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Warriors roll to victory
Getting in a defensive slugfest with Kamehameha isn't what Punahou had in mind.
That's what happened in the first half last night at Aloha Stadium, and it was just a matter of time before the Warriors wore down the Buffanblu.
Jayson Rego rushed for 118 yards on 18 carries and scored three touchdowns as Kamehameha rolled over Punahou 34-7 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu opener for both teams.
Carrying just a 7-0 halftime lead, the Warriors' defense came out to make an indelible impact on the Buffanblu's offensive psyche in the second half, setting up four straight touchdowns.
"I told the kids at halftime that we better get something started or we're going to watch this thing evaporate before our eyes," Kamehameha coach Kanani Souza said. "Punahou surprised us with a few things early, but we made some adjustments and the kids did a nice job of executing."
Through its four games, the Warriors (3-0-1, 1-0) have given up an average of 6.75 points per meeting -- a good sign going into next Saturday's showdown with defending league Division I champion and state runnerup Saint Louis.
After a scoreless first period in which neither team could move, Kamehameha finally broke through for its 7-0 lead with 5:08 left in the first half. The key component in the 10-play, time-consuming drive was quarterback Pono Kam's 40-yard pass to Aaron Nichols, which set up Rego's 1-yard TD run.
The Buffanblu (2-2, 0-1) nearly got right back in it by recovering its own short second-half kickoff, but they fumbled the ball away two plays later and Kamehameha rolled to 27 more unanswered points.
Vincent Gerritt's hit and Andrew Taeoalii's recovery led to Rego's 6-yard TD run and a 14-0 Warriors lead early in the third.
"We came to hit hard and play hard and we didn't take no for an answer," said Gerritt, who also had a fumble recovery of his own in the game as Kamehameha won the turnover battle 4-0. "We've got the ball rolling. We've got Saint Louis next week and we plan on playing some more hard-nosed football."
Brad Nakamura's interception and Rego's 34-yard run set up Kam's 15-yard toss to Ikaika Hardie as the Warriors lead increased to 21-0 later in the third.
Kamehameha took advantage of Punahou's bad punt snap and 46-yard loss and made it 28-0 on Rego's third TD of the game, a 9-yard run.
"We just couldn't get anything going ... just couldn't get started," Buffanblu quarterback Brett Kan said. "And our defense got tired. We just didn't play very good, definitely not to the best of our abilities."
Hardie finished the scoring for the Warriors, grabbing a 42-yard toss from backup quarterback Parker Bode in the final quarter.
The Buffanblu finally got on the board with 4:22 left as Kan connected with Steven Dannaway for an 8-yard score.
"We made mistakes and Kamehameha took advantage," Punahou coach Kale Ane said. "That's what good teams do. We had breakdowns, but it was Kamehameha forcing those breakdowns."
Buffanblu defensive end Jonathan Overton finished with two sacks.
Punahou has a bye next week, before meeting Saint Louis.
