwardly vocal player. She goes up and talks to our players and she's our back row lead, I guess you could say. The cool thing is you don't notice her until she makes all the plays because she's that steady for us and we depend on her, so we're fortunate."

Dong and the Raiders (2-1) visit Maryknoll Thursday before hosting Kamehameha Saturday.

AIR RIFLERY
Rhema Balisbisana, Moanalua — Shot a high score of 538.16 in a win over Kailua

Taylor Dunaway, Kaiser — Shot a high score of 535.17 in a loss to Kalani

Cole Fukumitsu, Moanalua — Shot a high score of 538.2 in a win over Castle and 532.12 in a win over Kailua

Malia Neumann, Kalani — Shot a high score of 530.12 in a win over Kaimuki and 531.11 in a win over Kaiser

Justin Pascua, Kalaheo — Shot a high score of 539.16 in a win over Kailua and  535.12 in a win over Kahuku

Caroline Pickart, Kalaheo — Shot a high score of 533.13 in a win over Kahuku

James Sheridan, Kapolei — Shot a high score of 542.23 in a win over Leilehua

Trinity Mateo, Kapolei — Shot a high score of 541.25 in a win over Leilehua

BOWLING
Richard Armstrong, Radford — Rolled a high single game of 202 and three-game series of 579 in an OIA West boys meet

Josiah Benner-Islet, Campbell — Rolled a high single game of 209 and three-game series of 573 in an OIA West boys meet

Jake Brett, Kapolei — Rolled a high single game of 212 and a three-game series of 555 in an OIA West boys meet

Cody-Schayne Castelo, Pearl City — Rolled a high single game of 216 and a three-game series of 507 in an OIA West boys meet

Mathis Yamamoto, Moanalua — Rolled a high single game of 230 and a three-game series of 541 in an OIA East boys meet

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Hoku Cachola, Aiea — Had 18 assists and two kills in a two-set win over Nanakuli

Rhyenne Filisi, Maryknoll — Had 13 kills, five digs, two block assists and one ace in a two-set loss to Iolani

Jhenna Gabriel, Maryknoll — Had 21 assists, six digs, five block assists, one kill and an ace in a two-set loss to Iolani

Kiari Gier, Maryknoll — Had 11 digs and two assists in a two-set loss to Iolani

Saige Kaahaaina-Torres, Iolani — Had 16 kills, eight digs and one block assist in a two-set win over Maryknoll and had 19 kills and five digs in a three-set win over Kamehameha

Kayla Kahauolopua, Waiakea — Had 18 kills in a four-set loss to Hilo

Chasry Lum-King, Kaimuki — Had 17 kills and four aces in a three-set win over Kailua

Nina Macphetridge, King Kekaulike — Had 22 kills in a four-set loss to Kamehameha-Maui

Shaelyn McCutcheon, Molokai — Had 11 kills and four aces in a three-set win over Lanai

Kristen McDaniel, Iolani — Had 25 assists, seven digs, two block assists and a kill in a two-set win over Maryknoll and had 31 assists, six digs, one kill and a block assist in a three-set win over Kamehameha

Kayana Mossman, Kaiser — Had 22 assists, two aces and a kill in a three-set loss to Anuenue

Elena Oglivie, Iolani — Had 15 digs and nine kills in a two-set win over Maryknoll and had 10 kills and 10 digs in a three-set win over Kamehameha

Shaina Rapanot-Uyechi, King Kekaulike — Had 18 digs and two aces in a four-set loss to Kamehameha-Maui

Grace Ringor, Molokai — Had 27 assists in a three-set win over Lanai

Olivia Transfiguracion, Kapolei — Had 20 assists, one kill and an ace in a two-set win over Mililani

Kawai Ua, Hilo — Had 20 kills in a four-set win over Waiakea

FOOTBALL
Pokii Adkins-Kupukaa, Campbell — Scored on a 45-yard interception return in a win over Kaiser

Isaiah Ahana, Kapolei — Caught 10 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Leilehua

Burkhardt Aitavale, Pearl City — Had two sacks in a win over Kalaheo

Chayce Akaka, Baldwin — Passed for 197 yards with two touchdowns and rushed for 162 yards on 21 carries in a loss to Lahainaluna

Kaimanuwai Akana, Saint Francis — Completed 22 of 32 passes for 194 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in a win over PAC-5

Bobby Alualu-Alo, Farrington — Rushed for 159 yards on 15 carries in a win over Kailua

Konapiliahi Andres, Leilehua — Completed 10 of 20 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another score in a win over Kapolei

Braiden Ayala, Waianae — Intercepted two passes and returned one for a 46-yard touchdown in a win over Moanalua

Mitchel Camacho, Roosevelt — Rushed 11 times for 145 yards in a loss to Kaimuki

Andre Carter, Pearl City — Rushed 15 times for 112 yards in a win over Kalaheo

Chasen Castilliano, Farrington — Had 4 1/2 tackles and intercepted two passes in a win over Kailua

Chevan Cordeiro, Saint Louis — Completed 22 of 31 passes for 248 yards with a touchdown and rushed eight times for 59 yards and two other scores in a win over Kamehameha

Austin Ewing, Konawaena — Completed 12 of 19 passes for 134 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Keaau

Nathan Facuri, Kamehameha-Maui — Caught three touchdown passes in a win over King Kekaulike

Cameron Faletufuga, Farrington — Had 4 1/2 tackles, including 2 1/2 sacks, in a win over Kailua

Marcus Faufata-Pedrina, Damien — Completed 13 of 16 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns without an interception and rushed 10 times for 74 yards and another score in a win over Iolani

Kaikea Gonsales, PAC-5 — Scored on a 94-yard kickoff return in a loss to Saint Francis

Ezra Grace, Moanalua — Caught seven passes for 66 yards with a touchdown and rushed for another score in a loss to Waianae

Tre'quan Henderson, Moanalua — Scored on a 45-yard fumble return in a loss to Waianae

Kahale Huddleston, Hilo — Rushed eight times for 135 yards with three touchdowns and scored on a 90-yard kickoff return in a win over Honokaa

Andrei Iosivas, Punahou — Caught six passes for 189 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Serra

Kaniala Kalaola, Kapolei — Completed 27 of 39 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Leilehua

Daniel Kapua, Kamehameha-Maui — Scored on an 11-yard fumble return in a win over King Kekaulike

Keoua Kauhi, Damien — Rushed 18 times for 107 yards in a win over Iolani

Aaron Kenigton, Leilehua — Had two sacks in a win over Kapolei

Pomai Kim, Damien — Had three sacks in a win over Iolani

Nahum Kipi, Nanakuli — Threw for 182 yards with two touchdowns and rushed for 78 yards and another score in a loss to Castle

Kainalu Lacno, Baldwin — Caught eight passes for 112 yards in a loss to Lahainaluna

Takaamotaoa Lautaha, Saint Francis — Had two sacks, including one for a safety, in a win over PAC-5

Logan Lauti, Damien — Caught three passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Iolani

Kaulana Makaula, Punahou — Scored on a 58-yard interception return in a win over Serra

Kilifi Malepeai, Mililani — Rushed for four touchdowns in a win over Clayton Valley

Kanai Mauga, Waianae — Scored on a 17-yard interception return in a win over Moanalua

Scott McLeod, Saint Francis — Caught two touchdown passes and scored on a 59-yard kickoff return in a win over PAC-5

Tai-John Mizutani, Iolani — Completed 24 of 35 passes for 240 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to Damien

Chayce Morgan, Nanakuli — Scored on a 40-yard fumble return in a loss to Castle

Kawai Naki, Castle — Caught five passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Nanakuli

Enoch Nawahine, Kahuku — Rushed for 159 yards and two touchdowns on six carries in a win over Aiea

Chasen Palaylay-Shuford, Castle — Rushed 11 times for 137 yards with a touchdown and caught seven passes for 50 yards in a win over Nanakuli

Jonah Panoke, Saint Louis — Caught eight passes for 105 yards and a touchdown in a win over Kamehameha

Rico Rosario, Waianae — Rushed for 242 yards and four touchdowns on 22 carries in a win over Moanalua

Joshua Salvido, Campbell — Rushed 13 times for 100 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Kaiser

Kainoa Sanchez, Kamehameha-Maui — Threw three touchdown passes and rushed for another score in a win over King Kekaulike

Jhoven Sausai, Campbell — Scored on a 75-yard kickoff return in a win over Kaiser

Ieke Seei-Cleveland, Kaimuki — Carried 20 times for 97 yards and a touchdown in a win over Roosevelt

Makana Smith, Castle — Caught seven passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Nanakuli

Travis Tagad, Kalani — Caught three passes for 89 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Waialua

Jeremiah Tauai, Campbell — Scored on a 35-yard interception return in a win over Kaiser

Joshua Tihada, Lahainaluna — Rushed 16 times for 100 yards and a touchdown in a win over Baldwin

Seth Tina-Soberano, Kalani — Completed 18 of 32 passes for 277 yards with three touchdowns and rushed 13 times for 105 yards and another score in a win over Waialua

Kainalu Tumpap, Saint Louis — Rushed for two touchdown in a win over Kamehameha

Zion Tupuola-Fetui, Pearl City — Caught a touchdown pass, recorded a sack and scored on a 10-yard blocked punt return in a win over Kalaheo

Jett Uechi, PAC-5 — Caught nine passes for 186 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Saint Francis

Jaylen Uyemura-Lee, Castle — Completed 25 of 37 passes for 332 yards and four touchdowns without an interception in a win over Nanakuli