Here’s the long version of the game story in ‘Iolani’s 26-7 win over Pac-Five yesterday at Aloha Stadium. (See the capsule version and statistics HERE.)
Ammon Baldomero rushed for 66 hard-earned yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries, and cornerback Reid Saito put the game out of reach with a 100-yard interception return as the Raiders pulled away after halftime.
‘Iolani improved to 3-0 in league play, while Pac-Five battled another Top 10 team closely for a half for the second week in a row. The ‘Pack picked off ‘Iolani sophomore Reece Foy three times, but he still managed to convert a few key first downs with his legs (44 rushing yards, six carries).
The game was tied at 7 by halftime before the Raiders took a 10-7 lead on a 31-yard field goal by Jordan Lee with 10:33 left in the third quarter.
The Raiders permitted just 22 total yards by Pac-Five after intermission.
Pac-Five’s defense was a wall in the first half. The unit came up with three turnovers, but followed through with a score just once.
The Raiders opened the game with a patient, 6-minute, 38-second drive out of their no-huddle offense. Ammon Baldomero’s 1-yard blast up the middle gave ‘Iolani a 7-0 lead with 5:22 left in the first quarter.
However, ‘Iolani managed just two first downs for the rest of the half as Pac-Five kept spies near the line of scrimmage to curtail the scrambling exploits of Reece Foy.
Ben Keller came up with a pick and a sack to stifle ‘Iolani drives. His interception off a batted pass gave Pac-Five the ball at ‘Iolani’s 31-yard line, and quarterback Jack Foster connected with Jordan Doi in the corner of the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 7-all with 2:12 remaining in the first quarter.
An interception by Kelly Meguro gave the ‘Pack the ball at the ‘Iolani 29-yard line late in the second quarter, but they came up empty. A sack by Jona Like-Uehara and Austin Slade-Matautia stopped the threat.
However, Baldomero fumbled and Pac-Five recovered at the Raiders’ 30-yard line with 44 seconds to play in the half. Pac-Five had two time outs but used none to stop the clock before settling for a 37-yard field goal try by Brendan Sagucio. The attempt was wide left as the half ended.
Pac-Five’s mistakes didn’t stop there. ‘Iolani, kicking off from the Pac-Five 45-yard line due to a personal foul call that ended the first half, used another pooch kick to baffle the ‘Pack. Keahi Hogan recovered the ball near the left sideline at the 16-yard line, and Lee drilled a 31-yard field goal four plays later to give the Raiders a 10-7 lead with 10:33 left in the third quarter.
‘Iolani added a 10-play, 59-yard drive, capped by Baldomero’s 6-yard run on the right side, for a 17-7 lead with 6:59 to go in the third.
Another ‘Iolani pooch kick a moment later was bungled by two Pac-Five players and recovered by Andrew Okimura at the Pac-Five 39-yard line. After an ‘Iolani coffin-corner punt pinned Pac-Five deep, linebacker Cody Petro-Sakuma brought down Darius Anderson in the end zone for a safety, extended the Raiders’ lead to 19-7 with 5:07 to go in the third.
‘Iolani’s defense put an exclamation point on its performance with Saito’s pick-6, putting the game on ice with 4:33 to go.
Paul Honda, Star-Advertiser
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