FOOTBALL
>> Jordan Botelho (Saint Louis), Notre Dame: Will return to the Fighting Irish for a sixth season, according to coach Marcus Freeman. Botelho suffered a season-ending knee injury on Sept. 14 with 77 tackles and 11 1/2 sacks and says he is down to 250 pounds after playing at 270.
>> Dean Connors (Hawaii Prep), Rice: Caught four passes for 91 yards and a touchdown in a 35-28 win over South Florida, becoming the program’s career leader in receiving yards by a running back with 912, passing Trevor Cobb and becoming the first player in school history with 1,600 career rushing yards and 900 receiving yards. Matt Sykes (Punahou) caught seven passes for 118 yards in his final college game, leading the Owls this season with 782 receiving yards. Tim Horn (Punahou) made all five of his kicks, ending his career perfect on 65 extra points and 15-for-23 on field goals.
>> Leif Fautanu (University), Arizona State: Anchored the offensive line for the Sun Devils in a 49-7 win over Arizona for the Territorial Cup. Arizona State rolled up 643 yards of total offense and held the ball for nearly 34 minutes. Fautanu ended the regular season as the highest-graded center in the Big 12 and has only missed one snap in two years — when his helmet came off. The Sun Devils will play Iowa State for the conference title on Saturday.
>> Malae Fonoti (Kahuku), Montana: Carried the ball eight times for 46 yards in a 41-27 win over Tennessee State in the playoffs, earning a meeting with South Dakota State in an FCS Championship game rematch. The freshman has played in only two games this season, but has 222 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries.
>> Dillon Gabriel (Mililani), Oregon: Threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in a 49-21 win over Washington, covering 209 yards in the air and 20 on the ground.
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>> Kyler Halvorsen (Kaiser), San Jose State: The senior booted a career-long 45-yard field goal in a 34-31 win over Stanford, the longest by a Spartan since 2021. He has made a school-record 79 straight extra points.
>> Blaze Holani (Saint Louis), Linfield: Shared the lead with five tackles for a devastating defense in a 65-3 win over Texas Lutheran in the NCAA Division III playoffs. Colby Kalaukoa (Kamehameha) had a tackle and a fumble recovery. The Wildcats will host Mary Hardin-Baylor in the third round on Saturday.
>> Trech Kekahuna (Saint Louis), Wisconsin: Caught a career-high-tying six passes for 64 yards in a 24-7 loss to Minnesota. He had five catches in his previous five games.
>> Liona Lefau (Kahuku), Texas: Made six tackles, four of them solo, with a forced fumble and pass breakup in a 17-7 win over rival Texas A&M. The forced fumble was the first of his career and came in the fourth quarter of the close game.
>> Jayden Maiava (Kaimuki), Southern California: Accounted for five touchdowns — three passing and two rushing — in a 49-35 loss to Notre Dame. He threw for 360 yards but two interceptions and was sacked once and suffered his first loss as starting quarterback for the Trojans.
>> Tanner Moku (Kamehameha), Washington State: Made seven tackles, a career-high six of them solo, in a 15-14 loss to Wyoming. Kapena Gushiken (Kamehameha) contributed three solo tackles and broke up a pass on third-and-9, but it was wiped out on a facemask penalty on a teammate.
>> Royce Pao (Kahuku), Western Colorado: Helped the running game with 59 yards on 15 carries, but the Mountaineers fell to Bemidji State 20-19 in the NCAA Division II playoffs. It was Pao’s second time this season with 15 or more carries. He finishes his sophomore season with 491 yards on 101 carries with six touchdowns.
>> Noa Purcell (Saint Louis), Colorado-Pueblo: Made six tackles and had a hurry, but the Thunderwolves fell 26-23 to Minnesota State in the NCAA Division II playoffs. Purcell closes his career with the school with 61 tackles and five sacks in 23 games.
>> GianCarlo Rufo (Punahou), Georgetown: Was selected second-team Patriot League linebacker after not missing a game for the Hoyas and leading the team with 83 tackles, with three sacks and two forced fumbles.
>> Manny Stevenson (Radford), Arkansas: Caught four passes for 49 yards and his first touchdown of the season in a 40-32 loss to Old Dominion. The senior goes into a bowl game with 80 catches in his career for 591 yards and five touchdowns.
>> Gareth Warren (Kealakehe), Lindenwood: Was named first-team all-conference for the Big South, starting every game at left tackle.
VOLLEYBALL
>> Jannie Blake (Kahuku), Eastern Washington: Had her 10th double-double of the season with 26 assists and 12 digs with two aces in a 3-1 loss to Weber State, ending her senior season with 484 assists and 213 digs.
>> Reese Diersbock (Le Jardin), UC Davis: Put down 12 kills on 38 swings in a 3-2 loss to Hawaii in the Big West championship semifinals, tying her season high. She has been in double figures in kills seven times this season, three of them against the Rainbow Wahine.
>> Malu Garcia (Moanalua), Iowa: Hit .400 for the first time since September with 11 kills in a 3-0 loss to Southern California. She closed her freshman season as the team leader in kills with 278.
>> Elena Oglivie (‘Iolani), Stanford: Had a season-high 24 digs in a 3-1 win over Louisville, giving her 2,024 in 132 matches in her career for third on the program’s career list. She was selected a second-team All-ACC selection heading into the NCAA Tournament.
>> Taina Kaauwai (Kamehameha-Hawaii), Portland: Was named to the West Coast Conference first team after leading the conference in hitting percentage and the team with 114 blocks. She is the first Pilot named to the first team since 2017. Maui Robins (Kamehameha) closed the season in style with 19 kills on 49 swings in a 3-2 loss to Pacific, adding 16 digs. She earned honorable mention from the conference.
>> Devin Kahahawai (Kamehameha), Texas: Enjoyed a career match before heading into the NCAA Tournament, earning a rare start in place of a sick teammate and putting down 19 kills with 10 digs for her first double-double.
>> Nive Tuileta (Le Jardin), Santa Clara: Had 23 assists and nine digs in a 3-0 win over Gonzaga to close the season, finishing with 3,750 assists in 114 career matches for No. 7 in school history.
NCAA Volleyball Championship
Hawaii participants, first-round matches
>> Arizona State vs. New Hampshire, Friday: Hokulani Perez (Moanalua).
>> Brigham Young vs. Loyola Chicago, Thursday: Lulu Uluave (Punahou)
>> Colorado State vs. Texas A&M, Friday: Kate Yoshimoto (Punahou), Kekua Richards (Seabury Hall).
>> Stanford vs. Sacramento State, Friday: Elena Oglivie (‘Iolani).
>> Pittsburgh vs. Morhead State, Friday: Haiti Tautua’a (Waianae)
>> Texas vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi: Rella Binney (Punahou), Keonilei Akana (Kamehameha), Devin Kahahawai (Kamehameha).
>> Hawaii vs. Texas Christian, Thursday: Adrianna Arquette (Kamehameha), Jackie Matias (Punahou), Miliana Sylvester (University), Tyla Reese Mane (Aiea), Tayli Ikenaga (Moanalua).
National Invitational Volleyball Championship
>> Pacific vs. Weber State, Friday: Megan Nishimura (‘Iolani)
>> Washington State vs. Utah Valley, Thursday: Haumea Marumoto (Punahou)
>> Toledo vs. DePaul, Thursday: Brooke Naniseni (‘Iolani)
NCAA Division II Tournament
>> Clarion vs. West Virginia State, Thursday: Savannah Taosoga (Kahuku).
>> Quincy vs. Grand Valley State, Thursday: Nikki Apa (Roosevelt).
>> Chaminade vs. Stanislaus State, Thursday: Erica Roberts (Mililani), Allexis Iramina (Moanalua), Mahala Ka’apuni (Hilo), Nanna Inoue (King Kekaulike), Heavenly Campbell (Damien), Kyra Pagud (Moanalua).
NCAA Division III tournament
Quarterfinals
>> La Verne vs. Juniata, today: Kaitlyn Patterson (Moanalua)
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