DIVISION II SEMIFINAL
Kaimuki blows cool, game to Lunas
By Fred Guzman
Special to the Star-Bulletin
WAILUKU, Maui » Kaimuki blew its cool in the second quarter and, as a result, was blown out, 52-20, last night by Lahainaluna in a semifinal of the state high school Division II football tournament at War Memorial Stadium.
After a scoreless first quarter, the top-seeded Lunas exploded for 30 points within a span of 8 minutes, 19 seconds and cruised into a berth opposite Iolani in Friday's title game at Aloha Stadium. And the Bulldogs were partly responsible for lighting the fuse.
Lahainaluna capitalized on several big plays, four interceptions, a questionable gamble by Kaimuki and several major penalties assessed against the frustrated Bulldogs to improve its overall record to 9-1.
Kaimuki finished 11-2 after opening and ending the season with its only setbacks.
Neither team was able to effectively move the ball in their first two offensive possessions, but the Lunas finally got untracked late in the first period and got on the board on the first play of the second quarter when Blaise Smith scored from 6 yards around left end on a slotback counter.
A bad snap on an attempted punt allowed the Lunas to take over on the Kaimuki 16 and push the ball into the end zone on an identical play, Smith scoring from 2 yards out this time. A fake point-after attempt resulted in a 2-point conversion, as Jordan Casco found Matthew Lawless alone in the end zone for a 15-0 lead with 9:37 in the half.
Kaimuki's meltdown struck on its next possession. The Bulldogs opted to go for it on fourth and 2 from their own 28. Joshua Garcusana came up a half-yard short and the ball reverted to Lahainaluna in exceptional field position.
Following a successful point-after by Ivan Delaney, Kaimuki was hit by a pair of 15-yard penalties that were assessed on the kickoff. Taking advantage of kicking from the Kaimuki 30, the Lunas successfully executed an onside kick they recovered on the Bulldogs' 15.
Kaimuki's defense held, but was unable to move the ball and the ensuing punt gave the Lunas the ball on the Bulldogs 40.
Two plays later, Lake Casco was on the receiving end of a 26-yard pass play on a delivered ball by quarterback Jake Manning to help the Lunas increase their lead to 22-0 with 6:58 remaining in the period.
But neither Lahainaluna nor the versatile Lake Casco were quite through. Cason moved to the quarterback position for a single play and made the most of the opportunity.
Casco, who does everything but sell saimin at halftime, faked a pair of handoffs, spun completely around and ran right up the middle for a 26-yard scoring run that gave the Lunas a 30-0 edge with 3:35 left in the half.
The Lunas enjoyed a commanding 161-40 edge in total offense in the first half.