While Kapaa had its chances, the Warriors just couldn’t topple battle-tested ‘Iolani.

The Raiders relied on gunslinger Austin Jim On, who found favorite target Keoni-Kordell Makekau on a wide-open crossing route. The speedy receiver caught it and then somersault into the end zone to complete the eventual game-winning 25-yard score with 1:35 left in the game.

While the 2-point conversion was no good, the Raiders established a 29-24 advantage that would hold up despite a feverish Warrior comeback in the semifinals of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Division II State Championship tournament late Saturday afternoon on ‘Iolani’s Eddie Hamada Field.

‘Iolani (7-3) advanced to face undefeated No. 1 seed Lahainaluna or BIIF Division II champion Kamehameha-Hawaii in Friday’s state championship game slated for 4:30 p.m. at Aloha Stadium.

"They’re a quality team, we just made one more play than they did," ‘Iolani coach Wendall Look said. "We’ve got to recover now, I can barely stand. We have a short week; we’ll take one day to recover then go back to work."

The scrappy Kapaa squad had a chance to win as time expired. But backup quarterback Kurt Napoleon took the final snap from the Raiders’ 39 and managed only a short a 12-yard pass to Shain Davis on the game’s last play. Napoleon, who was recently elevated from the junior varsity by coach Phillip Rapozo, entered in the third quarter for Warrior senior passer Rudy Agoot. He left with a concussion.

"You got two teams here that didn’t want to lose," Look said. "No quit in any of them. You’ve got to give Kapaa a lot of credit, this game could have gone either way."

‘Iolani cashed in two crucial Kapaa turnovers in the second quarter for what amounted to 10 critical points to build a 16-7 halftime lead.

On the first offensive play from scrimmage coming out of the halftime break, Kapaa narrowed the deficit to 16-14 on a 71-yard run by the speedy Davis. The touchdown energized the large contingent of supporters who traveled from the Garden Isle to support the Warriors.

‘Iolani leaned on KJ Pascua as the shifty back scored on a 10-yard scamper to put the Raiders ahead 23-14 with 4:09 remaining in the third quarter. Pascua finished the game with 53 hard-earned yards, including two scores on 21 carries, and the bounce-back drive proved key to the Raiders’ quelling Kapaa’s momentum.

"The drive right after that run was huge. They had the momentum going into the half (after scoring), and coming out of the half (Kapaa moved to within a score of the lead) on one play," Look said. "For us to come back and score was huge."

Kapaa answered on a gutsy 19-yard run by Agoot on which he discarded three would-be tacklers. He possibly suffered the concussion on that play. Davis took a direct snap out of the Wildcat formation and dashed up the middle from 3 yards out to cut ‘Iolani’s lead to 23-21 with 10:56 remaining in the game.

Davis turned in a memorable offensive performance, rushing for 127 yards and all three of Kapaa’s touchdowns on 16 carries while also hauling in four receptions for 38 yards.

As ‘Iolani drove into Warrior territory to establish breathing room, Jim On inexplicably threw into triple coverage and was picked off by Kapaa defensive back Chaz Pacleb, who returned the interception to his own 30-yard line with 9:02 left in the game. The Kapaa offense could not take advantage of the possession, though, and punted back to ‘Iolani.

The Warrior defense held the Raiders to a three-and-out on its ensuing possession, and after the visitors maneuvered to ‘Iolani’s 12, Noah Lamadrid booted a 29-yard field goal to put Kapaa ahead 24-23 with 5:03 remaining.

"That’s what you call football," said Rapozo as he stood before his physically and emotionally spent players, many of whom shed tears. "That’s why we came here, to battle. Unfortunately, we came out on the short side. … Somebody had to lose today, and unfortunately, it was us."

At ‘Iolani

Iol—KJ Pascua 3 run (Evan Minami kick)
Iol—Keoni-Kordell Makekau 31 FG
Iol—Makekau 33 pass from Austin Jim On (kick failed)
Kap—Shain Davis 2 run (Noah Lamadrid kick)
Kap—Davis 71 run (Lamadrid kick)
Iol—Pascua 10 run (Minami kick)
Kap—Davis 3 run (Lamadrid kick)
Kap—Lamadrid 29 FG
Iol—Makekau 25 pass from Jim On (pass failed)

RUSHING—Kapaa: Davis 15-122, Rudy Agoot 14-63, Justin DeForge 3-19, Junard Mata 2-9, Kekoa Kauahine Cacal 3-6, Kurt Napoleon 2-4, Elijah Gouveia McCarthy 4-1. ‘Iolani: Pascua 21-53, Storm Lotomau 12-43, Jim On 11-32.
PASSING—Kapaa: Napoleon 9-15-0-75, Agoot 5-11-1-54. ‘Iolani: Jim On 19-34-1-221.
RECEIVING—Kapaa: Dazmon Sasil 3-32, Davis 3-24, Mata 2-30, Leslee Aki 2-16, Gabe Keener 2-6, DeForge 1-15, McCarthy 1-6. ‘Iolani: Makekau 7-87, Travis Teruya 6-77, Connor Hannum 3-46, Connor Ohira 2-13, Tamatane Aga 1-(minus 2).