At 5 feet 6, 175 pounds, Kamehameha senior running back Ryan Ho might have been difficult to spot in a crowd among his 70-plus Warrior teammates.

But for the past two years, once the offense took the field, Ho was the one player who always stood out — series after series, game after game.

He finished a prolific if not spectacular career Friday night with a typically productive 121 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 24 carries, including a 27-yard TD scamper with 8:02 remaining to help secure Kamehameha's 34-21 victory over Kahuku for the First Hawaiian Bank/Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Division I state championship.

Friday's performance was especially impressive considering it came against a traditionally strong Red Raiders run defense. On the Warriors' first possession, Ho was stopped for 1-yard runs on the first two plays. He later got a 3-yard gain, only to lose 3 yards on the very next carry.

"I'm sure they were geared up to stop him," said Boyd Yap, who coaches Kamehameha's running backs. "Good defenses like to go up against good running backs who have been successful, they take it as a challenge and they step up."

Kahuku continued to contain Ho, but he broke through for a 9-yard touchdown run with 6:50 left in the second quarter to help the Warriors go up, 14-0.

Later in the half, he broke loose for a 37-yard run.

In the third quarter, after the Red Raiders closed it to 20-14, Ho carried four times including gains of 11 and 7 yards to set up TC Campbell's 10-yard touchdown pass to Charley Bollig IV as Kamehameha stretched the lead to 27-14.

Then on the Warriors' first series of the fourth quarter, Ho broke through the line of scrimmage and raced 27 yards to the end zone down the left side.

"Ryan can be a tough inside runner, but he also has great acceleration," Yap said. "He can make a cut, then accelerate into another gear. And the guys up front gave him the room to run."

Left tackle Travis Kamohala and right tackle Cameron Baron did a particularly good job against Kahuku's standout defensive ends, Hauoli Jamora and Kona Schwenke, as did fellow linemen Blaze Ryder, Claudio Borge IV, Kamalani Kaluhiokalani and tight end Keoni Bush-Loo.