Lunas take D-II; Bears beat Na Alii

By Fred Guzman
MauiNow.com

Lahainaluna clinched its third straight MIL Division-II football title and a berth in the state tournament by defeating Kamehameha-Maui 21-13 in a Saturday afternoon game at the Lunas’ on-campus field known as “The Imu.”

The win improved Lahainaluna’s MIL mark to 5-2 with one game left, a much-anticipated rematch with Baldwin on Nov. 6.

The Warriors went down with a fight against the Lunas, who forced five turnovers to preserve the victory as Kamehameha rolled up nearly 300 yards in total offense.

Baldwin, meantime, took control of the D-I race with a 14-6 win over Kekaulike, as the Bears’ defense held on four plays inside its own nine to preserve the win and avenge an earlier loss to Na Alii.

The Bears took the lead on their first offensive play, but the offense struggled before Baldwin unveiled its version of the Wildcat.

Sheldon Leong – who was on the receiving end of Brock Shishido’s early 23-yard TD pass – shifted to the tailback spot and put on an excellent performance.

But moments after the Bears took a 14-0 lead three minutes into the second half, Charles Spencer put Kekaulike back in the game with an electrifying 95-yard kickoff return.

Baldwin improved its league mark to 5-1 and needs one more win in its final two games to clinch the D-I title. Kekaulike dropped to 4-3.

In this week’s action, Baldwin hosts Kamehameha on Friday while Kekaulike visits Maui High on Saturday. The Lunas are idle.

STATE EVENTS: Seveal state prep competitions are on tap this week – starting with air riflery, which begins tomorrow at the Blaisdell Arena.

The girls volleyball D-I and D-II tournaments start on Wednesday at various campus sites, before moving into the Stan Sheriff Center for Saturday’s final round of matches. Kamehameha-Maui is seeded fourth in D-I, with Baldwin also earning a berth.

In D-II, Molokai is seeded second and Seabury Hall also qualified. Bowling is set for Thursday and Friday at the Schofield Bowl on Oahu. And the cross country meet is set for Saturday on Kauai.

BOISE ROUTS UH: Those 24 points the oddsmakers were giving, as it turns out, weren’t nearly enough of a spread for Saturday’s mismatch at Aloha Stadium as injury-riddled and mistake prone Hawaii suffered a humiliating 54-9 spanking at the hands of Boise State.

Offensively, UH turned the ball over six times, all of the giveaways resulting in scores by the seventh-ranked team in the current BCS poll.

Defensively, Hawaii had no answer for versatile quarterback Kellen Moore, who threw four scoring passes, including three to the speedy Titus Young, and ran for another. Kyle Brotzman kicked four field goals as the Broncos, who led 34-0 at halftime, improved to 7-0.

Hawaii suffered its fifth straight loss, its worst stretch since the winless season of 1998, falling to 2-5 overall and 0-4 in the WAC.

Making matters worse, UH quarterback Bryant Moniz, who inherited the job when Greg Alexander suffered a season-ending knee injury, suffered a concussion and had to leave the game early.

His replacement, Shane Austin, went 22 of 36 for 174 yards and one TD on a late 10-yard hookup with Jon Medeiros. But he was also picked three times, including once in the end zone.

Greg Salas had catches for 90 yards, but fumbled the ball deep in UH territory to set p another short-field scoring drive for the Broncos.

Things don’t get easier this week. UH travels to Nevada, which rolled up 484 rushing yards in a 70-45 win over Idaho. In case you haven’t notice, Hawaii isn’t very good defending the run … or anything else.