‘Iolani beats Damien to force tiebreaker

Jadon Anzai rushed for 147 yards and one touchdown as ‘Iolani kept state-tournament hopes alive with a 28-18 win over Damien on Saturday morning.The win pushed ‘Iolani into a first-place tie with Damien at 2-1 in ILH play. The teams will meet in a tiebreaker game at 6:30 p.m. next Saturday at Radford High School. The winner advances to the Division I state tournament.The game that was completed Saturday began at 3:15 p.m. on Friday but was suspended due to darkness at 6:04 p.m. The game resumed with the first play of the fourth quarter at 9:59 a.m. Saturday.“I wanted to rest. We left early (Friday night) to try and get a good night’s rest. The first text was at 5 this morning saying I couldn’t sleep. Here’s our ideas and we’re meeting at 7:30,” ‘Iolani coach Patrick Samsonas said.‘Iolani (6-2 overall) put Anzai and his trench men into a difference schematic. Samsonas and staff shifted their linemen to the right side, inserting a reserve lineman at center to get more heft and push for Anzai.“Our plan of attack was put in an extra lineman, Skye Lam. He went to center and we moved all our beef to the right,” Samsonas said. “The elephant (formation), it’s something we might use in the future. From the get-go today, that’s what we wanted to do.Anzai, a 5-foot-5, 144-pound senior, had 16 carries for 92 yards on Friday. He added 10 carries for 55 yards after the game resumed 16 hours later. That right side sealed off well, allowing Anzai to bounce from the A-gap to the sideline for big gains.“I do whatever my team needs. I’m just here for the boys,” Anzai said. “I want to give a quick prayer to Tonga Tuifua. This prayer’s up for the whole (Damien) team.”Damien QB Tonga Tuifua was knocked out of the game on Friday with less than five minutes left in the third quarter. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital for a head injury.“All I remember is I got hit and I was dizzy after that,” Tuifua said. “I think I tripped.”By the time he arrived at the hospital, Tuifua was more alert. Damien down 16 points, game suspended, he knew he wouldn’t be playing Saturday.“I was sad and mad,” Tuifua said. “But I feel good now. All glory to God.”He recovered quickly and was released overnight. He was back at Eddie Hamada Field on Saturday in his school uniform.“The plan is to heal up and recover, get ready for next week. My plan is to play. Shout out to my family and Coach Smiley (Ponzo),” Tuifua said.‘IOLANI 28, DAMIEN 18At Eddie Hamada FieldLine ScoreTeam1234TotalDamien (3-4, 2-1)066618‘Iolani (6-2, 2-1)7147028Scoring SummaryIOLAyden Teranishi 4 run (Kacy Uyeno kick)DMSShea Benedict fumble return in end zone (kick failed)IOLNoah Furukawa 42 punt return (Uyeno kick)IOLAka Lau Kong 39 pass from Nixon Ling (Uyeno kick)IOLTeranishi 3 run (Uyeno kick)DMSKingsten Bajet-Kalauokaaea 25 pass from Tonga Tuifua (pass failed)DMSDreden Kaawaloa 26 pass from Wyatt Ho-Williams (kick blocked)Team StatisticsCategoryDamien‘IolaniRUSHINGMakoa Namoca 18-50, Tonga Tuifua 5-3, Wyatt Ho-Williams 3-29, Kingsten Bajet-Kalauokaaea 1-0, team 2-(-6), Dreden Kaawaloa 1-17.Jadon Anzai 26-147, Nixon Ling 1-5, Ayden Teranishi 3-10.PASSINGTonga Tuifua 16-30-1-188, Ho-Williams 7-14-0-78.Nixon Ling 10-20-0-92.RECEIVINGWyatt Ho-Williams 9-102, Blasyn Toefe 2-19, Kuukehamekeoli Steinhoff 2-32, Dreden Kaawaloa 5-66, Kingsten Bajet-Kalauokaaea 3-33, Namoca 2-14.Ayden Teranishi 1-9, Aka Lau Kong 2-47, Noah Furukawa 2-32, Karim Boursiquot 1-5, Anzai 4-(-1).