Early in the season, the Punahou Buffanblu were content to keep their top players on one side of the ball.

Sure, Manti Te'o showed flashes of brilliance as a junior - he broke off a 99-yard touchdown run against Waianae - and Dalton Hilliard was occasionally spectacular as a pass-catching threat. But with elusive Robby Toma leading the receiver corps, Punahou stayed basic.

That all changed with a loss to Saint Louis. Hilliard, who was already effective at receiver and running back, became more of a target as defenses keyed on Toma. Then, the Buffanblu worked Te'o into the mix. His bulldozing runs were enough for defenses to worry about. But by the midway point of the season, he emerged as a great, glue-fingered receiver.

Against 'Iolani, Punahou lined up in the shotgun with Hilliard and Toma on the left side. Hilliard had just caught a touchdown pass on the previous drive. Third and 6 at the Raiders 17-yard line probably called for a short pass to one of them, or possibly a handoff to Te'o.

Instead, Hilliard ran a post route and Toma dragged over the middle, clearing the left side. 'Iolani brought five rushers, all picked up by the O-line. Cayman Shutter had plenty of time to find Te'o on a sideline route.

'Iolani's zone coverage had Te'o blanketed, but he had just enough space to reach back and pull in the pass against a smaller defender. He held on as the safety converged and fell over the goal line for a remarkable touchdown play.

With Te'o, Toma and Hilliard on the field together, Punahou has three instant touchdown threats. When Leilehua lines up across the Buffanblu offense in the Division I final of the First Hawaiian Bank State Football Championships on Friday, they can do one of two things: bring the house or eventually get burned.

Unless, of course, the Mules - who have plenty of talent defensively - have a scheme that even Punahou hasn't seen yet.