Yuuya Kato rushed for a career-high 138 yards and four touchdowns as No. 8 ‘Iolani overpowered Damien 48-16 on Friday night at Aloha Stadium.
As they’ve done in the past, the Raiders depended less on an aerial attack against the Monarchs. In winning their 11th game in a row over Damien, the Raiders got at least 97 rushing yards from a running back for the sixth time in a row. ‘Iolani rushed 43 times for 247 yards and evened its record in ILH play to 2-2 (5-2 overall).
Quarterback Reece Foy threw just 17 passes, his lowest total since a win over Hawaii Prep. He finished with 124 passing yards and scrambled for another 44 yards, collecting a handful of first downs along the way.
The win snapped a two-game losing streak for the Raiders.
Damien fell to 0-4 in league play (3-4 overall).
The Monarchs used leading rusher Kyle Sato as a cornerback most of the night. He had just one carry in the game while Trevor Caspillo (10 carries, 47 yards) got the bulk of the work out of the backfield.
That tactic worked for some time. The Raiders didn’t score until Kato busted through on a 1-yard touchdown with 3 minutes left in the first quarter, but the Monarchs answered with a seven-play, 52-yard drive. Quarterback Syles Choy scrambled left and scored on a 9-yard sprint to the pylon, tying the game at 7-all with 33 seconds to go in the first.
‘Iolani stayed with its no-huddle attack, driving on the next series to paydirt. Foy pump-faked inside and went to the right corner for a 21-yard touchdown pass to Chase Kanekuni. The Raiders led 14-7 with 8 minutes remaining in the first half.
Damien responded with another scoring drive, getting a 41-yard field goal from Lyle Alloy-Glover. But ‘Iolani got two gifts from Damien on the ensuing series — a pair of 12-men-on-the-field penalties — to score again. One of the 15-yard flags came on a third-and-16 incomplete pass by Foy.
The Raiders got another 1-yard bolt up the middle from Kato to take a 21-10 lead with 2:18 to go in the half.
A 39-yard kick return by Max Look set the Raiders up at the Damien 29-yard line to start the second half. Two plays later, Kato scored easily up the gut on a 28-yard run for a 27-10 Raiders lead.
From there, it was all Raiders for most of the way. Kato scored his fourth touchdown on a 14-yard run, late in the third quarter. Reserve running back Max Maneafaiga scored on a 5-yard run, and an interception by J.T. Los Banos set up a 4-yard scoring run by Adam Overcash.
At Aloha Stadium
‘IOLANI (2-2, 5-2) 7 14 13 14 — 48
DAMIEN (0-4, 3-4) 7 3 0 6 — 16
IOL—Yuuya Kato 1 run (Jordan Genovia kick)
DMS—Syles Choy 9 run (Lyle Alloy-Glover kick)
IOL—Chase Kanekuni 21 pass from Reece Foy (Genovia kick)
DMS—FG Alloy-Glover 41
IOL—Kato 1 run (Genovia kick)
IOL—Kato 28 run (kick failed)
IOL—Kato 14 run (Genovia kick)
IOL—Max Maneafaiga 5 run (Adam Overcash kick)
IOL—Overcash 4 run (Overcash kick)
DMS—Choy 3 run (kick failed)
RUSHING—‘Iolani: Kato 20-138, Foy 7-44, Max Maneafaiga 7-38, Easton Tsubata 1-12, Overcash 5-11, Tyler Teruya 1-4, Kyle Kekina 1-3, Tanner Nishioka 1-(-3). Damien: Choy 9-57, Trevor Caspillo 10-47, Bryson Dalmacio 1-1, Edwin Aumua 1-0, Kyle Sato 1-(-1).
PASSING—‘Iolani: Foy 12-17-0-124. Damien: Choy 14-29-3-154.
RECEIVING—‘Iolani: Chad Hanaoka 6-73, Kanekuni 2-29, Nishioka 2-14, Austin Ohira 1-6, Teruya 1-2. Damien: Dustin Munar 3-75, Dylan Flores 3-35, Kealii Kaanapu 2-29, Cullen Forbuger 1-20, Dalmacio 1-5, Sato 3-(-3), Caspillo 1-(-7).
