On this date in 1948, Punahou pulled off another upset.
The Buffablu, who were expected to be bottom feeders in preseason dope after losing a large senior class, rode a stifling defense and the speed of William Heilbron to upset heavily favored Kamehameha 6-0 in front of a crowd of 18,000.
It was Punahou’s third straight victory. Although the victory made the Buffanblu the team to beat, Kamehameha came back to win the league title.
But for one day, the Warriors couldn’t handle Heilbron. The future flyer intercepted a pass by George Montgomery on his own 14 and raced down the sideline for 67 yards before being tackled. He would have scored if Charles Ane had not missed a block, but Ane’s mates made it moot.
Punahou scored four plays later when quarterback David Eldredge flipped a lateral to Clyde Isaacs and watched him cover eight yards for the score. Ane’s extra-point try was blocked by Alvin Cazimero but the Buffanblu defense made the score stand up for the next three quarters until the final horn.
Heilbron went on to play at Stanford before attending flight school with the 119th Fighter Interceptor Squadron.
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