StarBulletin.com

Championship briefs


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POSTED: Saturday, December 06, 2008

DIVISION I

Mules could not shut out Shutter

Punahou quarterback Cayman Shutter moved the ball effectively against the Leilehua secondary with 400 yards on 24-for-41 passing. The senior threw two touchdowns and two interceptions.

He shattered the previous mark for yardage in state championships of 271 by Punahou's Brett Kan in 2005, as well as his record for completions (22).

Shutter accounted for three Punahou touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) and was sacked just once.

Buffs had a plan for QB Manley

Robby Toma made the game plan clear prior to kickoff.

“;Don't give Leilehua the ball in the final minutes with a chance to win,”; he said earlier this week.

Toma did his part to keep Leilehua quarterback Andrew Manley from any chance of making yet another fourth-quarter comeback. The senior receiver had seven receptions for 147 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach at 31-7.

Legend Butkus shows up for Te'o

NFL legend Dick Butkus attended yesterday's games, along with his son, Matt.

Butkus was in Hawaii to give Punahou's Manti Te'o the award named for him, honoring Te'o as the nation's best high school linebacker.

This is the first year of the high school Butkus Award.

Matt Butkus played at USC.

“;I tried my best,”; he said, when asked if he lobbied Te'o, one of the nation's most highly recruited prep players, to choose USC over UCLA, Notre Dame, BYU and Stanford.

The elder Butkus was quite impressed with his award winner. Te'o broke six tackles on one play for a 4-yard gain during a second-half drive.

“;That play he ran, what an athlete he was. Never went down,”; Butkus said. “;He fumbled (later) — he's human, but the next series he gets a sack. That's what you can do with a kid with that ability. He makes everyone better.”;

Yellow flags penalize the pace

Punahou and Leilehua combined for an inordinate number of penalties that at times brought the game to a standstill.

The Buffanblu finished with 15 penalties for 165 yards, while the Mules had 11 infractions for 96 yards.

Punahou's Manti Te'o was whistled for a personal foul after dropping Andrew Manley on a late hit in the third quarter. The senior linebacker quickly made up for it on the next play, shooting through the line to stop Rico Newman for a 3-yard loss, setting up a punt three plays later.

Broadcasts will come early, often

There was no live TV of last night's games, but plenty of opportunities to watch them today and tomorrow on OC-16.

The D-II game is on this morning at 7, followed by the D-I game. The process repeats itself starting at 4 p.m. The games are on again tomorrow beginning at 7 a.m.

Receivers had a big game

Mark Silverstein (146 yards) and Robby Toma (147) accounted for the most combined receiving yardage of any two players in a state title game with 293.

Silverstein and Leilehua's Edieson Dumlao tied for the second-most catches in a title game with nine grabs each. Punahou's Miah Ostrowski has the record with 11 in 2005.

DIVISION II

Almadova everywhere

After last night's performance, Mike Trapasso might have to share Breland Almadova with Greg McMackin.

And Kela Marciel was happy to give his player of the game trophy to Almadova after 'Iolani beat Radford 35-20 in the state Division II football championship final at Aloha Stadium.

Almadova returned a kickoff for a 67-yard third-quarter touchdown that provided the Raiders the lead they would keep. He also ran back two punts for 43 yards and an interception that capped the win for 27 more.

Marciel, 'Iolani's do-it-all spark plug, was awarded the hardware after he rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown on four carries, punted five times for a 38.6 average and returned a punt 21 yards. But he quickly handed it off to Almadova.

“;That's what he did? That's totally him,”; 'Iolani coach Wendell Look said of Maricel's generosity. “;It doesn't surprise me.”;

Said Almadova: “;That was an awesome thing, he's such a team player and he made some big plays.”;

Almadova will take his skills to the University of Hawaii next year, as an outfielder in baseball. But after last night, the 6-foot-1, 180-pound son of former UH football player Brian Almadova said he might have to consider football, too.

“;I want to follow my dad's footsteps, but I want to make my own name, too,”; Breland said. “;I might have to talk to Coach Trapasso and my parents (about football).

Raiders break scoring record

'Iolani broke the record for most points in a Hawaii state Division II championship final with its 35 points.

The 2005 Raiders set the previous record with a 34-20 win - also against Radford.

Pac-Five holds the Prep Bowl scoring record with 56 points in 1985 when it beat Waianae.

Manuma makes other QB pay

It isn't often opposing quarterbacks are on the field at the same time.

But that was exactly the case last night as Radford quarterback Mosiah Manuma also saw time at defensive back. He made his presence felt on defense in the second quarter, intercepting 'Iolani's Jarrett Arakawa on a deep pass over the middle.

Manuma finished with three tackles and the pick in addition to his 166 all-purpose yards.

Marciel gets some help

'Iolani's Kela Marciel credited quarterback Jarrett Arakawa for a key block on his 70-yard touchdown run.

“;I got the ball and No. 9 (Tuulauena Lolohea) got me. He wrapped me up, but I got away. Then Jarrett made a nice block. I was surprised, but he's an athlete. After that run, I felt like throwing up.”;

Marciel was the lockdown cornerback on Radford's playmaker, Shawn Putman-Curry, who finished with eight receptions for 59 yards.

“;I know he's a great receiver. I messed up a couple of times,”; Marciel said.

Score first, so what

Radford might want to think twice about scoring first if it faces 'Iolani again for the Division II state title.

As it did in 2005, when an Alex Daniels touchdown run gave the Rams an early lead, Radford jumped on the board first last night when Andrew Foster scored on a 22-yard touchdown pass just 14 seconds in.

Unfortunately for Radford, 'Iolani went on to win both games by two touchdowns, outscoring the Rams by scores of 34-20 in '05 and 35-13 last night.