One more season, one more award.

The state football championship game hasn't kicked off just yet, but Punahou linebacker/running back Manti Te'o has reaped at least one more honor for a standout senior season. Gatorade named Te'o the Hawaii player of the year yesterday.

Te'o leads Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion Punahou (11-1) with 121 tackles. He also has touchdowns by interception return and punt return. Offensively, he carried the ball 30 times for 190 yards and four touchdowns, and also has two touchdown receptions.

He has a 3.0 grade-point average, is a devout member of his church and is an Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America.

Te'o volunteered his time with Hawaii Food Bank and the American Lung Association of Hawaii, and recently completed a school service project at BYU-Hawaii.

Hoop it up

Observations from Day 1 of the first girls basketball tournament of the season:

» Defending state champion Punahou defends every inch on the floor with swarms of players.

» Waiakea is not the same without All-State/Fab 15 point guard Kamie Imai.

» Kahuku is going to run-and-gun defenders into submission.

» Farrington is going to be tough.

Punahou was relentless in its 57-27 smothering of Waiakea on Wednesday in the Farrington Maroon and White Classic. Though Waiakea missed Imai—she has an SAT on Saturday and throat surgery next week—the Buffanblu platooned five at a time and wore out the visitors from the Big Island.

Janelle Nomura, the lone returning starter, was sharp, with eight points and three assists in part-time duty. Low-post force Tressa Torres had a team-high nine points. Overall, Punahou simply punished the Warriors on the boards and on the floor, diving for almost every loose ball.

“;We missed a lot of chippies tonight, but I liked the energy,”; coach Mike Taylor said.

Though his team will miss three-time player of the year Shawna-Lei Kuehu and three-time All-State guard Shaena-Lyn Kuehu, nobody will feel sorry for the Buffanblu, not with their great defense.

KS-Hawaii's Kanisha Bello, who scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half, may have been the best offensive player in the game. She sat most of the first half after picking up a third foul.

“;As we expected, Punahou played great defense. They're one of the best with the man-to-man,”; Waiakea coach Grant Kauhi said.

Kahuku launched 3-point bombs all night in an 82-63 win over Molokai. Though the Farmers have lightning-quick Danna-Lynn Hooper and some size underneath with Kalei Adolpho, they couldn't contend with Kahuku's up-tempo game. Nile Te'o, the All-State volleyball player, had a team-high 20 points.

Kahuku will play in the OIA White Conference (Division II) for the first time in girls hoops.

Farrington got a last-second shot by Precious Faave in regulation, then beat Kamehameha 40-37 in overtime. Brydgette Tatupu-Leopoldo scored 13 points for the Governors.

“;It's great considering we've only had a week of practice,”; coach Caroline Tatupu-Leopoldo said.

Nation's best coming

Next week's Iolani Classic includes three teams ranked in the top 15 nationally. Long Beach Poly (Calif.), Oregon City (Ore.) and Westlake (Ga.) are in the tourney. Punahou is one of the local entries.