Only two teams have made it through three weeks of the ILH football season with three games played.
No. 7 ‘Iolani is the only one to have won them all.
Senior Brody Bantolina rushed for a career-high 154 yards and three touchdowns and Jacob Gaudi secured two key fourth-quarter interceptions on defense to help the Raiders defeat Kamehameha I-AA 35-20 at Aloha Stadium on Friday night.
The Raiders (3-0) couldn’t put the Warriors (0-2) away until Gaudi’s second interception in as many drives gave ‘Iolani the ball back with a 15-point lead and less than four minutes to go.
Kamehameha cut the deficit to 28-20 on a 58-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-2 from quarterback Noah Spencer to receiver Tai Perkins, who had 121 yards on five catches.
The Kamehameha defense forced a three-and-out and got the ball with a chance to tie with less than seven minutes to go when Gaudi stepped in front of a Spencer pass and returned the pick inside the Kamehameha 30.
‘Iolani scored four plays later on Bantolina’s 17-yard run to go up two scores.
“I have my reads and I was just going through my reads,” said Gaudi, one of seven players listed on the ‘Iolani roster as a hybrid. “My coaches told me to work out to the 1 and I got under (the receiver).”
The Raiders played a Kamehameha opponent for the first time since 2016, but these Warriors kept it close despite only being freshmen and sophomores.
Kamehameha struck first when defensive back Alika Harbottle stepped in front of ‘Iolani quarterback Micah Hoomanawanui’s first pass and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown to put his team up 8-0.
The Raiders responded with consecutive touchdowns from Bantolina, who took his second TD run 16 yards up the middle for a 13-8 lead with 9:06 left in the first quarter.
The lead changed hands two more times in the first half.
Spencer somehow snuck past four ‘Iolani defenders on an 8-yard TD run on fourth down to give his team a 14-13 lead.
The Warriors had the ball third-and-29 on their own 2-yard line when Moe Passi had his longest run of 31 yards to move the chains.
‘Iolani held the Warriors to 232 total yards but gave up most of that yardage on chunk plays in late-down situations.
“It wasn’t our best game for sure,” said senior Stirling Sakashita, another one of ‘Iolani’s hybrid players. “We’ve got a lot to work on … we held it down and that’s all the matters.”
Sakashita made 13 tackles in the first half alone and finished with 16 in the game with 21⁄2 for loss and a sack.
“He’s the middle of our defense and he’s just a workhorse,” Gaudi said. “He racks up the tackles and he’s always the first one to the ball.”
‘Iolani led 21-14 at the half and increased its lead to 14 when Hoomanawanui found Taniela Taliauli on a tight end screen for a 38-yard TD early in the fourth quarter.
Hoomanawanui finished 9-for-21 for 156 yards and two touchdowns with the one pick-6.
Spencer finished 16-for-24 for 205 yards and accounted for most of the offense for the Warriors, who were held to 25 yards on the ground.
at Aloha Stadium
‘Iolani (3-0) 7 14 0 14 — 35
Kamehameha II (0-2) 8 6 0 6 — 20
KSK — Alika Harbottle 34 interception return (Moe Passi run)
Iol — Brody Bantolina 21 run (Allison Chang kick)
Iol — Bantolina 16 run (run failed)
KSK — Noah Spencer 8 run (pass failed)
Iol — Kai Preusser 67 pass from Micah Hoomanawanui (Preusser pass from Hoomanawanui)
Iol — Taniela Taliauli 38 pass from Hoomanawanui (Chang kick)
KSK — Ty Perkins 58 pass from Spencer (run failed)
Iol — Bantolina 7 run (Chang kick)
RUSHING—‘Iolani: Bantolina 22-154, Kaeo Miyahira 5-35, Cainen Torres 2-8, team 2-(minus 5), Hoomanawanui 6-(minus 33). Kamehameha II: Passi 17-61, Nui Kaapana 1-4, Westyn Lane 2-3, Rusten Abang-Perez 2-(minus 2), Spencer 7-(minus 20), team 1-(minus 21).
PASSING—‘Iolani: Hoomanawanui 9-21–1-156, Kualau Manuel 1-1-0-6. Kamehameha II: Spencer 16-24–2-205, Pono Kaha’ulelio 0-1-1-0.
RECEIVING—‘Iolani: Tristan Martinez 3-19, Taniela Taliauli 2-49, Preusser 1-67, Bantolina 1-9, Kaeo Miyahira 1-7, Lathan Mokiao 1-6, Tyger Hayashi 1-5. Kamehameha II: Perkins 5-121, Abang-Perez 5-54, Alii Acedillo 3-17, Passi 2-8, Kaimana Bradley 1-5.
