The Lunas might have gotten enough work in the first half of their homecoming game to hold them over until then as they registered 44-7 win over the Trojans in front of about 1,000 people at War Memorial Stadium last night.

Lahainaluna, ranked 10th in the Advertiser's poll, did a little bit of everything in the first half — two kick returns for touchdowns, including a 10-yard punt return TD by Cole Loewen; three short running TDs for Kailas McGhee; and a safety on defense – as they rolled to a 44-7 lead at the break.

The first 24 minutes of play took more than an hour and a half to complete — there were three turnovers combined, 13 incomplete passes by the Trojans and five timeouts.

The Lunas did not go to the locker room at halftime, instead sitting in the stands to watch the homecoming halftime show.

"Just say it was a good game,'' Lahainaluna coach Bobby Watson said to The Maui News after his team finished 8-1 overall and 6-1 in the Maui Interscholastic League. "That is all I have got.''

The Trojans had just 18 players dressed for the game due to injuries and disciplinary action, but still had to look at their 2-7, 1-6 season as somewhat of a success. It was the first time since 2004 that they had won a game. The Trojans say goodbye to only five seniors.

"Hopefully we are building for the future,'' Trojans coach Charlie Pico said. "That was the plan. We definitely thought we would do a lot better, but baby steps, you know. One step at a time. We still have a long way to go.''

Pico said that the Lunas look ready for the state tournament now. They will meet the winner of a quarterfinal matchup between the O'ahu Interscholastic Association and Big Island Interscholastic Federation champions. The Lunas will host their semifinal on Nov. 24 at War Memorial.

"I hope the layoff doesn't hurt them,'' Pico said. "I'm sure they will be ready. They are well-coached and I would expect nothing less from them.''

McGhee got the scoreboard rolling when he scored from 4 yards out with 9 minutes, 14 seconds left in the first quarter. That play capped a six-play, 85-yard drive that featured a 54-yard pass play from Jake Manning to Blaise Smith.

Smith was also the game's leading rusher with 103 yards on two carries.

After forcing a three-and-out series by the Trojans, the Lunas scored again when McGhee rumbled in on another 4-yard run to complete a 56-yard, 11-play drive with 3:31 left in the first quarter.

After Joshua Tam Sing intercepted a Manning pass and returned it 27 yards to the Lunas' 32-yard line, the Trojans needed just three plays to score. The touchdown came on a 21-yard pass from Aronne Santos to Ryan Rodriguez.

On the ensuing kickoff, Lahainaluna's Lake Casco went 98 yards untouched to the end zone to make it 21-7 with 1:56 left in the first quarter.

McGhee added a 9-yard touchdown run for his third score on his fourth carry with 7:10 to go before halftime.

The next kickoff, by Ivan Delaney, rolled down to the Trojans' 1 and the Trojans' Joshua Hansen was forced to cover it there. The Trojans were stranded there and tried a quick kick on third down, but it traveled only to the 10-yard line. Loewen grabbed the ball and scored with 6:32 to go before halftime.

Then an untimely turnover sealed any doubts about the outcome. The Trojans drove down to the Lunas' 11-yard line but fumbled and the Lunas' Sherwin Mitchell recovered. On the next play, Smith went 88 yards to make it 42-7 with 3:48 to go before the intermission.

The Lunas scored their safety when Keith Flores, who led the Trojans with 42 yards on nine carries, was caught by several defenders in the end zone with 2:45 to go in the second quarter.

The second half, with the 35-point mercy rule running clock in effect, was scoreless.

The Lunas used four players at quarterback in the game — Manning, Smith, Casco and Jan Michael Tesoro. The Lunas ran straight-ahead dive plays on nearly every play they ran in the second half and had nine players carry the ball.

The Lunas outgained the Trojans 317 yards to 71 in the first half and 384-103 for the game.