ILH Division II Playoffs
The matchup: ‘Iolani (5-4) vs. Saint Francis (1-7)
Location/Time: Aloha Stadium, Saturday, 2 p.m.
Head-to-head (since 1973): ‘Iolani leads 1-0
Only meeting: ‘Iolani, 35-0, Aug. 30, 2013
‘Iolani’s offensive leaders
Updated: Nov. 18| PASSING | G | C-A-I | Yds | TD |
| Austin Jim On | 11 | 166-246-7 | 1,837 | 20 |
| Easton Tsubata | 8 | 75-134-2 | 802 | 6 |
| RUSHING | G | Att. | Yds | TD |
| Jordan Ross | 10 | 100 | 729 | 10 |
| Tamatane Aga | 6 | 93 | 367 | 3 |
| RECEIVING | G | Rec. | Yds | TD |
| Keoni-Kordell Makekau | 12 | 65 | 984 | 10 |
| Chad Hanaoka | 9 | 53 | 491 | 6 |
| Chase Kanekuni | 11 | 48 | 544 | 3 |
| Tyler Teruya | 11 | 39 | 326 | 5 |
Saint Francis’ offensive leaders
Updated: Oct. 20| PASSING | G | C-A-I | Yds | TD |
| Ranan Mamiya | 7 | 56-108-7 | 435 | 2 |
| Blaze Umiamaka | 2 | 11-25-3 | 139 | 0 |
| RUSHING | G | Att. | Yds | TD |
| Ranan Mamiya | 7 | 143 | 681 | 4 |
| Taylor Wong-Monette | 5 | 12 | 118 | 1 |
| RECEIVING | G | Rec. | Yds | TD |
| Keli'i Macalino | 6 | 17 | 216 | 0 |
| Keola Kealoha | 4 | 16 | 139 | 1 |
| Maika Teal | 7 | 11 | 77 | 1 |
| Taylor Wong-Monette | 5 | 10 | 20 | 0 |
| *Missing 8/24 vs. Drumheller (Can.) | ||||
Before the ‘Iolani Raiders can defend their six consecutive Division II state championships, they will go for a ridiculous 10th straight ILH title.
Saint Francis is hoping to end the year with some kind of positive after having to forfeit its regular-season finale against Saint Louis.
The two teams meet for the second time this year in the first ILH postseason game under the new schedule format that has drawn a lot of attention.
The Raiders beat the Saints, 35-0, back in August. Sophomore Jordan Ross rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns on only 12 carries, averaging more than 10 yards a pop. However, he suffered an ankle injury in the win over Damien and has missed ‘Iolani’s last two games.
The Raiders have had injury problems all year. In addition to Ross, ‘Iolani has had to play in recent weeks without both of its star defensive backs in Max Look and J.T. Los Banos.
Quarterback Austin Jim On played the entire game in ‘Iolani’s regular-season finale against Pac-Five and threw for a career-high 367 yards. Sophomore Keoni-Kordell Makekau, the leading receiver in the ILH, set a school record with 220 receiving yards on 15 catches in the win over the Wolf Pack.
Saint Francis earned the program’s first victory with a 42-14 win over Drumheller, a team from Canada, in the preseason. Its closest game in six ILH loses was 34-14 against Damien, but as the season wore on, the Saints started to struggle with injuries, losing enough players to force them to forfeit their regular-season finale against Saint Louis.
Injuries forced running back Ranan Mamiya to move to quarterback, where he had the best game of his career against Kamehameha two weeks ago. Mamiya completed 68 percent of his throws (17-for-25) for 100 yards and two touchdowns and carried the ball 30 times for 186 yards and another score.
It’s a longshot that the Saints will be able to do much against ‘Iolani, but it’s a testament to the kids’ toughness to get out there and finish the first season in school history on the field. ‘Iolani hasn’t been able to slow anyone down defensively against the run, so Saint Francis might find a little success. Still, the Raiders should be a shoe in to advance to next week’s Division II title game, where either Pac-Five or Damien will be waiting.
COMMENTS