Higher up the food chain, nobody really knows how great predators are until their teeth are right in your face.

In prep football, players learn that what worked in the regular season won't always succeed in the semifinals of the First Hawaiian Bank State Football Championships.

For Cayman Shutter, a couple of mistakes didn't unravel his confidence. That's a good thing for Punahou, since the resilient senior bounced back from two picks to pass for 412 yards and three touchdowns in Punahou's 35-28 semifinal win over Farrington on Friday.

The first interception, by Alvin Faamausili in the end zone, was intended for Dalton Hilliard. In most games against most teams, Hilliard comes down with the pass. But it was slightly underthrown and Faamausili is just one of many great athletes on Farrington's stellar defensive unit.

“;That interception in the end zone kind of deflated us,”; Shutter said.

Later, Shutter went to Robby Toma in the end zone, where Farrington safety James Smith executed a high-leaping pick to end another Punahou drive.

Farrington quarterback Dayton Kealoha had a productive night with 235 passing yards and two scoring passes, but like Shutter, he found inhospitable foes in the secondary. Though Govs receivers Drake Miller and Ani Isumu combined for eight catches and 225 yards, Punahou did just enough to tilt the scales in its favor.

Hilliard, given the task of solo coverage on Isumu, did his part. Isumu was targeted by Kealoha five times in the second half, making two catches for 43 yards. The other three targets: two incompletions (one deflected by Hilliard) and a pick. Hilliard's coverage, in part, afforded Punahou the luxury of stacking eight defenders in the box.

“;They were loading the box on us, so we wanted to get our senior receivers the ball,”; Farrington coach Randall Okimoto said.

Down the stretch, it was another two-way player, Toma, who came up with a clutch interception return for a touchdown to seal the win. Toma and Hilliard committed to UCLA in October.

For Punahou's field general, it was a gritty effort against a fierce pass rush.

“;Cayman stood in there and took a lot of hits,”; Buffanblu coach Kale Ane said.

Sudden change

After dominating Leilehua for more than three quarters, Kahuku's defense had plenty to be proud of. For Andrew Manley, however, a game-long struggle was about to change.

With injured Edieson Dumlao back in the game, Manley went to his money receiver again and again on the game-tying drive with less than 2 minutes to go in regulation. Dumlao had one-on-one coverage from Jray Galeai, then Triton Oto.

“;He was able to find his receivers on the stop routes,”; Kahuku coach Reggie Torres said.

Dumlao's season has been peppered with injuries. Twice, he suffered concussions. On Friday, it was a separated shoulder. Once Dumlao showed he could still pull in passes in traffic, the Mules lined him up alone in their shotgun-trips formation, and the magic of Manley did the rest in a 17-10 overtime win.