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POSTED: Saturday, September 27, 2008

New defense, critical showdown and even a national championship coach was on the sideline.

Punahou had every chance to melt down against Kamehameha last night. Instead, the Buffanblu played perhaps their best game of the season in a 28-6 victory over the Warriors at Aloha Stadium.

With USC coach Pete Carroll looking on, Cayman Shutter shook off an early-season shoulder injury to pass for 260 yards as No. 4 Punahou improved to 1-1 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu (4-1 overall). The Buffanblu did it with the kind of pass protection that isn't easy to find against Kamehameha, a team that sacked Saint Louis ace Jeremy Higgins four times last week.

The Warriors managed just one sack of Shutter, who didn't throw a pick and led Punahou to 415 yards of total offense.

“;It all starts up front with our line. When they came (with the blitz), our line gave me time,”; Shutter said of his trenchmen, led by Thurston Kino, Kaleoaloha Pene, Kasey Romero and Keenan Fa'atea.

The win kept Punahou in close range of front-running Saint Louis, which had a bye this week. Punahou had two weeks to prepare for Kamehameha (3-3, 0-2).

“;We revamped practice. No walking on the field. Helmets have to be on,”; Shutter said.

Dalton Hilliard was invaluable with 58 tough rushing yards and three touchdown runs, as well as seven catches for 72 yards.

Defensively, Punahou's new “;Zero”; defense swamped Kamehameha's normally stout ground game. The Warriors managed only 49 rushing yards on 29 carries. Edmund Kamano finished with 146 passing yards on 13-for-27 accuracy with two picks.

USC is just one of the suitors chasing Punahou linebacker Manti Te'o, who stayed focused on the game.

“;That's a complex offense Kamehameha has. Coach Stant does a great job with his players,”; said Te'o, who had 10 tackles.

“;We did a lot of soul-searching after the loss to Saint Louis,”; Punahou coach Kale Ane said. “;Having Pete here was great for the kids. They could've been distracted, but they were more focused.”;

The Warriors opened the game with an eight-play, 50-yard drive to paydirt. Ryan Ho picked up 11 yards on a stretch play and gained another 10 on a pass to set up a 29-yard strike from Kamano to Maika Mataele on a streak route.

Punahou opened the game with Kimo Makaula at quarterback, but Shutter entered for the second series and led the Buffanblu on an 11-play, 79-yard scoring drive. Shutter connected with Robby Toma immediately for a 28-yard strike and Dalton Hilliard's 4-yard touchdown run up the middle gave Punahou the lead as time expired in the first quarter.

Punahou's defense applied pressure to Kamano for the rest of the half, racking up three sacks, and Kamehameha's punting game was askew (22 yards per kick).

Midway through the second quarter, Shutter guided the Buffanblu on a six-play, 63-yard drive. On fourth and 19, he launched a strike to Toma down the left sideline for a 32-yard touchdown. Punahou led 14-6 with 6:27 to go in the first half.

Using a mix of pistol and shotgun formations, Punahou scored on its second possession of the second half. Shutter connected with Mark Silverstein for 26 yards and Makaula for 15 before Hilliard scored on a 1-yard plunge for a 21-6 lead.

It was enough to get a thumbs up from Carroll, who watched with assistant coach Ken Norton on the sideline.

“;That was great defense. They hit the heck out of 'em,”; Carroll said of Punahou. “;The offense, what a great attack. The quarterback and wide receivers hooked up.”;

  At Aloha Stadium

                                                                                                                                           

Kamehameha (3-3, 0-2)	6	0	0	0	-	6
Punahou (4-1, 1-1)	7	7	14	0	-	28

Kam-Maika Mataele 29 pass from Edmund Kamano Jr. (run failed)
Pun-Dalton Hilliard 4 run (Robert Izuta kick)
Pun-Robby Toma 32 pass from Cayman Shutter (Izuta kick)
Pun-Hilliard 1 run (Izuta kick)
Pun-Hilliard 5 run (Izuta kick)

  RUSHING-Kamehameha: Ryan Ho 7-32, Brandon Dumlao 5-1, Kupono Park 3-2, Mataele 1-2, Kamano 12-10, Jones Colton 1-2. Punahou: Stabren Caires 4-90, Hilliard 11-58, Te'o 2-8, Shutter 6-(-17).

PASSING-Kamehameha: Kamano 13-27-2-146, T.C. Campbell 1-3-0-3. Punahou: Makaula 2-4-0-16, Shutter 20-38-0-260.

RECEIVING-Kamehameha: Pii Minns 3-28, Ho 3-15, Mataele 2-65, Rylee Urusaki 2-4, Kepoo Noa 1-31, Ryen Haitsuka 1-6, Ceenan Oliveria 2-0. Punahou: Toma 7-83, Hilliard 7-72, Mark Silverstein 4-71, Makaula 2-38, Galen Arakawa 1-6, Caires 1-6.

ILH
Standings

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

     

 

 

Division I	League					Overall
Team	W	L	T	PF	PA	W	L	T	PF	PA
Saint Louis	2	0	0	68	39	4	0	0	140	69
Punahou	1	1	0	47	46	4	1	0	167	100
Kamehameha	0	2	0	26	56	3	3	0	114	103

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

     

 

 

Division II			League					Overall
Team	W	L	T	PF	PA	W	L	T	PF	PA
Iolani	3	0	0	113	38	5	1	0	174	79
Damien	2	1	0	86	67	5	1	0	148	120
Pac-Five	2	2	0	126	127	3	4	0	203	207
Word of Life	0	4	0	41	131	2	4	0	92	174

Pac-Five 28, Word of Life 6

P.J. Minaya overcame six sacks to pass for 248 yards and four touchdowns in the win. Minaya, who passed for 511 yards when the teams met a month ago, was more efficient than prolific. He was 18-for-23 and threw no picks.

Darin Kamealoha returned from an illness and caught eight passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns as Pac-Five improved to 2-2 in league play (3-4 overall). Kelekolio Copp amassed 11 tackles and John Kagehiro had nine. Noe'au Copp added seven tackles and a sack.

Word of Life fell to 0-4 in the ILH (2-4 overall). Judah Parker had six tackles, including three sacks, and Richard Landford forced two fumbles, recovering one.

The first time, Pac-Five rallied for a 48-28 win. This time, the 'Pack were scoreless until the second quarter, driving no-huddle fashion for 48 yards in five plays. A 23-yard swing pass to Kamealoha netted 23 yards, and Kamealoha got open in the left corner of the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown pass from Minaya. Pac-Five led 7-0 with 9:25 to go in the second quarter.

  At Aloha Stadium

                                                                                                                                           

Pac-Five (3-4, 1-3)	0	7	7	14	-	28
Word of Life (2-4, 0-4)	0	0	0	6	-	6

P5-Darin Kamealoha 20 pass from P.J. Minaya (Brendan Sagucio kick)
P5-Kamealoha 63 pass from Minaya (Sagucio kick)
P5-London Amorin 25 pass from Minaya (Sagucio kick)
WOL-Max Mower 9 run (run failed)
P5-Lawson Kurosu 18 pass from Minaya (Sagucio kick)

  RUSHING-Pac-Five: Landan Burkhart 2-7, Chaison Baition 3-3, Kamealoha 1-0, Minaya 9-(-50). Word of Life: Gabe Miller 13-51, Mower 10-48, Jacob DeKneef 15-38, Kendall Ching 6-22, Paul-Christian Morales 5-16, Ryan Alvarado 8-7, Kaulana Naki 2-7, Jared Stephenson 1-6, Vega McKenzie 1-0.

PASSING-Pac-Five: Minaya 18-23-0-248. Word of Life: Morales 0-1-0-0, DeKneef 1-4-1-2.

RECEIVING-Pac-FIve: Kamealoha 8-117, Amorin 4-59, Jordan Doi 3-42, Lawson Kurosu 1-18, Dylan Gomez 1-11, Evan Oue 1-1. Word of Life: Michael Pang 1-2.