GAME NIGHT 11/5: Kapolei/Punahou

By creating an Open Division for the state tournament, fans are given more opportunities to see how some of the best in the OIA stack up to the best of the ILH.

Kapolei, ranked fifth in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser Top 10, gets the first crack when it faces No. 3 Punahou in the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday night at Aloha Stadium.

Kapolei 33, Punahou 21

Hurricanes (10-2) advance to play Kahuku in semifinals of Open Division next Friday night at Aloha Stadium.

at Aloha Stadium
Kapolei (10-2) 0 13 7 13 — 33
Punahou (7-3) 7 0 14 0 — 21
Pun—Keala Martinson 27 pass from Nick Kapule (Jeff Chan kick)
Kapo—Jaymin Sarono 22 pass from Taulia Tagovailoa (kick failed)
Kapo—Sarono 19 pass from Tagovailoa (Tanner Ritchey kick)
Pun—Martinson 28 pass from Stephen Barber (Chan kick)
Kapo—Wyatt Perez 7 pass from Tagovailoa (Ritchey kick)
Pun—Martinson 17 pass from Barber (Chan kick)
Kapo—Sarono 3 pass from Tagovailoa (pass failed)
Kapo—Sarono 4 pass from Tagovailoa (Ritchey kick)

RUSHING—Kapolei: Leighton Rosa 7-30, Antoneo Brown 6-20, Tamatoa Mokiao-Atimalala 6-12, Perez 1-1, Tagoaviloa 5-(minus 17). Punahou: Enoch Nawahine 5-21, Kapule 11-9, Sitiveni Kaufusi 2-5, Stephen Barber 5-(minus 37).
PASSING—Kapolei: Tagovailoa 28-37-0-367. Punahou: Barber 13-21-0-169, Kapule 9-15-1-120.
RECEIVING—Kapolei: Sarono 9-87, Perez 8-132, Mokiao-Atimalala 5-72, Kaeo Alvarez-Ranan 4-61, Isaiah Ahana 1-17, Rosa 1-(minus 2). Punahou: Martinson 9-168, Judd Cockett 4-40, Ethan Takeyama 3-43, Eamon Brady 3-20, Nawahine 2-10, Kaufusi 1-6, Paulo Soa 0-2.

FOURTH QUARTER

Kapolei fumbles with 11 seconds left inside the 10 but it won’t matter. Eleven seconds left. Kapolei is going to win this thing. FINAL.

Barber scrambling for his life and Dylan Naehu comes up with a huge sack to force Punahou to lose 22 yards. Buffanblu will punt with 5:30 remaining. NO. They go for it and Barber throws up a prayer and it’s CAUGHT by Martinson for 46 yards at the Kapolei 33. Buffanblu still have a pulse. 5:05 remaining. Now Barber is wrapped up but somehow gets it away and HAS A MAN OPEN. NO! It’s just overthrown. It’s getting crazy down the stretch. Third-and-10. Barber overshoots Martinson in the end zone and it’s fourth down. Barber is SACKED by about four different Hurricanes near midfield. Turnover on downs with 4:36 remaining.

Tamatoa Mokiao-Atimalala with a 7-yard run to set up third-and-3. Kapolei calls timeout. Dump underneath to Sarono for 13 yards and Jaymin Sarono is first player in Hawaii high school history with 100 receptions in a season. Tagovailoa fits an absolutely beauty into the hands of Alvarez-Ranan to the 4-yard line. A 17-yard pass and Tagovailoa passes Jarin Morikawa (Mililani) for fourth place on single-season passing list. Tagovailoa scrambles and he hits Sarono for a 4-yard TD. Biggest lead of the game for Kapolei, 33-21, with 6:45 left.

Punahou starts on its 41. A 9-yard pass to Cockett moves the ball past midfield. Cockett picks up 9 more for a first down to the 36. Pass out of the backfield to Kaufusi and he tries to hurdle a defender but fumbles. Kapolei recovers before it goes out of bounds and penalty for hurdling is declined. Kapolei takes over on own 30 with 9:08 remaining.

More flags on the kick return. Weeeeeeeeeeeee. Unsportsmanlike conduct call on a Kapolei player for taunting.

Kapolei will start the fourth quarter second-and-8 at the Punahou 20. False start on Kapolei. Lakalaka with a tackle to set up third-and-8. Tagovailoa dumps it off to Perez for 17 yards to the 3. Tagovailoa with TD pass No. 40 as Sarono hauls in third of the game from 3 yards out. Kapolei back in front. Perez takes a nasty hit to the helmet area on the two-point try and is down. Punahou flagged on the play. Perez able to jog off on his own. Tagovailoa runs in the two-point conversion but Kapolei is called for a hold. Kapolei goes for 2 from the 15. Third try and there’s another flag. Make that two. One on each team. Let’s try it a fourth time. Pass fails. 26-21, 11:03.

THIRD QUARTER

Kapolei starts on its 30 as we’ve already had three lead changes in the third quarter. Risky throw over the middle is batted away by the Buffanblu defense. Two incomplete passes and then Dominick comes flying in to sack Tagovailoa, who took way too much time in the backfield. A personal foul is called on Punahou though and the drive stays alive. Two nice runs by Antoneo Brown pick up a first down. Now an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Punahou moves the ball to the Buffanblu 22.

Big return by Nawahine out to the 50. 38 yards on the return. Barber remains in the game at QB and picks up 4. Now Barber has to take a knee. Kapolei player also hurt on the play. Barber stays in and hits Judd Cockett for 11 yards to the 35. Big play on third-and-10 as Barber finds Takeyama for 13. Barber scrambles so far behind the line of scrimmage that he throws a ball 25 yards in the air that is complete for a loss of 1. Third-and-11. Pass complete to Eamon Brady for 6 yards to the 17. Fourth-and-5. Martinson with his THIRD TD catch of the game. Out-and-up is good for a 17-yard TD. Punahou back in front, 21-20. 2:38.

Falcon Kaumatule with a sack to start Kapolei’s first drive. Six-yard loss. Punahou loses Alvarez-Ranan on defense and he’s wide open for a 33-yard gain out to the 47. Third-and-2 now at the Punahou 28. Tamatoa Mokiao-Atimalala out of the backfield is wide open for 12 yards. Tagovailoa with his third TD pass as he hits Wyatt Perez on a 7-yard TD to put Kapolei back in front. Eight plays, 80 yards on the drive. 20-14, 5:12.

Punahou starts on its 26. Kapule starts with a keeper and runs for 6. Kapolei is whistled for a second sideline interference, resulting in a 15-yard penalty to the 48 after Kapule scrambles for 5 more and a first down. Tagovailoa-Amosa just eats up the right tackle to pick up his second sack. Third-and-1 and Kapule keeps it and is stopped short but takes a big hit. Face-mask called on Kapolei so it’s a first down due to a penalty. Second one on drive. Stephen Barber in as Kapule was hit pretty hard and he throws a 28-yard TD to Martinson. TD Barber to Martinson. Buffanblu with a 74-yard drive helped out by two 15-yard Kapolei penalties. 14-13 Punahou, 9:33.

HALFTIME BOX
at Aloha Stadium
Kapolei (9-2) 0 13
Punahou (7-2) 7 0
Pun—Keala Martinson 27 pass from Nick Kapule (Jeff Chan kick)
Kapo—Jaymin Sarono 22 pass from Taulia Tagovailoa (kick failed)
Kapo—Sarono 19 pass from Tagovailoa (Tanner Ritchey kick)

RUSHING—Kapolei: Leighton Rosa 1-9, Antoneo Brown 3-5, Wyatt Perez 1-1, Tagoaviloa 3-(minus 2), Tamatoa Mokiao-Atimalala 2-(minus 8). Punahou: Enoch Nawahine 5-21, Sitiveni Kaufusi 1-3, Kapule 6-(minus 2), Stephen Barber 1-(minus 4).
PASSING—Kapolei: Tagovailoa 14-18-0-207. Punahou: Kapule 9-15-1-120.
RECEIVING—Kapolei: Sarono 6-67, Perez 3-80, Mokiao-Atimalala 2-36, Isaiah Ahana 1-17, Kaeo Alvarez-Ranan 1-9, Rosa 1-(minus 2). Punahou: Martinson 4-64, Ethan Takeyama 2-30, Eamon Brady 1-15, Judd Cockett 1-11, Nawahine 1-0.

SECOND QUARTER

Kapolei runs a middle screen on third-and-5 that picks up 26 to the 50 but a hold on the receiver is going to be called as a Kapolei OL is down on the play. Even with the penalty it’s still a first down. Senior OL Jon Kansana (6-0, 315) helped off the field. Kapolei runs out the clock. HALF.

Punahou ball on its 48 and Martinson hauls in a pass for 13 yards to the 39. Rush gets to Kapule, forcing an incompletion with 1:28 on clock. Kapule escapes a sack but ball goes off a receiver’s fingertips, off a defender and then Leonard Lee with the one-handed scoop off the ground for an INT and Kapolei takes over on its 19. Big pick by the Hurricanes defense.

Kapolei with a chance to do something here late in the half but Miki Suguturaga gets his first sack for Punahou. Coverage helped on that one. LB Ryan Dominick bats down a pass at the line of scrimmage. Third-and-10 throw is high and Buffanblu force quick three-and-out with 1:51 still on clock.

Key spot for Kapule here as Punahou will try to answer. Personal foul on Kapolei wipes out Tagovailoa-Amosa’s second sack. Offsides on Kapolei makes it first-and-5 and Kapule misses Takeyama open in the middle of the field. Kapule then short-arms a throw to the backer out of the backfield. Third down. High snap to Kapule forces him to keep and Tagovailoa-Amosa throws him to the turf. Just a 1-yard gain and Punahou will punt.

Another defensive PI call on Punahou moves the ball to the Kapolei 34. Junior Misi Fakatoumafi comes flying off his left end spot, beats the tackle and sacks Tagovailoa for a loss of 5. Sarono gets 6 back to make it third-and-9. Taulia takes off up the middle and gets seven but he’s 2 yards short. Kapolei will go for it. Fourth-and-2 on own 42 with 6:25 and counting in first half of defensive battle. Interesting choice here. DEEP ball down the middle is CAUGHT by Wyatt Perez. HUGE play nets 33 yards. What a gutsy call and throw and catch. Third-and-4 and Tagovailoa throws a bullet to Sarono for a 19-yard TD. Kapolei takes first lead, 13-7, 4:15.

Buffanblu to start on own 24. Punahou quickly out to the 42 as Nawahine runs for 10. Timeout as there is an injured Kapolei player. LB Keane Kanehailua looks OK. Kapule picks up 8 on the keeper to set up third-and-3. Nawahine stuffed on third down and Kapolei forces a Punahou punt.

Hurricanes start first-and-10 on Punahou 24. Tagovailoa to Jaymin Sarono for a 22-yard TD to tie this game up but the XP is missed. 10:47. Tagovailoa has passed McKenzie Milton (Mililani) for fifth place on the all-time single-season passing list. He needs 291 yards to get to fourth ahead of Jarin Morikawa (Mililani).

FIRST QUARTER

Hurricanes moving the wrong way as it’s first-and-15 at their own 5. QB Taulia Tagovailoa hits Wyatt Perez for a big 21-yard gainer. June Jones special right there. Tagovailoa scrambles for days and penalty flags fly. Jones over to talk to Tagovailoa, not liking seeing his QB running around for his life. Back to the 9 after a hold and it’s first-and-27 but Tagovailoa finds Isaiah Ahana for 17. Kaeo Alvarez-Ranan with a nice leaping catch for 9. Pass down the field over the middle on third-and-1 goes off the hands but a flag flies in. Defensive PI is called resulting in a first down at midfield. Third-and-10 and Taulia buys time and finds Perez for 26 yards to the 24. Escaped traffic and made throw on run. Nice play by Taulia. QUARTER.

Keala Martinson with an 11-yard reception on third-and-7 to move the chains. Eamon Brady wide open in the slot for 15 yards. Stephen Barber checks into the game at QB to run the ball but is stopped for a loss. Kalani Segovia with the TFL. Third-and-7 and Kapule throws a PERFECT 12-yard TD to Takeyama, but they are going to call offensive pass interference. Third-and-22 and Kapule finds an open Keala Martinson for a 27-yard TD. 7-0, 3:29, Q1.

Punahou forces a second consecutive third and out. Kapolei punts and the Buffanblu fumble on the return but Punahou recovers.

Punahou starts on its 39. Short pass from QB Nick Kapule to Ethan Takeyama on second down and he breaks the tackle in a one-on-one matchup and picks up 20 yards. Diving attempt by LB Keane Kanehailua is almost a pick. RB Enoch Nawahine stopped for no gain to set up third-and-10. DL Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa in on the pressure. Tagovailoa-Amosa with the sack on third down and Punahou will punt. Good stop for Kapolei.

Kapolei wins the toss and will receive. LB Seyddrick Lakalaka blows up a screen pass for a loss of yards on second down. Kapolei runs the same play to Tamatoa Mokiao-Atimalala on third down and he gets 10 yards but is 2 yards short. Punahou declines a holding call on Kapolei and the Hurricanes are three-and-out.

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The game features the top two passing quarterbacks in the state in Kapolei sophomore Taulia Tagovailoa (60%, 3,292 yards, 36 TD, 6 INT) and Punahou senior Nick Kapule (60%, 2,678 yards, 30 TD, 8 INT). Quarterbacks from two different teams have never thrown for more than 3,000 yards in the same season.

HISTORY: Punahou has won both games against Kapolei with the last coming in 2010.