Punahou’s defense paved the way, and the offense finished the job as the Buffanblu dismantled visiting Moanalua 45-0 on Saturday afternoon at Alexander Field.

While the offense was slow to get off the ground, the Buffanblu defense had no such trouble, with three interceptions in the first half, including Josiah Kia’s 18-yard pick-6 off of Moanalua quarterback Naazsir Addo McCoy to open the scoring. Alika Cavaco-Amoy and Donte Utu each picked up an interception. Kia also got to McCoy for a sack, as did Tayson Tiitii.

“The offense sputtered a little bit with turnovers, self-inflicted wounds. A lot of things were there, and the defense stepped up until the offense could get corrected,” Punahou coach Nate Kia said. “It’s a full team. It takes all facets, all phases of the team to be able to win any games. If the offense is slow to get going, the defense steps up and gives us a boost when we need it.”

“The emphasis for this game was to start fast,” Josiah Kia added about the defensive unit. “The first game we gave up 14 in the first half. Last week, we didn’t start as fast as we wanted to. This week I think we did a better job. Still left a lot of opportunities on the table, but we did a better job coming out hard.”

The offense finally woke up in the final minutes of the first half. After an onside kick recovered by Punahou, the Buffanblu offense went on to score on each of its next five full drives. Alai Williams led the rushers with 64 yards on 12 carries with two touchdowns on the ground. Iosepa Lyman and John Luke Twigg also scored rushing touchdowns. Quarterback Ty McCutcheon completed 14 of 20 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown.

The first half was all defense for both teams. After Moanalua’s punt on the opening drive, the next three drives ended in fumbles. Moanalua’s Daishaun Hardge recovered Punahou’s fumble on the Buffanblu’s first drive. Na Menehune then fumbled it themselves, but recovered the ball to bring up fourth down. The Buffanblu fumbled again on the next drive, this time in the red zone. Alijah Tipoai recovered the ball for Moanalua.

With neither offense getting much done, the Punahou defense took matters into its own hands. Josiah Kia intercepted McCoy’s pass on the first play of the drive and returned it 18 yards for the opening score.

“It was a product of everyone on defense doing their job,” Josiah Kia said about his pick-6. “For us as a defense, it really set the tone and it was the spark we needed as a team.”

“It was a big shot in the arm, absolutely,” Nate Kia added. “We had talked about making sure we create turnovers on defense prior to the game. Our ability to create turnovers is definitely a focus for us and we accomplished that today.”

That play was the first of three first-half interceptions for Punahou. The second came on the next drive. Alika Cavaco-Amoy picked off McCoy’s pass that was tipped by the intended target.

Punahou gave it right back to Moanalua when Lyman fumbled after a 9-yard reception from McCutcheon, but the Buffanblu defense put a quick end to the Na Menehune drive on Utu’s interception.

The Buffanblu put together their longest drive of the half, which was extended by a late hit out of bounds on a third-down incompletion. The offense ultimately couldn’t find the end zone, but Carson Beard nailed a 32-yard field goal to give Punahou a two-possession lead.

Still seeking its first offensive score, Punahou recovered an onside kick after the field goal, which seemed to finally wake up the offense. McCutcheon and Lyman led the Buffanblu to the red zone on four plays, then Lyman finished it off with a 3-yard touchdown run to give Punahou a 17-0 lead at the half.

The offensive momentum continued in the second half. McCutcheon unleashed an 80-yard bomb to Zion White for a touchdown on the first play of the half. The Buffanblu scored again on their next drive, a 20-yard Alai Williams touchdown run. Williams repeated one drive later on a 6-yard score.

“Just playing with a little more urgency and precision,” Nate Kia said about the offensive turnaround. “Execution wasn’t there in the first half, and it’s all little things. We’re still finding our identity offensively, and it took us a little bit of time today to figure exactly what we were going to be today. We have a variety of weapons, so every game gives us new opportunities and new challenges. As each game goes by, we’ll find out a little bit more about ourselves.”

Up 38-0, Punahou sent the second unit in to finish the game. Backup quarterback Maulama Kimata completed three passes for 57 yards in his only drive of the game, which was capped by Twigg’s 7-yard touchdown.

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Punahou 45, Moanalua 0

At Alexander Field

Moanalua (0-3) 0 0 0 0 — 0

Punahou (3-0) 7 10 21 7 — 0

Pun—Josiah Kia 22 interception return (Carson Beard kick)

Pun—FG Beard 32

Pun—Iosepa Lyman 3 run (Beard kick)

Pun—Zion White 80 pass from Ty McCutcheon (Beard kick)

Pun—Alai Williams 20 run (Beard kick)

Pun—Williams 6 run (Beard kick)

Pun—John Luke Twigg 7 run (Beard kick)

RUSHING—Moanalua: Reshod Scott 18-23, Riley Mendigorin 1-13, TEAM 1-(minus 5), Jayce Bareng 2-(minus 6), Naazsir Addo McCoy 5-(minus 25). Punahou: Williams 12-64, Lyman 4-34, Nelson Aau 5-18, Twigg 1-7, McCutcheon 2-(minus 10).

PASSING—Moanalua: McCoy 4-12-3-22. Punahou: McCutcheon 14-20-0-196, Maulama Kimata 3-5-0-57.

RECEIVING—Moanalua: Bareng 2-10, Thor Gante 1-9, Scott 1-3. Punahou: White 3-110, Kyler Matsui 1-42, Astin Hange 5-30, Dash Watanabe 2-26, Twigg 1-13, Lyman 2-11, Aau 1-11, Williams 1-8, Kaison Aquino 1-2.