Thursday night’s battle between Punahou and Mililani was waged on many fronts. One of the most important featured Punahou’s left tackle trying to contain Mililani defensive end Kelii Padello. It was very much a heavyweight title fight, so let’s treat it as such.
In one corner, standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 310 pounds, Punahou junior Semisi Uluave. In the other corner, Mililani’s Padello (5-11, 200). Let’s get ready to rumble!
Round 1
Padello hit the field for Punahou’s first offensive series like Aaron Pryor against Alexis Arguello — all out. Uluave sprinted from his position and ate up Mililani linebacker Jacob Afele before setting his sights on defensive back Jaren Zadio. Padello didn’t engage with the tackle on that play, but he certainly did for the rest of the series. Padello beat Uluave to the edge on Punahou’s second offensive snap, and all Uluave could do was wrap his arm under the speedster’s helmet. Padello begged for the call and the ref bought it and threw the flag as Uluave protested. Holding.
After showing Uluave his speed, Padello bull-rushed Uluave on the next snap and collected the quarterback with him for a sack. Padello then beat Uluave on an inside spin move to pressure Punahou quarterback Larry Tuileta again. Punahou ended the series with a punt. The round goes to Padello, 10-8.
Round 2
Uluave came out for Punahou’s second series with a purpose, using his long arms to neutralize Padello on the first snap. Padello went around him on the second snap, but Punahou tight end Dakota Torres picked him up and did so again on the third play. Padello showed off his strength again on the next play, pushing Uluave back while teammate Rex Manu picked up Mililani’s second sack. Padello got the Trojans’ third sack two plays later when he beat Uluave on another speed rush and hit Tuileta hard from the blind side. Padello wins the second round 10-8.
“I wanted to use my speed more,” Padello said. “I just wanted to get to the edge and get penetration from there.”
Round 3
Padello, who had been in a 2-point stance previously, dropped down to a 3-point stance and wasn’t nearly as effective. Uluave got to his man before he could make a move and dominated him on the first snap of the third series. Padello responded with an inside move on the next play, getting to Tuileta a split second after the QB got rid of it. Uluave won the next four battles easily, but Padello earned another hurry on the last play of the series when he stood up to use his first step. Round goes to Uluave, 10-9.
“We came out a bit rusty,” Uluave said. “We had two weeks off after the Farrington scrimmage, but after the rust came off and the jitters came out, we got to pound a little bit. Their defensive ends were really fast. They gave us great challenges today. I give them props. They were really good. For me, my advantage is I know the count. I have to get off the count as fast as I can and get my hands on their chest. They got me a good amount of times, so I know what I’ve got to work on.”
Round 4
Uluave is figuring out Padello’s game and wins the first three snaps before letting Padello past him on the fourth but delaying him long enough for Tuileta to scramble to safety. Padello got a hand on Tuileta on the last play of the drive, but the veteran QB slid out of the danger and hit Luke Morris on fourth and 6 for the first score of the game. Round goes to Uluave, 10-9.
Round 5
Punahou begins its fifth series by staying on the ground, and Uluave is a road grader. The combatants engage seven times on a long Punahou drive that ends with another touchdown pass, and Uluave wins each of them. The Buffanblu run the first three plays and pass on the next four. Round goes to Uluave, 10-8.
Round 6
Now it’s Padello’s time to adjust. Uluave wins the first exchange, but Padello comes back and threatens Tuileta on a speed rush on the second snap. Davis Miyashiro-Saipa’ia helps Uluave with Padello and the pair swallow him up on one play, but after getting single coverage on the next, Padello hurries Tuileta again with a bull-rush. Fullback Kotoni Sekona helps Uluave with Padello on the last play of the series, but that allows Mililani’s Kaimana Padello to get a sack and force Punahou to punt. Round tied 10-10.
Round 7
Padello begins the second half on fire, beating Uluave with a speed rush on the first play for another sack. Uluave punishes him on the next play, but Padello comes back with another speed rush on the third snap and nearly gets to Tuileta, who evades trouble. Uluave grounds Padello down on the next three plays. Round goes to Padello, 10-9.
Round 8
Padello tries something different on Punahou’s second series of the second half, lining up on the left side away from Uluave. Senior right tackle Jared Caputy handles Padello on the first snap while Uluave controls Kaimana Padello. Uluave keeps his edge over Kaimana Padello, but Kelii Padello beats Caputy on the fifth play of the drive for his fourth sack. He went to the sideline after the sack and didn’t return. Punahou took advantage of it, scoring another touchdown on a run by Sekona. Round even, 10-10, since they never engaged.
“He’s heckuva fast,” Uluave said. “I told him when we were shaking hands, he’s a heckuva athlete. I give him props. When I saw him move to the right side, I realized me and him were having a good battle, now it’s time for him to see what he could do on the right side. I never underestimate my opponents. He’s a really good athlete, straight up.”
Round 9
Padello begins the next series matched up with Caputy and is ineffective, so he moves back to Uluave’s side. Uluave overwhelms Padello on three straight plays before the defensive end goes to the sideline with a cramp and misses the rest of the series with his helmet off and chugging Gatorade. Padello keeps his helmet on for much of the second half, but stays put on the bench, only rising to stretch a little bit to work the cramps out. He would not return. Uluave, 10-8.
And the winner is…
Padello caused havoc for Uluave initially, but the junior offensive tackle grinds out a win in the money rounds, 85-84.
“I just need to hydrate more,” Padello said. “Get more electrolytes and stuff. We’ve still got a whole season ahead.”
If you call it a one on one battle Padello took the WIN!! Uluave need help to stop Padello!! Dont get me wrong Uluave is a beats, but lets say SPEED Kills.. GO TROJANS!!
Disagree with this…. #33 dominated this game bad…. He must have had 3 sacks and at 10 QB hurries in which Tuileta bought time with his feet and made some terrific passes down field… In no way does a DE lose a battle in which he gets 2 or more sacks.. I watched the game live, then went to the DVR to check out the 1 on 1s in pass protection…. #33 used outside moves as well as a few inside bull rushes to get to the QB.
Like all boxing decisions, it is up to interpretation. I didn’t have the benefit of replay and possibly could have given Padello a 10-9 on the round I had tied and called it a draw. But like in combat sports, I did not want to stray from my grades before the next series. If I stayed strictly with the boxing theme, the result probably should have been Uluave by TKO since Padello didn’t play the last three series.
The decision doesn’t really matter, I just tried an interesting (to me) idea and enjoyed watching these two great players go at it over and over again. I am sure coaches will watch the tape and grade each players’ performance differently, I just thought it was a cool idea and hope to do it again.
padello is outweighted by over 100lbs and was still able to push the LT into the backfield on many occasions. For an ex left tackle (myself) that was pretty embarrasing. Uluave was not able to get proper techinque all night.. He was chasing padello from the first snap to the last when padello got injured. It is a cardinal sin for a blind side tackle to give up sacks.. uluave gave up 3. If it wasnt for tuiletas mobility padello would have had atleast 3 more sacks. uluave hit the weight room son.. a wr type body player should not be pushing u around.. uluave dont show this tape to any scouts. once they see u getting bullrushed into the qb the tape will go in the garbage.. tough words but true!
Jerry Campany, what game were you watching?!?!?!?! This wasn’t even close. To say Uluave won this battle is an injustice to Padello and his relentless motor. Uluave looked pedestrian out there. Not only did Padello beat Uluave with his speed but also with a power bullrush. That is astonishing for a player who is outweighed by over a hundred pounds. It is also astonishing that Uluave wasn’t better prepared for such an athlete. He faces Kaumatule daily in practice.
Uluave surely did not win this battle. The highly esteemed and frequently talked about first team all state tackle should have dominated from start to finish, period. Instead he’s blabbing
About being rusty after not playing for a while, shows how much work he’s putting into work outs and practices. Kaumatule has been out for a while too, it’ll be interesting to finally see him suit up and earn all of the recruiting buzz and high rankings He’s already recieved without even playing a game yet.
excellent coverage!!! keep up the good work guys