Lahainaluna High School, ranked No. 8 in the Advertiser poll, made sure of that with a resounding 47-0 win over King Kekaulike last night in front of about 800 fans at War Memorial Stadium.

The win lifts the Lunas to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the MIL, good for first place in Division II, two games clear of both Kamehameha Maui and the Trojans.

Na Ali'i (1-4, 1-2), the defending state Division II champion, trail Baldwin by two games in Division I.

Unlike in the past, the MIL is playing a seven-game league schedule that is not separated by rounds. The biggest drama remaining appears to be the matchup between the Lunas and Bears, ranked fifth, on Oct. 19 at War Memorial.

None of that was on Lahainaluna coach Bobby Watson's mind after his team dismantled King Kekaulike.

"It was a good, hard-fought game,'' Watson said to The Maui News. "Both teams played nice and hard. We had some lucky bounces our way and got on top of them early.''

The Lunas have outscored their five opponents this season 162-35.

"We still have a lot to work on,'' Watson said. "Hopefully we can just keep it going.''

King Kekaulike coach J.W. Kenton left the field impressed with the Lunas.

"They are good, they deserve a better ranking than they are getting in the state,'' Kenton said. "I don't think people on O'ahu know how good they are yet, but teams like 'Iolani and everybody else will see how good they are in the playoffs.''

Kenton said his team was mowed under at the beginning of the game.

"They are a physical team,'' he said. "We are physical, too, but we just lacked the execution. We had our problems. We have got to play better than that or we won't be able to contend in Division I at all. Lahainaluna is well-seasoned, primed. They are ready for the playoffs right now and we are still are trying to get linemen ready for the rest of the season.

"My boys, in the beginning, they were a little bit shaken. They were stunned, actually, at Lahainaluna's success and I had to calm them down. They hung in there, but things just didn't go right.''

If Na Ali'i are to reach the state playoffs at a higher level this season, they must get some help and then beat Baldwin in the final regular-season game on Nov. 2.

"I'm not worried about Baldwin,'' Kenton said. "I'm not worried about anybody. I am just worried about my team and these boys. That is all we can do. We can't worry about anybody else.''

The Lunas led 19-0 at halftime, but for the first time this season didn't have at least a two-touchdown advantage at the end of one quarter.

Lahainaluna's lead after 12 minutes was 7-0 after Jacob McCarthy capped the opening drive with a 10-yard touchdown run 3 minutes, 20 seconds into the game. The drive took seven plays and covered 51 yards.

Lahainaluna scored its second touchdown on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Jake Manning to Lake Casco with 6:26 left in the first half. Casco set up the Lunas on their own 48-yard line with a 15-yard punt return.

The Lunas' third score of the first half was set up when Na Ali'i tried a pass out of punt formation on fourth-and-20, but punter Mikey Douglas' throw fell incomplete.

After starting at the King Kekaulike 35-yard line, the Lunas needed just four plays to score on Bryson Williams' 7-yard run with 2:21 left.

Earlier, Douglas ran for 14 yards out of punt formation from his own 7 on fourth-and-7.

In the first half, Lahainaluna outgained King Kekaulike 165 yards to 41. Lahainaluna piled up 141 yards on the ground led by Kailas McGhee, who had 48 yards on seven carries.

In the second half, things got out of hand quickly.

Blaise Smith scored the first of his three second-half touchdowns on a 9-yard run with 7:13 to go in the third.

After Lahainaluna's Jayson Manning took the ball away from Kekaulike quarterback Corry Roy on the first play from scrimmage following the kickoff, Jake Manning hit Chris Wanke for a 30-yard touchdown pass that made it 33-0 with 5:41 to go in the third quarter.

Smith caught an 8-yard pass from Jake Manning for a score that made it 40-0 and turned on the 35-point mercy rule running clock with 1:18 to go in the third.

Smith, regularly a slotback, took over for Manning at quarterback and scored the final touchdown on a nifty 47-yard option keeper with 7:34 to play.