Kamehameha coach David Stant felt it was time to give his quarterback some slack.

Christian Akana returned the favor for the vote of confidence by rallying the Warriors past Pac-Five, 21-17, Saturday in Interscholastic League of Honolulu football at Aloha Stadium.

The Warriors (5-3 overall, 3-2 ILH) trailed 10-0 at the half, took a momentary 13-10 lead with 7:31 left in the game, but watched the Wolf Pack (2-6, 1-4) score with 2:11 left to take a 17-13 lead.

"When Pac-Five scored, we told ourselves, 'This is where we prove ourselves,'" Akana said. "We've been in a rut this whole season, so that drive showed we can hang with anybody in this league."

Kamehameha returned the ensuing kickoff to its 28 with 2:04 left. Akana had a hand on every play of the nine-play drive, either running the ball or passing it. On fourth-and-4, rocketed a 12-yard slant pass to right wideout Brock Ruelke for the game-winning score with 52 seconds to play to give Kamehameha a 19-17 lead.

"I think we were too safe with him," Stant said "We just gotta let the reins go. Just let him do his thing. And that's my fault because I try to be too safe, be too conservative with him. When the game's on the line, we let him go. He blossomed in that, so we just have to let him go."

Drew Honda initially kicked the PAT, but a penalty against the Wolf Pack moved the ball half the distance to the goal to the 1 1/2-yard line. The Warriors took the point off the board and elected to go for the 2-point conversion - after all, Pac-Five Brendan Sagucio is a deep threat for a game-tying field goal - and got it when Akana sneaked in to make it 21-17.

The Wolf Pack's attempted comeback with 46 seconds left was thwarted by two sacks, as well as a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for excessive celebration after long gain on a pass play.

Pac-Five, which last beat Kamehameha in 1998 (12-6), was out to snap a 13-game losing streak to the Warriors.

Sagucio's 32-yard field goal late in the first quarter gave the Wolf Pack a 3-0 lead.

Later, Alakai Kealoha's one-yard TD run made it 10-0 at the half.

Kamehameha finally got on the board in the third quarter on RB Tyler Meditz's 11-yard TD run to make it 10-7.

The Warriors finally took the lead with 7:31 in the fourth quarter on Akana's 10-yard TD pass to Ruelke. The PAT failed, so it stayed 13-10.

The Wolf Pack mounted an 83-yard drive that was aided by two pass interference penalties on the Warriors in taking a 17-13 lead on Jack Foster's 11-yard TD pass to Everett Kim with 2:11 left before Akana rallied his team to victory.

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