Warriors send Souza out with a win

In order to send their longtime coach off with a victory, the Kamehameha Warriors turned, once again, to their defense.

The Warriors stopped a furious, last-minute drive by Punahou to pull out a 27-20 win last night at Aloha Stadium. With Punahou at the Kamehameha 16-yard line, Vance Nobriga's interception with 31 seconds left sealed the win.

Taylor Hibbs, the left defensive end, hurried Brett Kan into the game-sealing interception.

"The inside, Vaughn (Meatoga) flushed him," Hibbs said of Kan. "I just wanted to get him down, and Vance came up with the pick."

It was a fitting end for coach Kanani Souza, who announced his plan to retire after the season.

"We fought hard. We've been through a lot of adversity and injuries," he said. "I gave my word to the principal that I'd devote my time to the (athletic director) position they promoted me to. That's the right thing to do."

Souza, who guided Kamehameha to the state crown two years ago, grasped for words just a little bit.

"This thing will sink in sometime along the line next August," he said.

Truman Chun ran for 142 yards and one touchdown in 22 attempts, and Michael Hoke threw for 183 yards as fifth-ranked Kamehameha closed out the season 4-3 in Interscholastic League of Honolulu play (8-3 overall). Second-ranked Punahou also finished 4-3 in conference play (7-3 overall).

Kamehameha's season was flawless in nonconference play, including a big win over Redlands East Valley (Calif.). League play -- Saint Louis, to be precise -- broke the hearts of both the Warriors and Buffanblu, neither of whom will be in the state tournament next week.

Kan threw for 335 yards on 22-for-43 passing. He tossed two touchdown passes, but was also picked twice. Wide receiver Miah Ostrowski caught six passes for 128 yards and finished the season with 82 receptions for 1,308 yards and nine touchdowns.

For the game, Punahou amassed 357 total yards. Kamehameha finished with 423, including 240 on the ground.

Kamehameha scored midway through the second quarter with a 42-yard march. Chun's 11-yard run up the middle gave the Warriors a 14-6 lead with 6:40 to go in the first half.

Tyler Akao, who missed an earlier field-goal try, came through with a 49-yarder on the final play of the first half. Kamehameha led 17-6 at the break.

The Warriors' dominance continued through the third quarter. Kaneakua Friel, a tight end who has committed to BYU, took a short pass from Hoke and used blocks from Ian Bernardino and Justin Saniatan to score on a 38-yard touchdown play. Kamehameha led 24-6 with 2:52 remaining in the third quarter.

Akao added his second field goal, a 22-yarder, as Kamehameha went up 27-6 with 9:14 left in the game.

Punahou's offense came to life, finally, on the ensuing series. Kan fired a 29-yard strike to Dalton Hilliard on a fly route, and the Buffanblu were within 27-13 with 8:02 left.

After defensive lineman Roarke Clinton recovered a fumble by Hoke, Punahou was in striking distance again. Hilliard scored his second touchdown, a 6-yard run out of the shotgun, to bring Punahou within 27-20 with 4:10 remaining.

The Buffanblu got the ball back one last time with 1:16 left on its 17-yard line. Kan completed three passes in a row, including a 35-yard connection to Hilliard that would have gone for a touchdown if not for a shoestring tackle by Kamehameha linebacker Kaimi Salangdron.

Correction: The third-place team in the Oahu Interscholastic Association will travel to play the Maui Interscholastic League champion on Nov. 17.

An incorrect scenario was listed in yesterday's edition.

Leilehua and Mililani will play Friday in the third-place game for the OIA's final state-tournament berth.

Big change for Big Island: In past years, the BIIF Division I champion hosted state-tournament games. However, the league recently asked the Hawaii High School Athletic Association to permit the league's Division II winner to host a game.

The HHSAA complied, but in return, the BIIF's D-I champion will now travel. Kealakehe lost opening-round state-tourney games to Leilehua and Waianae in recent seasons. The Waveriders are a strong favorite to win the league title again.

The BIIF's finalists in the D-II playoffs are Konawaena and Kamehameha-Hawaii, schools that have yet to experience a state-tourney home game.

Baldwin 64, Pac-Three 0

Quarterback Jordan Helle connected with Chase Nakamura for four touchdowns to lead the Bears in a rout of the winless Titans at War Memorial Stadium.

Helle finished with six TD passes, and Chansi Bolosan ran in two touchdowns.

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