JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM Punahou's River Kim hauled in a pass to set up one of five Buffanblu touchdowns in the first half of yesterday's ILH game against Pac-Five at Aloha Stadium.

Punahou stays in the mix by beating Pac-Five

After taking care of business on the field, No. 3 Punahou could only sit and watch to see if its season would continue.

Brett Kan threw for 225 yards and three touchdowns, all coming in the first half, as the Buffanblu kept their playoff hopes alive with a 35-0 shutout of Pac-Five last night at Aloha Stadium.

The win, combined with Saint Louis' 17-7 victory over Kamehameha later last night, moved Punahou (8-2, 5-2) into a three-way tie atop the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division I standings.

After last night's win, the Buffanblu were openly pulling for the Crusaders in the nightcap.

"We love the red and blue," Punahou coach Kale Ane said. "Hopefully, Saint Louis gets it done."

Before becoming the Crusaders' biggest fans, the Buffanblu had to get by a pesky Wolfpack team. After stalling in the red zone on its first drive, Punahou struck first on its next possession on a 15-yard pass from Brett Kan to River Kim to take a 7-0 lead after the first quarter.

The Buffanblu then exploded for four touchdowns in the second quarter. Kainoa Carlson scored from 20 and 2 yards out before Kan hooked up with Colin Viloria for a 42-yard score and then hit Kim for his second touchdown, an 18-yarder, to push the lead to 35-0 heading into halftime.

"Pac-Five played Saint Louis and Kamehameha tough, so we wanted to get out to a quick start and come out firing from the get-go," Carlson said.

The Wolfpack contained Punahou's leading receiver, Miah Ostrowski, holding him to just four catches for 44 yards, but had no answer for Kim, who finished with 100 yards and the two touchdowns on six catches.

"I credit the other guys behind me for pushing me in practice," Kim said. "We wanted to start fast and Brett did a good job keeping us focused."

With a huge lead, the Buffanblu got to play their backups the entire second half, including quarterback Pono Akina, who finished 8-for-14 for 74 yards. The Buffanblu defense recorded five sacks in the game, including three by senior Jonathan Overton, and held the Wolfpack to 129 total yards.

"(Pac-Five) runs a lot of different formations and can make things tricky, so it was key to get out to a good start," Ane said. "It got our kids relaxed."

Jordan Ho-Ching led all receivers with seven catches and finished with 71 yards to pace the Wolfpack, who finished the season 2-9 overall and 0-7 in the ILH. Quarterback Jon-Ray Rodrigues went 12-for-23 for 110 yards and one interception.