Tuifua powers No. 12 Damien past Iolani to capture third straight ILH Division I championship

Damien quarterback Alani Tuifua (11) runs for a seven-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter against Iolani at Farrington's Edward 'Skippa' Diaz Stadium at Kusunoki Field. CJ Caraang | SL

The Monarchs are going back to states.

Quarterback Alani "AJ" Tuifua threw four touchdown passes and ran for two more to lead No. 12 Damien to a 42-28 win over Iolani in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu football game at Kusunoki Field at Edward 'Skippa' Diaz Stadium Friday night.

The Monarchs (5-2 overall, 3-0) secured the ILH Division I title and the league's lone spot in the four-team state tournament with a sweep of the season series against the Raiders (3-4, 1-2).

Tuifua threw for 195 yards on 20-of-24 passing and was not intercepted. He also ran nine times for 55 yards.

Damien opened the scoring with Tuifua's 14-yard touchdown pass to Oli Steinhoff on fourth down with 7:04 left in the first quarter.

Tuifua also connected with Wyatt Ho-Williams on scoring strikes fo six and 13 yards in the first half. He found Blazyn Toafe for a 9-yard TD pass in the third quarter and ran for touchdowns of 28 and seven yards in the final stanza.

Ho-Williams caught six passes for 61 yards to lead Damien's receiving corps.

Jonah Wong ran for a game-high 117 yards on 15 carries in the win.

CJ Villanueva threw for 260 yards and three touchdowns on 26-of-34 passing without an interception.

Kekama Kane recorded 17 receptions for 182 yards and hauled in touchdown passes of 29 and 1 yards. Kaiaka Lau Kong and Jaeden Park were also on the receiving end of TD passes from Villanueva.

Damien finished with 396 yards of total offense to 372 for Iolani.

The Monarchs claimed their third straight ILH championship.

Damien also beat Iolani by a score of 35-20 in their previous meeting this season back on Sept. 12 at Kozuki Stadium.