[ HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ]
Punahou caps
difficult week
with win
There's nothing like a comeback win over a rival after a controversial week. Just ask the Punahou football team.
Quarterback John Morris threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as the Buffanblu erased a 13-point deficit and beat Iolani 27-19 yesterday at Alexander Field.
The Buffanblu (2-1) came back without about a dozen of their players who were suspended for at least one game after getting caught drinking alcohol Aug. 29 during a road trip to play Kauai High School.
"Everybody stepped up this week," Punahou head coach Kale Ane said. "Learned a valuable lesson."
Kane added that Punahou was fortunate that the players, who were not normally starters, stepped up.
"Everybody grew up," Kane said. "The guys who played and the guys who didn't -- both."
Morris, a senior who never started before this year, was 19-for-38 for 194 yards, but was intercepted twice by Kyle Muraoka, the first in the Iolani end zone.
Despite the interceptions, Kane said that Morris is doing the job.
"He's gotten better every game," Ane said. "We're really proud of the way he has stepped up and dealt with the pressure."
Morris dealt with the Iolani (2-2) pressure thanks to senior wideout Koa Duncan, who caught two touchdown passes from 17 and 7 yards out. Duncan had another reception in the end zone called back because of holding.
"I try to help him (Morris) out by catching everything he throws at me," said Duncan, who caught nine balls for 126 yards. "He's getting better and I'm getting better."
The question is, how much better would the Buffanblu have been if the missing pieces were available?
"They're all important," Ane said. "Whenever someone doesn't play -- you're missing something."
The Buffablu rushing attack was led by sophomore Matt Solomona, who had 15 carries for 58 yards. Punahou was well-rounded on offense, as Morris completed passes to five recievers and four players had rushing attempts.
"The offense settled down and did their job," Ane said. "We squeaked it out."
The Buffanblu had to squeak it out because their defense struggled early, putting them down 13 points in the second quarter.
They whittled into the lead when Morris threw an 8-yard pass to junior wideout Branden Lee -- who caught two balls for 29 yards -- cutting the deficit to three with 2:38 left in the first half.
After the intermission, Morris scored from 1 yard out with 7:18 left in the third to give the Buffanblu the lead before connecting with Duncan with 5:25 left in the third for the game's final points.
Iolani had its chances after that, including a missed 40-yard field goal by Nick Wong early in the fourth and getting the ball back with two minutes left in the game to no avail. On fourth-and-10 Iolani reserve quarterback Kiran Kepoo, who was 8-for-19 for 79 yards with one interception after coming in for Heimerdinger, overthrew a receiver -- practically ending the game.
The Raiders opened the scoring with 3:04 left in the first quarter when quarterback Peter Heimerdinger, who was 8-for-20 for 113 yards and three interceptions, connected with Paul Bennett on a 12-yard pass.
Punahou responded with 11:39 left in the second quarter when Duncan caught his first touchdown of the day. But on the ensuing kickoff, Iolani got right back up as Kyle Muraoka returned the ball 92 yards for a 12-6 lead.
Heimerdinger then threw a 73-yard touchdown to Raynold Stowers, who had two catches for 78 yards, with 8:25 left in the second quarter to give Iolani a 19-6 lead.
Iolani had a chance to increase their 13-point lead when Muraoka intercepted Morris with 4:05 left in the second. But Muraoka, after a long return, fumbled and lost the ball to a Buffanblu player just short of the Punahou goal line.
"It was great to win even though we had our guys sitting out," Duncan said. "It's a great feeling to beat our arch rival."
At Alexander Field
Iol -- (3) Paul Bennett 12 pass from (14) Peter Heimerdinger (kick missed) 3:04.
Iolani (2-2) 6 13 0 0 -- 19 Punahou (2-1) 0 13 14 0 -- 27
Pun -- (12) Koa Duncan 17 pass from (8) John Morris (kick missed) 11:39
Iol -- (7) Kyle Muraoka 92 kickoff return (kick missed) 11:25.
Iol -- (2) Raynold Stowers 73 pass from Heimerdinger ((41) Nick Wong kick) 8:25
Pun -- (26) Branden Lee 8 pass from (8) Morris ((88) RJ Brown) 2:38
Pun -- (8) Morris 1 run ((86) Paul Hayes) 7:18
Pun -- (12) Duncan 7 pass from (8) Morris (Hayes kick) 5:25
RUSHING -- Iolani: Stowers 24-121, Heimerdinger 2-7, Kiran Kepoo 2-28, Mike Hirokawa 3-5. Punahou: Reyn Wicklund 1-1, Matt Solomona 15-58, John Morris 6-3, Zac Yamagishi 2-8.
PASSING -- Iolani: Heimerdinger 8-20-3-115, Kiran Kepoo 8-19-1-79. Punahou: John Morris 19-38-2-194.
RECEIVING -- Iolani: Paul Bennett 4-22, Kekai Kealoha 2-10, Reynold Stowers 2-78, Blayne Yama 1-6, Karl Motoyama 4-38, Kai Iwasaki 1-5, Mike Hirokawa 2-35. Punahou: Branden Lee 2-29, Koa Duncan 9-126, Reyn Wicklund 6-41, Chad Tamashiro 1-2, Matt Solomona 1-(-4).
