Punahou played a first half Saturday most teams can only dream about.
The Buffanblu scored touchdowns on their first six possessions and added a field goal on the seventh in a 52-7 victory over visiting Kamehameha in an ILH Open Division game.
John-Keawe Sagapolutele completed 13 of 15 passes for 144 yards and four touchdowns in less than a half for the No. 2 Buffanblu.
Punahou’s defense allowed 41 yards of total offense and had three takeaways before halftime.
“Defense, every game we have different players step up because everybody is doing their job,” Punahou coach Nate Kia said. “The main thing with the defense is that they prepare, they work together very well and they communicate. That allows them to perform at a high level.”
The Buffanblu (5-1, 2-0) had 292 yards of total offense in the first half. Their average starting field position on their seven drives was the Kamehameha 47.
“It was a great effort by everybody on the offense,” Sagapolutele said. “It started from the O-line being able to protect me and protect the running backs, and our receivers were able to get open and secure the ball.”
Noah Macapulay had two touchdown receptions and Christian Kauhane and Justice Wu each had one in the first half for Punahou. Ean Kamau-Waikiki caught one from backup quarterback Ty McCutcheon, who finished 9-for-12 for 121 yards.
“I can’t count, there are too many,” Sagapolutele said of his team’s offensive weapons. “I feel like the starting wide receivers, they’re athletes and they can get open whenever I need them to.”
The Buffanblu’s Aiden Takuma had two interceptions and Sean Connell recovered a pooch kickoff before halftime.
“Overall, we game-planned, we watched film and we went into detail about everything and executed,” said Takuma, who was making his second start of the season at cornerback in place of the injured Donte Utu.
Punahou scored in the first quarter on Sagapolutele’s 27-yard pass to Macapulay with 8:38 remaining, Sagapolutele’s 6-yard pass to Kauhane with 7:21 left and Iosepa Lyman’s 39-yard run up the middle on fourth-and-2 with 4:33 to go.
“It’s great when your quarterback, your captain and your team leader comes out with that kind of execution mindset,” Kia said of Sagapolutele. “It sets the tone for the rest of the team.”
At that point, it was 21-0 and the No. 10 Warriors (0-4-1, 0-2) had run six offensive plays and gained zero yards on two drives.
In the second quarter, Punahou scored on Sagapolutele’s 5-yard pass to Macapulay with 9:43 remaining, Sagapolutele’s 13-yarder to Wu with 7:08 to go and McCutcheon’s 27-yard pass to Kamau-Waikiki with 5:36 remaining.
The Buffanblu made it 45-0 on Jordan Kapisi’s 42-yard field goal with 1:29 remaining.
Kamehameha got on the scoreboard on Kealii Ah Yat’s 4-yard scoring pass to Kaina Watson with 6:18 remaining in the third, and Punahou’s Alai Williams capped the scoring with a 21-yard run with 6:23 left in the game.
The Buffanblu finished with 375 yards of total offense, while the Warriors had 150.
—
PUNAHOU 52, KAMEHAMEHA 7
At Punahou
KS (0-4-1, 0-2) 0 0 7 0 — 7
Punahou (5-1, 2-0) 21 24 0 7 — 52
Pun—Noah Macapulay 27 pass from
John-Keawe Sagapolutele (Jordan Kapisi kick)
Pun—Christian Kauhane 6 pass from Sagapolutele (Kapisi kick)
Pun—Iosepa Lyman 39 run (Kapisi kick)
Pun—Macapulay 5 pass from Sagapolutele (Kapisi kick)
Pun—Justice Wu 13 pass from Sagapolutele (Kapisi kick)
Pun—Ean Kamau-Waikiki 27 pass from Ty McCutcheon (Kapisi kick)
Pun—FG Kapisi 42
KS—Kaina Watson 4 pass from Kealii Ah Yat (Brady Akau kick)
Pun—Alai Williams 21 run (Kapisi kick)
RUSHING—Kamehameha: Sunrise Solatorio 8-36, Dreyton Stone 10-23, Jeven Bolos-Reyes 4-12, Ah Yat 6-2. Punahou: Lyman 11-58, Williams 5-45, Sagapolutele 3-12, team 1-(minus 5).
PASSING—Kamehameha: Ah Yat 8-16-2-67, Bolos-Reyes 1-2-0-10. Punahou: Sagapolutele 13-15-0-144, McCutcheon 9-12-0-121.
RECEIVING—Kamehameha: Kala Hardie 2-19, Sheyden Iokia 2-19, Kahanu Kalahiki 2-8, Solatorio 1-17, Logan Smith 1-10, Watson 1-4. Punahou: Astin Hange 5-64, Macapulay 4-66, Kamau-Waikiki 3-47, Wu 3-25, Kauhane 2-24, Madison Ung 2-21, Lyman 2-7, Sean Connell 1-11.
Also:
Damien 32, Kamehameha I-AA 19
