I must admit. I was nervous about this game. Baldwin was 0-2 after a
stunning loss to Maui High last week. Baldwin, with their pride and pedigree,
is definitely a dangerous team looking to avoid going 0-3. On our side, I
wasn’t sure who was going to play. Connor Mowat and Danny Sulunga-Kahaialii
were out for the Warrior game. Jared Rocha, Peni Taufa, Justin Hong, Ansen
Cabanilla all left the Warrior game at halftime with injuries.
I was relieved to see Mowat back in uniform, moving well and very eager
to play. Sulunga-Kahaialii, Hong and Cabanilla were still out, but Rocha and
Taufa were back. Still, I was cautiously optimistic.
Lahainaluna fumbled on its very first play and my worry-meter ramped
back up again. But Mowat came back the next series , sacked the quarterback,
forced a fumble and recovered it. The Lunas eventually scored with 4:53 left in
the first quarter on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Sione Filikitonga to Jared
Rocha, with most of that yardage coming after the catch. The Lunas went on to
score 3 touchdowns in the second quarter, with Filikitonga scoring two
touchdowns on runs of 9 and 19 yards, and then connecting on a beautiful 29
yard pass to Tyran Ku’u Palea, who caught it while falling backwards into the
endzone and hanging on to complete the catch. Lunas led 28-0 at the half.
Lahainaluna added a touchdown with 2:30 left in the third on Rocha’s 14
yard run and finished off their scoring when Josten Saribay went around the left side on a 21 yard run,
leaping over defenders and keeping his balance en route to the end zone, making
it 42-0.
Baldwin was able to score with 1:28 left in the game, when Ethan
Oliveros made a great shoestring catching in the endzone despite being covered
by Isaiah Biga-Rogers and Scott-Isaac Medeiros-Tangatailoa. Final score 42-7.
Next game is a big one against Maui High, who is undefeated and
currently 9th or 10th ranked in the State in Division I.
They likely have something to prove. I have no doubt the Lunas will rise to the
challenge. Game time is Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at War Memorial Stadium.
NOTES: The Lunas held Baldwin to
6 first downs and 95 yards total offense . . . On offense, the Lunas had 22
first downs, 352 yards of total offense (102 passing/250 rushing) . . .
Filikitonga again threw for a high percentage with no interceptions. . . Lunas,
however, had 6 fumbles of which they lost 3 . . . they will need to protect the
ball and minimize turnovers against Maui High next week . . . I used my GoPro
on a little tripod to record the Alma Mater, which was performed beautifully by
the team, led by “conductors” Connor Mowat and Brandon Kaina . . . I think I
found my camera gear combination for the rest of the season. The Sigma
120-300mm f/2.8 is perfect on my full frame Nikon D600. At its true focal
length, I did not miss out on as many shots as I would have had the lens been
on my DX crop sensor Nikon D7000 (focal length would have been 180-450mm) . . .
I also stuck my Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 on my Nikon D7000 which I attached to my
shoulder strap. Because it was on the DX crop sensor, it was more of a 27-52mm
lens and I could still get good close up shots without it being too distorted
or fisheyed. . . The 1.8 aperture also helped get better shots of the crowd,
which would normally be dark and noisy
even with a 2.8. . . Ariana was using my D7000 with the Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8.
Unfortunately, I forgot to adjust her camera settings after the sun went down
and many of her shots were shot at below 1/400th of a second shutter
speed. As a result, many of the action shots were blurry. Otherwise, she
continues to demonstrate a great eye for composition and capturing compelling
moments . . . Love those White uniform with red stripes . . . the photos really
pop out with the white, as opposed to teams with their dark colored uniforms …
next week should be a very RED-WHITE-and BLUE game with the red Lunas versus
the Blue Sabers.
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