WAIPAHU — Call it a Buffanblu buzzer-beater. 

Kimat Holcomb scored the game-winning goal with 0.8 seconds left to lift No. 3 Punahou to a thrilling 3-2 win over No. 2 Mililani in the semifinals of the Hele/HHSAA Division I Boys Soccer State Championships at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Complex main stadium Friday. 

Holcomb, a senior defender/midfielder, one-timed a right-footed shot from about 18 yards out into the left side of the goal just before time expired. 

The win puts the Buffanblu (11-3) into their first state final since 2020, where they will face defending champion and No. 1-ranked Iolani Saturday night. 

"He saved us today," Punahou interim coach Mike Waring said of Holcomb, who, coming into the week, had not scored a goal in his three seasons on the team.

Holcomb, who only recently moved from defender to center-mid, scored the Buffanblu's first two goals in their 8-1 win over Kekaulike in Thursday's quarterfinal round. 

"He got us off to a good start yesterday and then he ended today's game. I told him don't ever wait til point-eight seconds left in the game — let's do this a little sooner — but we'll take it. We'll take it," Waring said. 

The scoring play began with a throw-in from Gayagas from the right sideline. A Mililani player attempted to clear the ball via header, but it found its way back to Gayagas, who served a high ball toward the right side of the 18-yard box, where Holcomb slotted it on the fly into the back of the net. 

"I knew that was the last play. I knew we had to get a shot off so I just hit it hard and low, gave it a chance. I didn't know there would be less than a second left, that was really good, but I knew the time was winding down and we had to score right there," Holcomb said. 

The Trojans jumped ahead early with a goal in the fifth minute, but Punahou scored the next two goals before it surrendered the equalizing goal in the 74th minute.

Holcomb, however, held a strong belief that his team would find a way to come out on top in what was a hard-fought, tightly-contested game between two fairly evenly-matched teams. 

"As soon as we conceded the second goal, we knew we had to get a scoring opportunity quick and on that last play, as the ball's coming in the air, I see it come perfectly down to my right foot and I knew I was scoring as soon as I hit it," Holcomb described. 

Waring said it was the first time he's been involved in a game that came down to the final second of regulation. 

"Not with these stakes and honestly, with point-eight seconds, no," Waring said. 

Likewise, Mililani coach Alika Cosner couldn't recall an end-of-game sequence like what played out Friday night. 

"No, that's a tough loss. I mean, point-eight seconds, I don't think I'll ever forget that one," Cosner expressed. 

Cosner gave credit to Holcomb and the Buffanblu for converting in the closing seconds. 

"Five seconds left, I think we were a little complacent thinking the time would run out (and we were) just not as sharp and the ball got in. We had a decent clearance but nobody stepped up to press and it was a good shot. That was a good finish from — I don't know who scored it — but that was a good shot," Cosner said. 

Rylan Sergent scored both goals for the Trojans. His header, off of a Josiah Ishizaka corner kick, opened the scoring just five minutes into the contest. 

Punahou equalized in the 17th minute on a Brady Lau goal off of a deep throw-in by Gayagas. Gayagas tossed the ball into a mass of bodies, it eventually found its way to the feet of Lau, who put it away into the bottom left corner for his team-leading 10th goal on the year. 

Mililani put shots on goal in the 24th and 30th minutes, but both were saved by goalkeeper Ethan Eagle. 

Just before the end of the first half, the Buffanblu took their first lead on a goal that was initiated by a Sean Markham corner kick. Markham's in-swinging kick from the right flag was headed by Lucas Trinacty near the back post and was deflected by a Mililani defender. The ball was loose near the end line and Morgan Kominek, from his back, poked it into the right side of the goal. 

"I got knocked down and I just seen it bouncing around in the middle and Lucas did his job flicking it on so I was able to get the last touch to flick it in," Kominek said. 

Waring credited Kominek for finishing the play despite being flat on the ground. 

"I mean, those goals it's just about effort. You're getting bounced around, you're getting grabbed, you're getting tripped and you're just trying to get anything on the ball and it just needs to go over the line, that's it. It doesn't need to rip the net, so that's what we he did and we'll take it. It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it," Waring said. 

The Trojans put together a couple of scoring opportunities a minute apart in the final 13 minutes of regulation. Ishizaka fired a shot from 15 yards out that was saved by Eagle in the 67th minute. Just a minute later, Liam Takara-Haraki put a shot on goal, but Eagle denied him as well. 

Mililani broke through with just about six minutes left in the second half. The equalizing goal came in an unlikely way, when Sergent booted a free kick from about 50 yards out on the left flank. The ball took a big bounce as Eagle came off his line, however, it bounced over his head and went direct to goal to tie it up. 

Holcomb said the Buffanblu have been a resilient bunch all season long. 

"All year. Sometimes we've started a little slower than we like, but if we get (scored) on, don't think that we'll take it lightly. We'll do everything we can to equalize. We're not going to give up until the whistle blows, so coming back from a deficit is something we've done before and we're just that kind of team that responds well to setbacks," Holcomb said. 

Cosner acknowledged as much. 

"They're just a team that keeps coming at you. They have some pieces up top that can punish you if you're not paying attention and Brady was a handful up there, so hats off them; They did a good job," Cosner said. 

Mililani recorded eight shots on goal — four in each half — and four corner kicks. Ryder Anzaldo made three saves in goal. 

Punahou posted five shots on goal and one corner kick. Eagles tallied seven saves between the posts. 

"It was a tough game, man. It was back and forth and you saw guys cramping up and getting beat up, but that's a tough team to beat. That's a tough team to beat," Waring said of the Trojans (13-2). 

Mililani, the OIA championship and No. 2 seed in the tournament was seeking a fourth consecutive appearance in the state championship match. 

Punahou, which did not qualify for the state tournament a year ago, will be making its first finals appearance since 2020, when it went on to beat Mililani in the title game, 3-2. 

The Buffanblu saw first-year coach Joshua Graham put on leave midway through the year and Waring has filled the role on an interim basis ever since. 

"I mean, you couldn't be prouder. We had to switch midseason and fortunately, we didn't change anything, we kept everything the same — same principals, same exact execution that we wanted to do — and so the kids bought in and the further along we got and the more success we started to find, the buy-in became even better, so I mean, couldn't be prouder," Waring said. 

Kominek said having to overcome adverse conditions has galvanized the team. 

"It's just such an amazing feeling because the team hasn't been there (in the state final) and we've gone through such hardships with our coach not being able to coach us, but the team has done amazing; we stepped up," Kominek said. "Coach Mike has done an amazing job with the team and he just continued what Josh has instilled in us."

The late semifinal at Waipio Friday night saw top-seeded Iolani secure a return trip to the title game with a 2-0 win over No. 8 Kalani. 

The ILH-champion Raiders (12-0) scored a goal in either half to deny the OIA runner-up Falcons (11-3-2) their first finals appearance since 2015. 

Asa Hironaka scored in the 18th minute — it was his ninth goal of the year — and Lucas Ginoza found the back of the net in the 77th minute. Anthony Ancheta set up the score with his cross to Ginoza, who now has six goals on the season. 

It was the eighth time the Raiders shut out an opponent. They will be making their fourth consecutive appearance in the championship match. 

Iolani is seeking its 12th state title and third in four years, while Punahou will be trying for its 23rd crown in the 50-year history of the state tournament. There was no state tournament in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Kickoff between the Raiders and Buffanblu is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will follow the Division II title game between Kapaa and Kamehameha-Hawaii at 5 p.m.