GAME NIGHT 9/1: Punahou/Kamehameha

After what seems like forever, the ILH football season finally gets underway Thursday night at Aloha Stadium with No. 3 Punahou facing No. 6 Kamehameha.

Play-by-play updates of the 6 p.m. kickoff will follow below.

---

No. 3 Punahou 56, No. 6 Kamehameha 14

at Aloha Stadium
Punahou (2-0, 1-0) 14 7 21 14 — 56
Kamehameha (1-2, 0-1) 7 0 0 7 — 14
Pun—Eamon Brady 30 pass from Nick Kapule (Jeffrey Chan kick)
Pun—Judd Cockett 4 pass from Kapule (Chan kick)
KSK—Kanoa Shannon 1 run (Adam Stack kick)
Pun—Cockett 8 pass from Kapule (Chan kick)
Pun—Cockett 44 pass from Kapule (Chan kick)
Pun—Ke’ala Martinson 10 pass from Stephen Barber (Chan kick)
Pun—Ethan Takeyama 7 pass from Kapule (Chan kick)
KSK—Thomas Yam 5 run (Stack kick)
Pun—Barber 3 run (Chan kick)
Pun—Nui Adolpho 12 run (Chan kick)
RUSHING—Punahou: Sitiveni Kaufusi 12-65, Enoch Nawahine 6-28, Adolpho 1-12, Barber 3-12, Cole Arceneaux 1-8, Antonio Cortez Feria 1-2, Kapule 1-(minus 11). Kamehameha: Shannon 25-139, Breden Akima 4-26, Jaykob Cabunoc 2-21, Yam 4-10.
PASSING—Punahou: Kapule 17-31-0-348, Barber 3-6–0-59. Kamehameha: Yam 8-16-0-79, Justice Young 1-6–0-(minus 7).
RECEIVING—Punahou: Takeyama 7-146, Cockett 5-103, Martinson 4-86, Brady 3-63, Kennedy Freeman 1-9. Kamehameha: Christopher Ah Mook Sang 3-26, Cabunoc 3-6, Matthew Aio 1-23, Sundance Solatorio 1-13, Shannon 1-4.

FOURTH QUARTER

Sophomore Nui Adolpho in at QB. Sitiveni Kaufusi breaks off a 44-yard run. Adolpho 12-yard TD run on the QB keeper with 1:07 remaining.

Running clock now. Yam stays in at QB. Two incomplete passes and a 3-yard pass to Ah Mook Sang. Punt.

Barber back in at QB. Penalties piling up for Kamehameha and many are of the 15-yard variety. Buffanblu start on the Kamehameha 43. Andrew Aleki lays a big hit on the Punahou RB but comes up holding his left shoulder and has to come out. Kamehameha stuffs three consecutive runs from the 3-yard line but on fourth-and-goal, Barber fakes the handoff and takes it in himself for the 3-yard TD run. 49-14, 6:19, Q4. Three touchdowns scored by the Buffanblu on fourth down.

Thomas Yam caps the drive with a 5-yard TD run. 42-14, 10:26, Q4.

THIRD QUARTER

Yam back in at QB and hits his first pass to Christopher Ah Mook Sang for 9 yards after Cabunoc’s 10-yard run. Warriors run the ball effectively against some Punahou backups.

Kapule 17-31, 348 yards, 5 TD. Takeyama 7 catches, 146 yards, TD. Cockett 5 catches, 103 yards, 3 TD.

Kapule back in at QB and he gets hit on a pass attempt that goes up in the air but falls harmlessly to the turf. A 13-yard pass to Takeyama gives him 119 yards on five catches. Add on a personal foul to Kamehameha. Kapule to Takeyama for 20 yards. Kapule to Takeyama for a 7-yard TD. 42-7, 2:36, Q3.

Another drop by Kamehameha to start the next drive. Three-and-out.

The Warriors had Punahou pinned inside the 5 but two penalties are called on Kamehameha. Warriors have to re-kick from the 17 and it’s downed at midfield. About a 48-yard difference. Punahou starts from the 50. Stephen Barber in at QB for Punahou. First pass is a bomb to Takeyama right ON THE MONEY. 40 yards to the 10. Two incomplete passes and a scramble for no yards makes it fourth-and-goal from the 10. Barber throws it up to Martinson who tips it and then catches it. 10-yard TD pass from Barber to Martinson on fourth-and-goal makes it 35-7. 5:23.

Kamehameha gets 23 yards and two first downs on five runs. Play-action deep is incomplete and Young is forced to scramble and can’t find a man on third down. Young now 0-for-4 after two drives. Kamehameha punts.

Rare shanked punt for Stack as Punahou takes over on its 33. Kapule-to-Martinson for 22 yards. Big third-and-9 and Kapule stands in and gets drilled but a blown coverage on Cockett who is wide open down the sideline. 44-yard TD makes it 28-7, 9:46, Q3. Kapule now at 308 yards.

Warriors start on their 40. Kanoa Shannon runs for 7 yards but then Kamehameha has a false start penalty. Justice Young in at QB. First pass is dropped. Second pass is off and it’s a three-and-out.

FIRST-HALF VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

HALFTIME BOX
at Aloha Stadium
Punahou (1-0, 0-0) 14 7
Kamehameha (1-1, 0-0) 7 0
Pun—Eamon Brady 30 pass from Nick Kapule (Jeffrey Chan kick)
Pun—Judd Cockett 4 pass from Kapule (Chan kick)
KSK—Kanoa Shannon 1 run (Adam Stack kick)
Pun—Cockett 8 pass from Kapule (Chan kick)
RUSHING—Punahou: Enoch Nawahine 5-27, Sitiveni Kaufusi 3-(minus 2), Kapule 1-(minus 11). Kamehameha: Shannon 18-92, Jaykob Cabunoc 1-11, Breden Akima 1-3, Thomas Yam 2-(minus 7).
PASSING—Punahou: Kapule 12-24-0-242. Kamehameha: Yam 5-11-0-53.
RECEIVING—Punahou: Cockett 4-59, Brady 3-63, Ethan Takeyama 3-66, Ke’ala Martinson 2-54. Kamehameha: Cabunoc 2-13, Matthew Aio 1-23, Sundance Solatorio 1-13, Shannon 1-4.

SECOND QUARTER

Kamehameha backed up but on third down from its 10, Yam hits Matthew Aio who brings the Kamehameha side to its feet with a wicked juke move on two Punahou defenders, resulting in a 23-yard reception. Biggest pass play of the game for Kamehameha. Yam rolls out on the next play and another nice throw to Cabunoc for 12 to the 45. Under a minute. Timeout Kamehameha after a run to the 48. Cabunoc with a drop to make it third down. Yam with a nice throw to Aio at the 30 but it wiggles out at the last second. Good play by the safety help to force a punt. No Kamehameha goes for it and Yam hits Sundance Solatorio for 13 yards but he takes a wicked shot at the end of it and is down. First down at the Punahou 39 with 23 seconds remaining. Kamehameha takes too much time as Yam scrambles with 9 seconds left. He throws deep and it’s incomplete. No time left. HALFTIME. FG try would have been from 56.

Punahou starts on its 29. Kapule hits Martinson for 30 yards but the BUffanblu then try three runs with Sitiveni Kaufusi that go nowhere. Third-down pass is incomplete and Punahou has to punt.

Kamehameha starts on its 35. Yam in at QB and he hands off to Shannon twice for 7 yards to make it third-and-3. Kamehameha fakes the handoff to Shannon and tries an option but Yam’s lateral to Cabunoc is off and goes out of bounds. Six-yard loss and punt.

Kapule misses a couple of throws and the Warriors defense gets a big three-and-out.

Warriors start from their 29. Kamehameha in danger of going three-and-out but clear defensive PI on deep throw from Yam to Cabunoc nets 15 yards. LB Logan Williams stops Shannon for a 2-yard loss and makes the tackle on third down on a swing pass to Shannon to only give up 4 yards, forcing a punt.

Aleki beats the right tackle and gets to Kapule, putting the QB on the ground. Kapule gets it off and its overthrown. Almost picked by a Kamehameha DB. Nawahine picks up the first down on third-and-1 going 12 yards on the option. Kapule hits two more passes to the 8 but then throws three straight incompletions. Great coverage both one-on-one and in zone by Kamehameha DBs. Kamehameha goes for it on fourth-and-goal from the 8 and that same pass pattern to Cockett is there over the middle. 8-yard TD pass. Touchdown Punahou. 21-7, 11:06.

FIRST QUARTER

Punahou starts on its 9. Kapule stands in and delivers as he’s about to take a hit and his Brady for 19 yards out to the 33. Kapule is not scared in that pocket. He will take a hit. Quarter ends after a 9-yard completion to Takeyama. Kapule 8-13, 166 yards, 2 TD.

Bad punt gives Kamehameha good field position at its 34. Warriors continue to run it with a direct snap to Shannon, who carries it a total of 10 straight times (including last drive). Maninoa Tufono stops Shannon for no gain to force third-and-6 and Yam’s pass is incomplete. Kamehameha punt.

Nawahine with a 26-yard return on the kickoff. Buffanblu start from own 33. Warriors bring a blitz and Kapule calmly steps into a throw and hits Cockett for 28 yards. Cockett drops same pass play that would have gone for big yards. Andrew Aleki whips the right tackle on the next play and has Kapule wrapped up but Kapule gets out of it. Pauole is right there though and Kapule hurries to get it away but throws it to nobody. Intentional grounding is called. Punahou sophomore OL Duke Clemens (6-4, 252) is down on the play, but he walk off on his own with a little help. Third-and-16. They fake the handoff to Nawahine out of the backfield and then throw to him coming out but it’s dropped. Punahou will punt. Kapule 6-11, 138 yards, 2 TD.

Cabunoc with a 39-yard return to the 42 but a bad late hit at the end of the play by Pauole. Kamehameha will start on its 27. Kamehameha goes with the Kahuku jumbo set and on third-and-3, Kanoa Shannon breaks through a hole for a 42-yard gain. DB Aaron Woo gets him from behind to save a TD. Hale Motu`apuaka whistled for a personal foul on the play to move the ball to the 12. Senior OL Trace Meyers (6-2, 285) hurt on the play for Kamehameha and needs to be helped off. Kamehameha runs the same play with Shannon taking the direct snap from center. Three runs later it’s a 1-yard TD run for Shannon, who gained 61 yards on six carries on the drive. Stack kicks the XP. 14-7, 4:59.

Short pass to Ethan Takeyama, who avoids a face-mask penalty and gets 24 yards. Add 15 for the face mask. Already in Kamehameha territory. Kapule hits Takeyama for 30 on a perfectly thrown deep ball to the 4. Slant to Cockett for a 4-yard TD. Touchdown Punahou. Kapule 5-8, 110 yards, 2 TD just 4:10 into the game.

Tiger Peterson with a 22-yard return and Kamehameha starts from its 23. Yam at QB and Cabunoc at RB. Pitch to Cabunoc looks jammed but he reverses field and picks up 11 to the 34. Nice run. Third-and-10 and Kamehameha has a receiver break open over the middle but Yam overthrows. One first down and punt.

Judd Cockett with a 16-yard return and Kapule and Co. will start from the 23. Kapule with all day to throw and misses the first two passes but hits Cockett for 19 on third down. Plus a personal foul (targeting) on Kamehameha. Now the Warriors jump early. Punahou attempts a fourth straight pass and Kapule just gets it off before getting thrown to the ground. Warriors brought a blitz there. After two Enoch Nawahine runs for 8 yards, Kapule has all day again and goes deep over the middle. Diving catch by Eamon Brady in the end zone for a 30-yard TD. Punahou goes 77 yards in less than two minutes to take a 7-0 lead. Kapule 2-5, 49 yds, TD. 7-0, 10:04.

***********************

Kamehameha won the toss and will defer. Punahou receives opening kickoff.

CAPTAINS
Punahou: Miki Suguturaga, Nick Kapule, Ke’ala Martinson, Satya Mindich
Kamehameha: Andrew Aleki, Nakoa Pauole, Kala’iakea Ortiz

Nick Kapule announced as the starter at QB for Punahou.

Thomas Yam getting the first reps at QB pregame for Kamehameha. Adam Stack (hip) was working on punting. Jaykob Cabunoc (hamstring) was suited up and on the field but jogged off to the locker room well before the rest of his teammates.

*************************

All four ILH Division I teams are ranked in the top nine in the state with No. 9 ‘Iolani and No. 2 Saint Louis playing at the stadium on Friday night.

Thursday’s tilt between Punahou and Kamehameha renews the longest rivalry in the nation in terms of games played. Here’s a historical look at the rivalry that dates back to 1903.

As for this year, both teams have at least two capable quarterbacks. Thomas Yam (12-25, 201 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT) has gotten more work in than Justice Young (6-12, 134 yds, TD) for Kamehameha but Young threw for twice as many yards in a win over Baldwin. Nick Kapule was a perfect 5-for-5 for 137 yards and 3 TD’s in Punahou’s 70-9 win over Leilehua and backup Stephen Barber (11-18, 229 yards, 3 TD) wasn’t bad either.

The Warriors were a little banged up to start the season with WR Jaykob Cabunoc (hamstring) and kicker Adam Stack (hip) missing games and RB Brayden Miyamoto getting hurt in the Waianae game. Punahou is without stud linebacker Seyddrick Lakalaka (foot).