GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Iolani's Mikey Hirokawa broke away for a 45-yard touchdown in the first quarter of yesterday's game against Castle.

Raiders storm Castle

Iolani improves to 3-0 with a
42-27 victory over the Knights

They both walked the walk in similar fashion, but Iolani did Castle one better, and then some.

The Raiders scored touchdowns on their first five possessions of the opening quarter en route to a 42-27 victory over the Knights last night at Aloha Stadium.

The matchup of speedy but undersized teams included near-mirror offenses. Iolani's run-and-shoot attack, however, was nearly unstoppable in the first half, while Castle's offense fizzled for a long stretch through the second and third quarters.

Iolani senior Kiran Kepoo completed all seven of his pass attempts in the first quarter for 159 yards and three touchdowns. Iolani (3-0), ranked No. 3 in the Star-Bulletin Top 10, got plenty of help on the ground. Mikey Hirokawa ran for 116 yards before halftime, including touchdown jaunts of 45 and 25 yards.

"Castle showed how explosive they can be," Iolani coach Wendell Look said, referring to the Knights' game-opening touchdown drive. "Once our defense settled down, they were fine."

Iolani amassed 482 total yards but committed 15 penalties for 131 yards.

"That is not how we play football. We need to be more disciplined," Look said. "We won't have the luxury of a 35-7 lead again."

Kepoo, who finished with 315 passing yards on 18-for-24 accuracy, credited his line.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Castle receiver Moku Bruhn reeled in a Bryce Kalauokaaea pass for a touchdown against the defense of Iolani's Daniel Takami yesterday at Aloha Stadium.

"They may be small, but their hearts are tremendous," said Kepoo, who is bigger than any of his protectors.

He spread the ball around to four receivers. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound left-hander fired touchdown passes of 53 and 45 yards to slotback Travis Nishioka in the first quarter. Kepoo also found classmate Kekai Kealoha for scoring plays of 12 and 21 yards.

Castle (1-2) tallied 397 total yards. Senior Bryce Kalauokaaea completed 24 of his 45 pass attempts for 333 yards. He threw for four touchdowns, but was picked off twice. All in all, the Knights have plenty of work to do and are ready for it.

"We didn't give up in the second half. We fought to the end," Knights coach Nelson Maeda said. "There are a lot of negatives, but we know where we stand. Iolani is an outstanding team. I wouldn't be surprised if they're standing there at the end."

Castle's prospects seemed promising early on. Kalauokaaea, who has rehabilitated from last year's knee injury, connected on four passes in a row on Castle's opening drive. His 19-yard touchdown strike to Moku Bruhn gave Castle a 7-0 lead less than 2 minutes into the game.

Iolani responded with a four-play, 80-yard drive. Hirokawa broke away for a 45-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7 with 9:22 to play in the opening quarter.

Castle's offense went cold with 10 incompletions in a row on a mix of misfires by Kalauokaaea and drops by receivers. Iolani took advantage.

A 37-yard punt return by Hirokawa set up a 19-yard scoring drive by the Raiders. Kepoo found Kealoha in the left corner of the end zone for a 12-yard scoring play. The Raiders took the lead for good, 14-7, with 6:35 remaining in the first quarter.

After stopping Castle's offense for a three-and-out, Iolani needed just one play to add points to its total. Nishioka hauled in a 53-yard touchdown pass from Kepoo to give Iolani a 14-point lead with 5:20 left in the first.

Less than 2 minutes later, Kepoo hit Nishioka on a wide-receiver screen. The 5-10, 175-pound senior raced 45 yards to paydirt for a 35-7 lead with 1:46 to go in the opening quarter.

The Raiders remained in control, even after Kepoo and the first-team receivers were replaced midway through the third quarter. Castle scored on a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns. Lihikai Domingo caught a short pass and went 79 yards for a score to pull the Knights within 42-19 with 11:37 remaining in the game.

After an Iolani fumble, Castle drove 47 yards in six plays. Kalauokaaea tossed a 7-yard touchdown pass to Scott Keiter-Charles, and after Kalauokaaea snuck in on the PAT, it was 42-27 with 4:24 left. Castle go no closer, however, stalling at the Iolani 18 with less than a minute left.

The game lasted 3 hours, 11 minutes, including 23 penalties and 78 pass attempts.

No. 8 Saint Louis 59, Farrington 0

Quarterback Cameron Higgins was efficient, connecting with Cameron Bayne for a 33-yard touchdown strike midway through the opening quarter.

On Saint Louis' next drive, Micah Mamiya scooted into the end zone from 6 yards out.

Saint Louis scored two of its first four touchdowns on fumble returns, using a blitzing defense that dominated the first half. Jared Silva simply took the ball out of the hands of one Farrington running back and ran the ball back 20 yards to give his team a 20-0 lead.

Stephen Lei, a 6-3, 197-pound defensive back, picked up a fumble by Govs' quarterback Maeli Siliga and ran 54 yards for a 27-0 Crusaders advantage.

The Crusaders sacked Siliga four times in the first half, resulting in three fumbles. The third takeaway, a 38-yard fumble return by Abraham Cavaco-Amoy, set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Higgins before the half.