‘IOLANI RAIDERS (1-1, 0-0 ILH D-II)
Head coach: Wendell Look
2017 Raiders roster
VS.
DAMIEN MONARCHS (2-1, 0-0)
Head coach: Eddie Klaneski
2017 Monarchs roster
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Damien 35, ‘Iolani 21, Final
‘Iolani’s drive stalls at its 31, stifled by another sack by Kim. Damien takes over with 1:14 left.
Damien 35, ‘Iolani 21, 2:02, fourth quarter
Kauhi with a key 46-yard tip-toe run around the left sets up a 12-yard TD run by Faufata-Pedrina.
Damien 28, ‘Iolani 21, 6:05, fourth quarter
‘Iolani marches 65 yards in less than 3 minutes to pull within one score. Mizutani with a 14-yard strike to Jonah Miyazawa, who tumbles over the goal line for the score.
Damien 28, ‘Iolani 14, 9:04, fourth quarter
As fast as ‘Iolani has played with its hurry-up offense, the Monarchs have slowed things to a crawl while marching to paydirt. Faufata-Pedrina’s fake punt and run nets a first down, huge play. He closes the drive with a 15-yard play-action TD pass to Logan Lauti. Faufata-Pedrina broke two tackles on the rollout. Strength.
THIRD QUARTER ENDS
The third quarter ends with Damien near midfield, and as they’ve done all game long, they’re milking the clock between snaps. Game plan is working. I wouldn’t be surprised if time of possession for DMS is double that of IOL. The Monarchs missed a 25-yard field goal with 4:13 left in the third — with a tail wind — missing a chance for some insurance points.
Damien 21, ‘Iolani 14, 8:51, third quarter
The Raiders drive 80 yards in nine plays, helped by a roughing penalty. Mizutani fires into the wind, into double coverage and Rayden Kaneshiro hauls it in for a 30-yard TD.
Damien 21, ‘Iolani 7, 10:57, third quarter
The Monarchs drive 58 yards in just two plays, scoring on an amazing 57-yard catch, weave right and then left to the end zone by shifty and explosive Logan Lauti.
Damien 14, ‘Iolani 7, Halftime
Boxscore
At Skippa Diaz Stadium
‘Iolani 7 0 x x — 7
Damien 0 14 x x — 14
IOL—Carter Kamana 24 pass from Tai-John Mizutani (Mika Makekau kick)
DMS—Akila Arecchi 3 run (Kaimana Cameron kick)
DMS—Arecchi 12 pass from Marcus Faufata-Pedrina (Cameron kick)
RUSHING—IOL:
Kaua Nishigaya 8-27,
Mizutani 5-1,
Cole Ichikawa 1-4,
DMS:
Keoua Kauhi 7-45,
Arecchi 3-13,
Logan Lauti 1-0,
Faufata-Pedrina 2-14,
Matthew Faufata-Pedrina 1-1,
PASSING—IOL:
Mizutani 13-18-1-96,
Justin Genovia 1-1-0-16
DMS:
Mar. Faufata-Pedrina 6-7-0-73,
RECEIVING—IOL:
Genovia 6-40,
Kamana 2-32,
Jonah Miyazawa 3-23,
Nishigaya 1-(-1),
Ignacio 1-16,
Rayden Kaneshiro 1-2,
DMS:
Lauti 1-5,
Jarvis Natividad 1-0,
Arecchi 3-61,
Kauhi 1-7,
‘Iolani starts from its 18 and stalls at its 47 when punter Justin Genovia is rushed heavy, rolls right and shot-puts a pass to Isaac Ignacio for a 16-yard gain. The Raiders get to the 13 and line up for a 30-yard field-goal try into the wind, but Mika Makekau’s effort is well short. That wind is a killer. The half ends on that play.
Damien 14, ‘Iolani 7, 3:48, second quarter
The Monarchs have risen. Arecchi has moved to the forefront with a 39-yard reception, and he hauls in a 12-yard toss from Faufata-Pedrina on a perfect corner route play. Well timed. Damien takes the lead.
Raiders have third and short, but a blind-side rusher shows up and Mizutani flinches at the last second. Pass in the grass. Punt.
‘Iolani 7, Damien 7, 10:20, second quarter
Faufata-Pedrina’s helicopter punt is highly effective, 40 yards and no return. On the next play, Mizutani’s short bullet is intercepted just behind the line of scrimmage by Shiloh Kaeo, who returns the ball to the 25. Keoua Kauhi blasts up the middle for a 22-yard gain and Akila Arecchi scores on a 3-yard jet sweep. Arecchi is whistled for taunting, yardage enforced on the kickoff.
FIRST QUARTER ENDS
Damien has third and 20 at its 11 as the quarter ends. Now they’ll have the wind at their backs.
Damien’s next series is riddled by penalties, including a double whammy: illegal block in the back and personal foul after the whistle. This was on an otherwise nice 9-yard scramble by QB Marcus Faufata-Pedrina. Punt to IOL at the DMS 42, but the Raiders’ drive stalls when Pomai Kim darts in for back-to-back sacks. Clutch. IOL punt, touchback. Monarchs dodge a bullet.
‘Iolani 7, Damien 0, 8:55, first quarter
The Raiders open with an 11-play, 66-yard drive. Tai-John Mizutani chipped away patiently with seven completions before finding Carter Kamana on an out pattern. Kamana breaks loose down the left sideline for a 24-yard TD.
Damien wins the coin toss and chooses to defer, which means they will have the wind at their backs in the second quarter. That can be really crucial at this field, where the wind blows in from the hill with force at times.
Pre-game: It is scorching hot on the synthetic turf here at wondrous Skippa Diaz Stadium. Certainly not as hot as it is in California (above 105?), but this is definitely a test of conditioning and heat tolerance. Damien has adopted this site as a home field for two ILH games. The Monarchs practice on campus just two blocks away, so this weather should be of no consequence to them. Same with ‘Iolani, which is used to the heatwaves that hit Lower Moiliili year-round. I thought the same thing last week when Kaimuki visited ‘Iolani, but it seemed to be Kaimuki that wore down as the game entered the final minutes of the second half. Could be nothing. Could be something.
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NOTES: ‘Iolani has won each of the last 16 meetings, the last time Damien beat them was 2006 when Kama Bailey went off for 220 yards. ‘Iolani is 8-1 when its quarterback throws for more than 250 yards against Damien. ‘Iolani is 31-1-1 when it has a 100-yard rusher against Damien. ‘Iolani hasnt won its ILH opener since 2014 when it beat Damien. Raiders QB Ty-John Mizutani threw for more than 500 yards last week.
Top performances in the series
‘Iolani pass vs. Damien: Kela Marciel with 341 in 2007
‘Iolani rush vs. Damien: Joe Igber with 278 in 1998. Igber had 529 in two games against them that year.
‘Iolani receiving vs. Damien: Keoni Kordell-Makekau with 153 in 2013
Damien passing vs. ‘Iolani: Brian Borges with 273 in 1988
Damien rushing vs. ‘Iolani: Kama Bailey with 301 in 2006
Damien receiving vs. ‘Iolani: John Santiago with 152 in 1988.
Awesome job Monarchs!