The Lunas did everything right last night. From passing to running, they kept breaking through the Warrior defense for a decisive win, 42-7, in the varsity football game at War Memorial Stadium.

“Anytime you come out with a win, you gotta be satisfied,” said Lāhainaluna Head Coach Garret Tihada. “Our boys did a pretty decent job executing.”

In only their second game of the season, both teams came out firing. In the first quarter, the teams went touchdown for touchdown with both teams scoring.

In a series of five first downs on their first possessions, the Lunas worked their way to the Warriors’ one-yard line, and running back Christian Whitehead took the ball around the end to score the first touchdown,

When the Warriors recovered a Luna fumble on Lāhaina’s 23-yard line, quarterback Chase Newton seized the opportunity. After a flurry of short passes and an encroachment penalty against Lāhaina, Newton passed to Chase Alexander in the end zone. Alexander got the touchdown, but was injured on the play, leaving him out of the game for the remainder.

Kailoa Akoi scored the extra point and the score was tied at 7-7.

Lāhainaluna scored another touchdown, with 1:10 left in the first quarter. Junior Jared Rocha-Islas both ran the touchdown in and kicked the extra point, giving the Lunas a lead of 14-7. Between running and point after kicks, Rocha-Islas would add 17 points to the Luna’s scoreboard throughout the night.

The Lunas continued to score, with touchdowns for quarterback Makoa Filikitonga, Taylor Kohler-Fonohema and Rocha-Islas, and when halftime arrived, the Lunas had increased their lead to 35-7.

Newton tried everything from all running, to all passing, and a combination of the two, but the Lunas continued to dominate.

It was clear that the Warriors have some areas to work on. Although they only have four more players than Kamehameha, the Lunas are physically a larger team with 19 players over 200 pounds on their roster compared to Kamehameha’s 12.

“We have to use our quickness and our size to our advantage,”  said Offensive Coordinator Jordan Helle. “We’re definitely not going to run over anybody, but we…have a lot of athletes that we need to take advantage of.”

Gallery • 6 Photos

Photo by Maile Sur

Senior William Nipp sacks the Lāhaina's Makoa Filikitonga while Siaosi Ngalu comes in for the assist.

In the third quarter, the teams battled it out back and forth. Though there was a lot of ball movement and nice pass plays, neither team was able to score. One highlight for the Warriors was an interception by defensive lineman Siaosi Ngalu.

The Lunas scored their last points early in the fourth quarter, when they intercepted on their own 20-yard line, and running back Christian Whitehead broke through the Warrior defense with an 80-yard run for a touchdown. The Luna lead was increased to 7-42, which was the final score of the game.

The Warriors  will face the Baldwin Bears next weekend .

“We plan to bounce back from our loss and use it to motivate us against Baldwin,” Newton said.

The game should be an interesting one since much of the Warrior coaching staff is made up of Baldwin alumni or former Bears coaches, including Head Coach Cole “Cody” Nakamura.

In the meantime, the Warriors will be working hard. According to running back Iain Armitage, they’re going to “run [their] butts off” in practice this week.

The game will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 7, at War Memorial Stadium