August featured record performances

The month of August was about as crazy as any opening month of prep football that I’ve ever seen.

It started with the hurricane warning for Iselle that forced the cancellation of the first week of the season. No Father Bray games were played at Aloha Stadium and a slew of great ILH-OIA matchups, including Mililani/Saint Louis, Leilehua/Punahou and Kamehameha/Waianae, were wiped out.

Mililani and Saint Louis found a way to get that game played the following week and the Trojans set a school record with 63 points, which is also the most Saint Louis had ever given up in a game.

That was just one of a number of record performances we’ve already seen this year. Here’s a look:

QB’s join the 500 club
Going all the way back to 1973, only once in 40 years had a quarterback from an Oahu school thrown for 500 yards a game. Pac-Five’s P.J. Minaya would have to make room in the 500 club for another Wolfpack QB as sophomore Kainoa Ferreira, in his first-ever varsity game, threw a staggering 64 passes, completing 34 for 515 yards and six touchdowns in a win over King Kekaulike. Ferreira took over the single-game lead for all of two weeks when Moanalua’s Kawika Keama-Jacobe bested the record by more than 50 yards, finishing 28-for-51 for 574 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to Farrington.

Noa kicks off senior season in big way
After his first game was wiped out due to the storm, Punahou’s Kanawai Noa had to wait two more weeks before starting his senior season with the Buffanblu. Noa delivered an epic performance against Saint Louis, setting the ILH record for a league game with 242 receiving yards on seven receptions with three touchdowns in a 55-7 drilling of the Crusaders. With 2,640 receiving yards in 20 career games, Noa is exactly 850 yards behind Gerald Welch for the career record, and with AT LEAST six more games (and more likely eight), the record seems within his grasp.

Cruz is cruisin’ in Moanalua’s pass happy attack
Noa’s performance wasn’t tops by a receiver this season. That honor belongs to Moanalua’s Karson Cruz, who had 10 receptions for 310 yards and two touchdowns, falling 9 yards short of the record, held by Kailua’s David Kaihenui. Cruz became the fourth member of the 300 club, joining Saint Louis’ Desmond Hanohano, who had his 307-yard receiving game in the state tournament, and Kalani’s Albert Sabog, who hit exactly 300 yards during the 1991 season.

Colt isn’t the only Brennan
Pac-Five receiver Tsubasa Brennan has already had a good season by most standards. The Wolfpack senior has 30 catches for 436 yards and six touchdowns this year. And oh yeah, he’s done it in just two games. While no records are available yet for single-game receptions, Brennan’s 19 to start the season against King Kekaulike definitely ranks right up there. He finished with 292 receiving yards in the game, setting a Pac-Five record and putting him fifth on the all-time list. The Wolfpack will play at least six more games with Brennan needing 1,253 yards to equal the single-season record held by Gerald Welch. A tough task indeed, but if the Wolfpack can make a run in the ILH Division II and somehow dethrone ‘Iolani and make the state tournament, the record should definitely be a possibility.

Nanakuli’s got two who can sling it
Before the season started, Nanakuli had only had one quarterback throw for more than 230 yards in a game. Two games later, the Golden Hawks have three. Nanakuli has gotten solid play from both Kale Kanehailua and Brandon Sevelino to start 2-0 for the first time since 2003. Sevelino started the opener and went 22-for-39 for 271 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Kalaheo. Kanekailua took over last week in a win over Roosevelt and tied the school record held by Nick Asinsin with a 279-yard passing performance. The Golden Hawks season will come down to an eight-day stretch from Sept. 26 to Oct. 3 when they play Pearl City and Radford in back-to-back weeks.

Milton steals the show in Cal Lee’s return
Mililani quarterback McKenzie Milton pulled off one of the most amazing dual-threat games by a quarterback ever seen in the Trojans’ season opener against the Crusaders. The way you score the most points a Saint Louis team has ever given up is by crushing them with a quarterback who accounted for 563 total yards of offense. Milton rushed for a career-high 204 yards on nine carries with three touchdowns and was 21-for-31 for 369 yards and four touchdowns through the air.

All of that in just a three-week span in August? Imagine what the next three months will bring.