Arakawa to Barayuga works for ‘Iolani

By Paul Honda

The third time was the charm for Jarrett Arakawa and ‘Iolani’s potent offense.

Stifled by Kaiser’s defense for the first two series, Arakawa threw the first of his four touchdown passes — all before halftime — as the Raiders scored 30 second-quarter points en route to a 30-7 win over Kaiser at Aloha Stadium in the Father Bray Classic.

Three of the scoring plays went to Kevin Barayuga, who finished with eight receptions for 102 yards.

Arakawa passed for 238 yards (16-for-24) and did not play in the second half.

All in all, though, Raiders coach Wendell Look is ready to get back on the practice field soon.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do. We had a lot of mental breakdowns,” he said. “The good thing is, they learn to make plays in a game, even after a mistake.”

For Kaiser coach Pat Samsonas, competition against his alma mater — where he was an assistant — is always a monumental challenge.

“Being from ‘Iolani, I know they have that thing down to a science, controlling that crispness,” said Samsonas, a former Raiders assistant. “Our defense, our offense is (the same as ‘Iolani’s). We want to challenge our guys. We may not have the numbers, but the only way to get tougher and better is to play the best.”

Arakawa was at his best often. His 13-yard strike to Barayuga on a post route capped an 82-yard drive early in the second quarter. A 21-yard screen pass to Bret Christman and a face-mask penalty on Kaiser helped.

After an interception by Cody Petro-Sakuma set up the Raiders at the Kaiser 25-yard line, Arakawa and Barayuga needed just one play to connect on a 25-yard touchdown, and ‘Iolani led 14-0 with 11:24 left in the second quarter.

Using its no-huddle, run-and-shoot attack like it had all night, ‘Iolani drove 70 yards in nine plays for another score. Arakawa found Barayuga on a crossing route and the junior speedster raced to the goal line to give the Raiders a 21-0 lead with 4:40 to go before intermission.

Another miscue cost Kaiser moments later. A botched kickoff return led to poor field position, and quarterback Teli Latu was sacked in the end zone on an end-around run for a safety.

The Raiders got a 41-yard screen pass from Arakawa to Christman to set up the next touchdown, a 32-yard bomb from Arakawa to Christman. ‘Iolani led 30-0 with 2:02 left in the half.

From there, sophomore Josh Hannum took over at quarterback and ‘Iolani’s defense kept a lid on Kaiser’s run-and-shoot offense.

The Cougars finally ended their scoring drought on Shogo Inagaki’s 8-yard burst up the middle with 6:52 left. Latu got hot then, finding receiver Kaiwi Ramseyer five times in all in the second half to keep the chains moving. Latu fired a 7-yard scoring pass to Cody Cadirao for Kaiser’s second touchdown with 1:55 remaining.

A 64-yard interception return by Zach Roufs-Hedani gave the Cougars their final touchdown with 1:26 to go.

“I’m proud of them, how they fought back,” Samsonas said. “It was a good test for us.”

No. 9 ‘Iolani 30, Kaiser 19

At Aloha Stadium

Kaiser (0-1) 0 0 0 19 — 19

‘Iolani (1-0) 0 30 0 0 — 30

‘Iol—Kevin Barayuga 13 pass from Jarrett Arakawa (Andrew Skalman kick)

‘Iol—Barayuga 25 pass from Arakawa (Skalman kick)

‘Iol—Barayuga 15 pass from Arakawa (Skalman kick)

‘Iol—Safety, Teli Latu tackled in end zone

‘Iol—Bret Christman 32 pass from Arakawa (Skalman kick)

Kais—Shogo Inagaki 8 run (Izumi Kuwabara kick)

Kais—Cody Cadirao 7 pass from Latu (kick failed)

Kais—Zach Roufs-Hedani 64 interception return (kick failed)

RUSHING—Kaiser: Inagaki 10-46, Josh Gonda 2-9, Latu 8-7, Jesse Kauhola 3-3. ‘Iolani: Alex Matsunami 8-47, Josh Hannum 3-24, Jaron Teramoto 10-18, Barayuga 1-7, Kila Zuttermeister 2-0, Arakawa 2-0.

PASSING—Kaiser: Latu 16-32-1-208. ‘Iolani: Arakawa 16-24-1-238, Hannum 9-12-1-65.

RECEIVING—Kaiser: Kaiwi Ramseyer 5-55, Josh Perry-Kruse 3-61, Bryce Masaki 3-51, Seth Keolanui 1-22, Gonda 1-14, Cadirao 1-7, Inagaki 1-0, Josh Lopez 1-(-2). ‘Iolani: Barayuga 8-102, Christman 5-110, Matt Talavera 3-22, Zuttermeister 3-20, Sam Lee 2-16, Kasey Takahashi 1-14, Josiah Sukumaran 2-12, Teramoto 1-7.