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With their backs against the wall, the ‘Iolani Raiders clutched up. Sophomore Adrian Perkins threw three touchdown passes and running back Ayden Teranishi rushed for 162 yards and a TD as ‘Iolani stifled Pac-Five 42-14 on Friday afternoon at Eddie Hamada Field. ‘Iolani is 1-1 in ILH Division I play. Though the game was at the Raiders’ field, Pac-Five was the home team and wore black uniforms with orange and white trim — with white helmets. The senior-night, homecoming win kept the Raiders within range of Damien (1-0), which can clinch the league crown with wins over Pac-Five (Oct. 3) and ‘Iolani (Oct. 24). Pac-Five (3-2 overall) is in D-II, but its games against ‘Iolani and Damien count in the league standings. Teranishi began the season as a slotback, but after running back Ronin Fanelli suffered an injury, Teranishi became the full-time RB against Damien two weeks ago. His burst behind a cohesive offensive line was a treat for the homecoming crowd. The only bad news for ‘Iolani was an ankle injury suffered by Teranishi late in the game. He was on crutches after the game. “That was our main focus since CJ (Villanueva) went down as well,” Teranishi said, referring to their senior QB who got hurt against Leilehua in late August. “It was hard work today, but we got it done. I give my O-line an A-plus. They did great. Shout out to my boys, my coaches for pushing me hard every day.” Perkins’ progress since Villanueva’s injury has been impressive. He threw for 178 yards on 15-for-22 passing with three TDs and no turnovers. “Size, for us, doesn’t really matter. It’s about our rhythm and tempo. We trust each other and that’s what matters the most,” Perkins said. “Everyone knows their job. They know what to do. We have a rhythm and work fast, and if we’re able to do those things, we do well.” The Raiders bent defensively but didn’t break often. Pac-Five had the ball inside the 20-yard line of ‘Iolani three times but came up short until the fourth quarter. Until then, the lone touchdown came on a 90-yard kickoff return by Elijah Connell-Chavez. Senior QB Colton Amai-Nakagawa finished with 301 passing yards, keeping wide receivers Mission Uperesa-Thomas (nine receptions, 156 yards) and Avari Zion-Branch (six catches, 110 yards, TD) busy. “A game is a game. Win, lose, draw, we just try to play better and that’s it. Sometimes, we have to work on being more consistent,” Pac-Five coach Kenna Heffernan said. “I like that this game showed where we need to make a lot of improvements. There’s a lot of kids on the team who left it out there, and there’s some kids that need to step up. We’re not that deep across the board, and the kids know that. It makes them closer so they can help each other.” The Raiders were efficient with their first possession, going 82 yards in 16 plays. Key receiver Kekama Kane was virtually double-teamed, and despite three illegal procedure flags, ‘Iolani scored on a 7-yard scramble to the left pylon by Perkins. The 8-minute, 22-second drive gave the Raiders a 7-0 lead with 55 seconds left in the first quarter. Pac-Five needed just 14 seconds to tie the game. Connell-Chavez ripped through would-be tacklers in between the hash marks and found the left sideline en route to a 90-yard kickoff return to pay dirt. It was 7-all with 41 seconds left in the opening quarter. Pac-Five drove to the ‘Iolani 15-yard line, where it was fourth-and-3. Zack Bagoyo deflected Amai-Nakagawa’s pass intended for Chase Straube. Seven plays later, Perkins found Jaeden Park on a deep post for a 58-yard TD. ‘Iolani led 14-7 with 2:20 left before the half. A 56-yard haul by Zion-Branch on a moon ball from Amai-Nakagawa gave the Wolfpack first down at the ‘Iolani 15-yard line. On third-and-2 at the Raiders’ 7-yard line, Amai-Nakagawa missed Uperesa-Thomas, who was wide open near the right corner of the end zone. After an incomplete pass on fourth down, Pac-Five turned the ball over on downs with 20 seconds left in the first half. Park came up with his second big play, returning the opening kickoff of the second half 88 yards for a TD. Park scooped up the bouncing ball next to the right sideline, darted to his blockers at the hash mark, then broke through down the right sideline. He was within an inch of stepping out of bounds at the Pac-Five 34-yard line but stayed inbounds. The Wolfpack had a chance to score defensively, but linebacker Patrick Thielen was unable to hold onto a throw by Perkins near mid-field. Instead of a pick-6 by Pac-Five, ‘Iolani drove for another score. Teranishi picked up 5 yards on a key fourth-and-2 after the dropped interception. Perkins later delivered a fourth-and-6 pass to Kaiaka Lau Kong, who broke a tackle and scored on a 38-yard TD. ‘Iolani led 28-7 with 4:50 to go in the third stanza. Teranishi scored his only TD on a 38-yard burst up the gut. At the second level, he spun away from one defender, ducked under the arms of another and accelerated the rest of the way. ‘Iolani led 35-7 with 3:31 to go in the third quarter. Amai-Nakagawa connected with Zion-Branch on a 30-yard play-action pass for the offense’s first score with 9:48 remaining. Lau Kong scored his second TD on a 7-yard play-action strike from Perkins. ‘Iolani led 42-14 with 6:52 left. It was a near-flawless day for ‘Iolani’s offensive line, which did not allow a sack. “We spend a lot of time working on it. All love to my brothers on the line. We’re family. We’re a brotherhood,” offensive lineman Brady Minami said. “We practice it over and over and it showed today.” IOL—Adrian Perkins 7 run (Ty Mitsunaga kick) P5—Elijah Connell-Chavez 90 kick return (Keahi Yuen kick) IOL—Jaeden Park 88 kick return (Mitsunaga kick) IOL—Kaiaka Lau Kong 38 pass from Perkins (Mitsunaga kick) IOL—Ayden Teranishi 38 run (Mitsunaga kick) P5—Avari Zion-Branch 30 pass from Colton Amai-Nakagawa (Yuen kick) IOL—Lau Kong 7 pass from Perkins (Mitsunaga kick) RUSHING—Iol: Teranishi 20-162, Haweo Cabilao 1-(-8), Perkins 2-8, team 1-(-2), David Main 8-62, Justin Kauhane 1-(-8). P5: Connell-Cortez 16-57. PASSING—Iol: Perkins 15-22-0-178, Keio Keene 1-1-0-11. P5: Amai-Nakagawa 23-37-2-301. RECEIVING—Iol: Park 3-61, Noah Furukawa 2-12, Kaiaka Lau Kong 5-82, Kekama Kane 3-25, Teranishi 2-(-2), Reyn Minami 1-11. P5: Keaka Bennett 3-10, Mission Uperesa-Thomas 9-156, Zion-Branch 6-110, Nainoa French 4-24, Connell-Cortez 1-1.
