Lunas beat Na Alii in tuneup for state
LAHAINA — The Lahainaluna High School football team now has two weeks to prepare for the Division II state tournament.
The Lunas look ready for their 10th straight state appearance after an impressive 42-0 win over a gritty King Kekaulike team Friday night in windy, rainy conditions at Sue Cooley Stadium.
“That was tough, our kids are not used to this kind of weather,” Lahainaluna co-head coach Garret Tihada said. “It’s like we were playing Upcountry on a bad night.”
The Lunas (5-3, 3-1 Maui Interscholastic League second round) had already clinched a state berth, and are expected to be part of a quarterfinal doubleheader Nov. 4 at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku, along with the MIL’s Division I champion.
Baldwin can clinch the D-I crown tonight with a win over Maui High. A victory for the Sabers would force a championship game next week.
“We’ve got to get back to fundamentals, let some of our guys heal up, normal things when you get this little break,” Tihada said. “It’s very important for us to heal up. Now we get a chance to look at some other teams and do some scouting.”
Asked if he knows who the Lunas will face next, Tihada said, “Yeah, but we’ve also been told not to say anything.”
The Lunas used 16 ballcarriers to rush for 231 yards Friday — Radon Sinenci scored all three times he ran the ball in the first half, on plays totaling 15 yards.
Lahainaluna’s defense limited King Kekaulike (0-8, 0-4) to minus-1 yard, sacking quarterbacks Trey Hunter and Cameron Russell a total of nine times. Na Alii had three first downs in the game, two on pass-interference penalties.
Kawehi Gillcoat caught a 24-yard scoring pass from Etuati Storer on the Lunas’ first possession. Storer also scored on an interception return in the fourth quarter.
Lahainaluna went 67 yards in six plays on the opening drive, highlighted by runs of 20 and 8 yards by David Kawabata before Storer found Gillcoat wide open in the end zone.
The Lunas needed to go just 27 yards for their next score after a 17-yard punt into a howling wind by Na Alii — Sinenci scored on a 5-yard run to the right side.
After forcing another three-and-out, Lahainaluna went 68 yards in 10 plays. Justice Tihada had two runs for 27 yards and Donovan Defang ran three times for 20 yards before Si-nenci scored on a 9-yard run with 6 minutes, 23 seconds to go in the first half.
A blocked punt by Kawabata gave Lahainaluna the ball on the 1 late in the half and Sinenci scored on the next play to make it 28-0.
The Lunas punted just once in the game, although they were stopped on downs twice in the second half.
Lahainaluna turned on the mercy-rule running clock midway through the third quarter when reserve quarterback Kamahao Acpal ran 7 yards for a touchdown.
Storer intercepted a pass by Russell and returned it 31 yards for a score with 4:01 to play.
Na Alii lost their 22nd consecutive MIL game.
“You have got to finish, that’s the main thing — we finished our season,” said first-year King Kekaulike co-head coach Tyson Valle. “We have still got a lot of opportunities, a lot of things to work on, but we keep fighting. We fight week after week.”
* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com
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King Kekaulike 0 0 0 0– 0
Lahainaluna 15 13 7 7–42
First Quarter
LL–Kawehi Gillcoat 24 pass from Etuati Storer (Siale Hafoka pass from Pablo Rico), 7:32.
LL–Radon Sinenci 5 run (Rico kick), 1:54.
Second Quarter
LL–Sinenci 9 run (Rico kick), 6:23.
LL–Sinenci 1 run (kick failed), 1:48.
Third Quarter
LL–Kamahao Acpal 7 run (Rico kick), 6:14.
Fourth Quarter
LL–Storer 31 interception return (Haaheo Au kick), 4:01.
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MIL SECOND-ROUND STANDINGS
Overall MIL record in parentheses
DIVISION I
W L Pct PF PA
x-Baldwin (7-0) 3 0 1.000 76 19
Maui High (5-2) 2 1 .667 83 24
DIVISION II
W L Pct PF PA
y-Lahainaluna (5-3) 3 1 .750 108 38
KS Maui (2-6) 1 3 .250 55 75
King Kekaulike (0-8) 0 4 .000 6 172
x-won first-round championship
y-clinched overall championship
Friday’s Result
Lahainaluna 42, King Kekaulike 0
Today’s Game
Maui High vs. Baldwin at War Memorial Stadium, 7 p.m.
End of regular season