Hunter Fujikawa passed for 272 yards, including two touchdown passes to Zion White, as No. 7 Punahou rallied from a 10-point deficit for a 25-13 win over No. 4 Kamehameha on Saturday afternoon at Alexander Field.
White, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound junior, finished with career highs of nine receptions and 144 yards. He was a major weapon, skying high in the secondary to snag Fujikawa’s passes where no defender could reach.
“Yeah, that’s definitely by design. I think I’m one of the tallest players out there. None of the DBs are taller than me, so I just tell him, just throw it up, let me get it,” White said. “Got to give it up to our offensive line. They’re great O-linemen. We work a lot at practice.”
It was a heartbreaking loss for the Warriors, who were 1-0 in second-round play and had a chance to seal the round with a win. That would have set up a championship game with first-round winner Saint Louis.
“We started off making plays. Hat’s off to Punahou. They were getting the ball to 21 (White). (Fujikawa) threw the ball to where we had bodies,” Kamehameha coach Kaeo Drummondo said. “We’ve got to get on the same page.”
Instead, Punahou, now 1-0 in the second round, has a chance to take the second round by beating Saint Louis next weekend.
If Saint Louis beats Punahou, there would be a three-way tie in the second round of the ILH Open Division at 1-1. There is no official word yet whether there would be tiebreaker games, or whether Saint Louis would simply be awarded the ILH crown. Drummondo said he was told there would be tiebreaker games.
Punahou and Saint Louis (0-1 second round) meet on Saturday at Radford’s John Velasco Stadium.
“We’ve been improving all along, incrementally. For us to get that win in the most clutch of times is huge,” Punahou coach Nate Kia said. “A lot of our young guys have matured throughout the season. You saw it today. The senior leadership, senior night tonight, the seniors stepped up tonight. That maturity across the board is starting to show. We’re really excited to see that for our seniors, but also to keep us alive in the ILH.”
Punahou senior running back Nelson Aau rushed for 61 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, adding two receptions for 30 yards, before suffering a leg injury in the second half. The Buffanblu remained balanced, finishing the game with 32 rushes for 118 hard-earned yards against a rugged Kamehameha defense.
“Zion had a great game. Hunter played great, too. I have to tip my hat to our O-line. They let us absorb some of the early mistakes, but nobody flinched and they keep rolling,” Kia noted. “They’ve been making their adjustments, getting on their blocks, terrific in pass pro. When they roll, we can go. We’ve been talking about being intentionally focused and being able to sustain that play after play, down after that. The highs and the lows, just keep working.”
Punahou threatened to score on its second series, but Fujikawa’s deep throw to Sean Connell was high and off his hands. Warriors safety Kainaluokala Keaweehu made a diving, one-handed snag in the end zone to get the interception.
Kamehameha then drove 80 yards to pay dirt in 11 plays. Quarterback Pono Kahaulelio’s ability to throw on the move stymied Punahou’s defense, setting up a 6-yard touchdown run by Nainoa Melchor, who reached over a tackler and hit the left pylon with the football. The Warriors led 7-0 with 1:46 left in the opening quarter.
Moments later, the visitors got a gift. Punahou wide receiver Dash Watanabe was bumped on his route, but no flag was thrown as Kamehameha safety Linkin Apana made the easy interception.
Melchor’s 40-yard gain led to a 22-yard field goal by Madden Aquino, giving the Warriors a 10-0 lead with 8:51 to go in the first half.
Carson Beard’s 21-yard field goal brought the Buffanblu within 10-3 with 6:08 until intermission.
Punahou safety Dane Kellner came up with a spectacular over-the-shoulder interception on a deep pass by Kahaulelio, but the Buffanblu went three and out, stalled at midfield and punted.
Kamehameha opened the lead back to 10 points on a 38-yard field goal by Aquino with 1:49 remaining in the first half.
The Buffanblu answered with a nine-play, 80-yard scoring drive. Fujikawa scrambled for a 15-yard pickup and completed three passes, including a leaping 21-yard grab by White to the Kamehameha 3-yard line. Aau’s 3-yard burst cut it to 13-9 with 38 seconds to go in the first half.
White was scintillating in Punahou’s first drive of the second half, leaping in the end zone and pulling in a pass off the helmet of a Kamehameha defensive back. The 17-yard TD pass from Fujikawa gave the Buffanblu a 16-13 lead with 7:19 left in the third quarter.
A fumble recovery by sophomore Paki Kaufusi gave Punahou the ball at its 29-yard line late in the third quarter. That gave White another opportunity, and the 6-foot-4 junior hauled in a 19-yard TD pass in the right corner of the end zone on a perfectly placed ball by Fujikawa.
Punahou led 23-13 with 10:53 remaining.
Moments later, Kamehameha’s punt snap sailed high and out of the back of the end zone for a safety, opening Punahou’s lead to 25-13 with 9:29 to go.
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At Alexander Field
Kamehameha (5-3, 2-2) 7 6 0 0 — 13
Punahou (3-4, 1-2) 0 9 7 9 — 25
KS—Nainoa Melchor 6 run (Madden Aquino kick)
KS—FG Aquino 22
PUN—FG Carson Beard 21
KS—FG Aquino 38
PUN—Nelson Aau 3 run (kick failed)
PUN—Zion White 17 pass from Hunter Fujikawa (Beard kick)
PUN—White 21 pass from Fujikawa (Beard kick)
KS—Safety, ball snapped out of end zone
RUSHING—Kamehameha: Melchor 10- 78, Nui Kaapana 10-45, Pono Kahauleleio 10-36, Maddox Sharrer 4-9, Hazyn Botelho 1-13, Elsen Pirga 1-5, team 1-(minus 1).
Punahou: Aau 14-61, Fujikawa 5-41, Keegan Dunn 4-15, John-Luke Twigg 4-12, Kahn Ho 2-1, Brady Lau 2-0, Sean Connell 2-(minus 13).
PASSING—Kamehameha: Kahaulelio 11-19-1-123. Punahou: Fujikawa 19-30-2-272.
RECEIVING—Kamehameha: Noah Aki 4-61, Melchor 3-26, Kaapana 2-20, Taimane Purcell 1-11, Botelho 1-5. Punahou: White 9-144, Dash Watanabe 5-49, Aau 2-30, Connell 1-22, Donte Utu 1-20, Kyler Matsui 1-7.
