For two quarters, Kaua'i fought toe-to-toe with 'Iolani yesterday, but the Raiders' speed, coupled with the Red Raiders' fatigue, took over in the second half and 'Iolani held on for a 35-21 semifinal win in the First Hawaiian Bank Division II State Championships.

An afternoon crowd of about 1,200 at 'Iolani's Kozuki Stadium saw the Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion Raiders improve to 5-6 and move on to Friday's championship game at Aloha Stadium against Lahainaluna.

Third-seeded Kaua'i, the Kaua'i Interscholastic Federation champion, ended its season at 8-2.

"I'd give us an 'A,' " 'Iolani's Lionel Fujioka said. "Our offense was solid today."

Fujioka caught five passes for 139 yards and a touchdown and intercepted two passes on defense.

After heading into intermission tied at 14, 'Iolani put the game away, scoring 14 points in the third quarter and adding another TD in the fourth period.

The Raiders' finished with 423 yards on offense, including 253 passing by Kela Marciel who also threw for three touchdowns.

"They don't make a lot of mistakes," said Kaua'i head coach Derek Borrero. "They got a great quarterback and receivers that catch balls. They're very efficient."

It showed in the third quarter.

'Iolani dominated the time of possession in the third, holding the ball for 8:27. Kaua'i ran just nine plays for 12 yards in the period.

The Raiders punted away on the opening series of the second half, but it was muffed by Kaua'i and Andrew Skalman recovered for 'Iolani.

Reid Furukawa scored nine plays later on a reverse with 6:42 left in the third to make it 21-14.

Marciel connected with Aaron Fong on a pair of touchdown passes to give 'Iolani its biggest lead at 35-14 early in the fourth quarter.

"We wanted to start off good and once we got a lead we wanted to bury them," said Marciel.

'Iolani got off to a quick start in the game. Kaua'i quarterback Trent Allianic was intercepted by Fujioka on the third play of the game and the Raiders' offense started its first possession from the Kaua'i 44.

Marciel found Fujioka for a 10-yard gain on third down and Justin Yamamoto carried for 13 yards on the following play to give 'Iolani a first down at the Red Raiders' 15.

Two plays later, Yamamoto — lined up at slotback — took the inside handoff from Marciel and turned the corner on a 15-yard touchdown run to give 'Iolani an early lead.

"I was really proud of my offensive line, even my receivers," said Yamamoto. "They opened up great holes for me. I didn't have to do much today."

Yamamoto finished with 138 yards on 25 carries.

After Joshua Largusa intercepted a Marciel pass midway through the first quarter, Allianic got the Red Raiders on the board with an 11-yard touchdown pass to John Gebauer to tie it at 7.

Gebauer, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior, ran a hitch-pattern and Allianic delivered the pass to the near right corner of the end zone.

'Iolani answered with a quick score on a 72-yard inside screen to Fujioka, who outran several Kaua'i defenders on his way to the end zone. Kodi Look's extra point made it 14-7.

"He's very versatile. He's on offense, defense, returns kicks," said Look of Fujioka. "We expect him to make big plays and he expects to make big plays."

Kaua'i marched 79 yards on eight plays for the tying score on its next drive.

Allianic completed passes of 10, 41 and 12 yards on the drive and he found Andrew Renaud for a 6-yard scoring pass with 7:46 left in the half.

Renaud relieved Allianic at quarterback late in the game and threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Sheldon Sakai in the fourth quarter.

'Iolani, which snapped a three-game losing streak, had not played a game since Nov. 2.

"It was needed. We were mentally and physically kind of beat up," said Look.

Kaua'i, which beat Roosevelt 40-9 in a first-round game last week, had several players who suffered cramps as a result of the humidity.

"We were told from the beginning that it was going to be humid. From the second quarter already we started to see our guys going down," said Borrero.

Reach Kalani Takase at ktakase@honoluluadvertiser.com.

KAUA'I (8-2) 7 7 0 7 — 21

'IOLANI (5-6) 7 7 14 7 — 35

'Iolani — Justin Yamamoto 15 run (Kodi Look kick)

Kaua'i — John Gebauer 11 pass from Trent Allianic (Tyrus Ceria-Lux kick)

'Iolani — Lionel Fujioka 72 pass from Kela Marciel (Look kick)

Kaua'i — Andrew Renaud 8 pass from Allianic (Ceria-Lux kick)

'Iolani — Reid Furukawa 2 run (Look kick)

'Iolani — Aaron Fong 9 pass from Marciel (Look kick)

'Iolani — Fong 33 pass from Marciel (Look kick)

Kaua'i — Sheldon Sakai 18 pass from Renaud (Ceria-Lux kick)

RUSHING — Kaua'i: Renaud 5-27, Peleku Yasay 3-15, Kelii Ruiz 8-13, Allianic 5-5, Donovan Refamlo 1-2. 'Iolani: Yamamoto 25-138, Marciel 6-20, Furukawa 3-12, team 1-0.

PASSING — Kaua'i: Allianic 14-24-1—146, Renaud 7-14-1—80. 'Iolani: Marciel 14-21-1—253.

RECEIVING — Kaua'i: Sakai 4-50, Gebauer 4-32, Ceria-Lux 3-83, Blake Gingerich 2-19, Dayne Murata 2-16, Renaud 2-5, Ruiz 1-10, Kupa Graycochea 1-8, Joshua Kahananu 1-3, Canaan Bernard 1-0. 'Iolani: Fujioka 5-139, Fong 3-67, Ronnie Hirokawa 3-21, Furukawa 2-14, Yamamoto 1-12.

Reach Kalani Takase at ktakase@honoluluadvertiser.com.