Photos: Chase Eveleth ’25
Hemmeter Field – The Buff n’ Blue send off the Class of ‘25 Seniors the right way.
It took their final home game to do it, but the Punahou Buff n’ Blue got their first league win of the season on Saturday, taking down Kamehameha 25-13.
This win not only avenged their earlier loss at Kamehameha, but it also keeps Punahou’s hopes for a State championship berth alive.
Both teams traded turnovers in the first quarter. The first came when Defensive Back Jonah Na’a ‘27 recovered a punch-out fumble.
A couple of plays later the Warriors capitalized off a tipped pass in the end zone with an interception and touchback.
Off that turnover, Kamehameha marched down the field to open up the scoring 7-0.
After another interception from Hunter Fujikawa ’28, the Warriors offense stalled in the red zone, and Kamahameha settled for a field goal to extend their lead 10-0.
Following field goals from both teams that made the score 13-3, defensive back Dane Kellner ’26 hauled in an interception by making a play on a deep ball to get the Punahou offense back on the field.
After a long drive, senior running back Nelson Aau ‘25 punched in his team leading 9th touchdown of the season on a goal line score to bring Punahou within one possession at the break.
The Buff n’ Blue came out strong after the half thanks to their aerial attack. Quarterback Hunter Fujikawa ‘28 hooked up with his favorite target, Wide Receiver Zion White ’27, for a 30-yard touchdown to give the Buff n’ Blue their first lead of the game.
They didn’t look back after that.
Punahou added a safety and another touchdown from Fujikawa to White in the 4th quarter.
With his two trips to the end zone against Kamehameha, White now has seven on the season—the highest among receivers.
The night didn’t end there as the seniors were recognized after the game with a walkout, followed by a lei ceremony.
“The atmosphere during the game was crazy. There was obviously a lot of excitement from the seniors as it was senior night but also a lot of excitement throughout the underclassmen,” said senior defensive lineman Madden Kong ‘25.
“I would say there were no nerves before the game as we were all eager to win this game, not only for the seniors but to keep our season alive,” he added.
The Buff n’ Blue face off against the Saint Louis Crusaders next Saturday, October 19 at 6:30 PM at Radford High School. If Punahou wins, they will take the second round of the ILH regular season, and force an ILH championship game against St. Louis, who were the first round victors. Only the ILH champion gets a spot in the State tournament.
“As for next week’s game against St. Louis, It’s obviously a huge game for us in terms of making the ILH Championship. In terms of winning, it starts with having a great week of practice and getting prepared for this game. Then when it’s game time we gotta stay focused on what we gotta do to win and execute in all 3 phases of the game,” Kong said.