Sat, Nov 15, 2014 @ Iolani [ 2:30 pm ]

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Kapaa

24

Iolani

29

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Kapaa (7-2-0)	0	7	7	10	24
Iolani (8-3-0)	0	16	7	6	29

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Austin Jim On 220 yd 2 TD

Kurt Napoleon 76 yd

KJ Pascua 58 yd 2 TD

Shain Davis 122 yd 3 TD

Keoni-Kordell Makekau 87 yd 2 TD

Shain Davis 37 yd

Iolani's Keoni-Kordell Makekau hauled in 7 passes for 87 yards and 2 touchdowns against Kapaa. Peter Caldwell | SL

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Iolani's Keoni-Kordell Makekau hauled in 7 passes for 87 yards and 2 touchdowns against Kapaa. Peter Caldwell | SL

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After a one-year hiatus, seven-time Division II state champion Iolani is back in the championship game.

Keoni-Kordell Makekau caught seven passes for 87 yards and two scores – including the game-winning 25-yard touchdown reception – to lift host Iolani over Kapaa, 29-24 in a semifinal game of the First Hawaiian Bank/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II Football State Championships at Eddie Hamada Field Saturday afternoon. 

The Raiders, the Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division II champion, improves to 7-3 and advances to face top-seeded Lahainaluna in their ninth Division II title game. Iolani's string of championship appearances was snapped last year after a 28-7 loss to Kauai in the semifinals. 

"It feels great to break though that tough game of the semifinal game last year," said Iolani quarterback Austin Jim On who passed for 220 yards and two scores with one interception. "It feels great to come out again and have a new start and get to the championship game." 

"I'm really relieved and very happy for the seniors and this team," added Iolani coach Wendell Look, whose team is ranked second in the ScoringLive/OC16 Division II Power Rankings. "This group has really focused themselves on getting back to (the championship) game."

Kapaa, the Kauai Interscholastic Federation champion and third-ranked team in the ScoringLive/OC16 Division II Power Rankings, saw its season end at 7-2. It was the second time that the Warriors fell to Iolani in the state tourney, the first in 2011.

"Hats off to them. We lost to a really good team today," said first-year Kapaa coach Phillip Rapozo. 

With the score 24-23 in favor of Kapaa, Iolani got the ball back at its own 42-yard line with 3:21 left in regulation after its defense forced Kapaa's offense into a three-and-out.

"We just wanted to give the offense the ball. They were moving and they were clicking. We knew that if we get our offense the ball we can put points on the board," said Iolani safety Quinton Slade-Matautia who added four tackles and two pass breakups.

Following the change of possession, Jim On completed 3 out of 4 passes – including a 23-yard pickup to Tyler Teruya – to set up shop at the Warriors' 20-yard line.

After a 5-yard loss by Iolani running back KJ Pascua, Kapaa burnt its final timeout of the second half to get the defense on the same page. The timeout ultimately backfired as Jim On hit Makekau on a simple drag route to make it 29-24 in favor of Iolani.

"Our coaches call him the money maker," Jim On said on Makekau. "He was getting taken away a little bit in the beginning, (but) I got an opportunity to get him the ball at the end. He's just the magic man and he made magic today."

The timeout would also come back to haunt the Warriors in the closing minutes. With 1:35 left in the game, Kapaa needed to march 80 yards with no timeouts if it hoped to pull out the victory. Backup quarterback Kurt Napoleon, who came in the game in place of starter Rudy Agoot (concussion), led the team down to the Iolani 26-yard line before time expired.

"The game is 48 minutes and they took advantage of the time they had left – and then when we got the ball back, we just ran out of time," said Rapozo. 

Makekau, a 2013 All-Hawaii first team selection as a receiver, also caught a 33-yard score and booted a 31-yard field goal in the second quarter.

The 5-foot-9, 162-pound junior's two second quarter scores was a result of two Kapaa turnovers. Helam Baldomero forced a fumble on Kapaa's Junard Mata that was recovered by Kenji Noguchi and linebacker Melvin Hoomanawanui picked off an Agoot pass attempt.

The strong defensive effort held Kapaa scoreless until the Warriors' final drive of the first half.

"I thought our defense played probably one of our best quarters (all year). In that first quarter, our offense was struggling. We knew that Kapaa could run the ball (and) we did a decent job of stopping the run and getting three-and-outs and giving the offense time to get into rhythm. They created turnovers. The effort that the defense played was really outstanding," Look said on the team's defense. 

Other contributors on the Iolani defense were strong safety Wyatt Maa (eight tackles), Matthew McArthur (six tackles) and Jonah Buchanan (six tackles).

Pascua was held to a season-low 58 yards rushing, but bookend the Raiders' scoring with two touchdowns run. The 5-foot-5, 157-pound sophomore's two scoring runs capped long drives that sustained 16 and 12 plays.

Iolani held a 16-0 lead in the first half before Shain Davis' 2-yard touchdown run with 1:16 left in the second period. Davis led the Warriors' offensive effort with 15 carries for 122 yards and three touchdowns, which included a 71-yard scamper on the Warriors' first play from scrimmage in the second half. He also added four catches for 37 yards. 

Kapaa took a 24-23 lead – its first of the game – on Noah LaMadrid's 29-yard boot with 5:03 left in the fourth quarter. 

Junior defensive lineman Ola Tatofi led the Warriors defensively with eight tackles. Free safety Chaz Pacleb added an interception and five tackles.