The Punahou Girls Flag Football team are geared up for their second-ever season and are making history once again.
As a team in the Division 1 Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH), the Punahou Flag Football team has gone head-to-head with teams from Damien Memorial School, ‘Iolani School, Kamehameha-Kapalama School, and Mid-Pacific Institute. The girls’ flag football team also scrimmaged a few teams from the O’ahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) to practice game-like situations before the start of their ILH season.
Head coach Justin Chun and the coaching staff are currently training the athletes six days a week, holding film sessions and field practices. Coach Justin has extended his roster for this current season, now having 31 athletes on the team. “With a year of experience under our belts, we’re going to be a much different team and able to kind of get in the leads with technique and strategy. We’ll definitely have a target on our back, so I’m excited for the competition as we head into our second year,” he said.
The Punahou girls first scrimmaged the Mililani Trojans on February 24. Punahou set the tone in the first half of the game, but fell short in the end, having a final score of 27-32. Their next scrimmage was against the Farrington Govs on February 27, concluding with a score of 49-6, with numerous touchdowns from many of their players. The following day, the team participated in a tournament held at Wai’anae High School, where they challenged the Nanakuli Hawks and Campbell Sabers. Punahou kept a close match with the Hawks and managed to take the win, finalizing the game with a score of 21-20. When challenging the Sabers, the score remained 0-0 at the half until a successful catch by Evelyn Kelisi ‘27 in the second half of the game put them ahead.
In their inaugural season during the 2024-2025 school year, the girls placed second in the ILH league and fourth in the state with an 8-4 overall record. They were a young team, consisting of only two seniors and five juniors in their 24-player roster.
The team was also initially unfamiliar with flag football, with only two of its players having experience in the sport. The roster mostly consisted of athletes specializing in basketball and soccer. A lot of the players wanted to give it a shot and be a part of the history-making team. “I thought it was a great opportunity to be part of the first flag team of Punahou,” said Neira Albastro ‘28.
Current senior Alethea Hayashi ‘26 was the team’s lead scorer during their first year, scoring 18 points and totaling 166 receiving yards. Kulia Heffernan ‘27 took the lead in defense for both the team and the ILH league, being named the first ILH defensive player of the year in girls flag football.
The current Punahou team has just finished the ILH season with a 6-2 record. They have successfully beat the Damien Monarchs, Iolani Raiders, and Mid-Pac Owls; however, they fell short in both games against Kamehameha. Despite this, they have secured a spot in the HHSAA State Championship Tournament and will challenge the Nanakuli Lady Hawks in the first round on May 11 at home at Alexander Field.