Punahou is going back to the Honor Bowl Football Showcase this fall.
The Buffanblu will play against Junipero Serra High, a Roman Catholic private school in Gardena, Calif., as part of a tripleheader Sept. 2 on the campus of Cathedral Catholic in San Diego.
The Honor Bowl is a five-game, two-day affair that starts Sept. 1. The 10 participating teams are from four states — California, Arizona, Florida and Hawaii.
IMG Academy, the top-ranked team from Florida that finished last season at No. 4 in the MaxPreps national rankings, plays in the Honor Bowl against Corona Centennial (Corona, Calif.) on Sept. 1.
The Honor Bowl Football Showcase is run by the Honor Group organization, whose mission is to educate, students, coaches and communities about the needs of the U.S.’s military veterans.
The Punahou vs. Junipero Serra game will be at 4 p.m., Pacific time, on Sept. 2. Other games that day begin at noon and 7:30 p.m.
“There are a lot of good teams and it should be fun,” said Buffanblu coach Kale Ane, whose team finished 7-3 a year ago. “We have a great relationship with the committee that runs the tournament, and they asked us if we would be interested in playing again. They set it up, and getting a quality opponent like Serra is icing on the cake.”
Last season, the Buffanblu lost 28-14 to Saint Louis in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship game and 33-21 to Kapolei in the first round of the inaugural Open Division state title game.
Punahou’s previous experience in the Honor Bowl came in 2013, when it beat Helix Charter (La Mesa, Calif.) 10-6 in the second game of the season en route to capturing the Division I state championship.
Honor Bowl Football Showcase
at Cathedral Catholic, San Diego (Pacific times)
Sept. 1
>> Christian (El Cajon, Calif.) vs. Village Christian (Sun Valley Calif.), 5 p.m.
>> Corona Centennial (Corona, Calif.) vs. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), 8 p.m.
Sept. 2
>> Helix Charter (La Mesa, Calif.) vs. Sagauro (Scottsdale, Ariz.), noon
>> Junipero Serra (Gardena, Calif.) vs. Punahou, 4 p.m.
>> Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) vs. Lutheran (Orange, Calif.), 7:30
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