Stanford Leti rushed for two touchdowns and passed for another, accounting for 293 yards of offense, to lead Moanalua over Kamehameha-Hawai'i, 34-20, last night in an opening-round game of the HHSAA First Hawaiian Bank Division II state football tournament.

A crowd of about 2,500 watched the Warriors (10-3) pull within 21-20 with nine minutes, 10 seconds left in the game, only to see Na Menehune (9-2) respond with two TDs in the final two minutes to advance to the semifinals next Saturday at No. 7 Iolani at 2 p.m.

"This feels good," Leti said. "But we have to learn from this game and carry on to the next."

Leti passed for 159 yards, including a 55-yard TD to Jim Mateo. Leti also rushed for 134 yards, including TD runs of 55 and three yards.

"I told the staff I had a great feeling about Stanford tonight," Moanalua coach Arnold Martinez said. "Right now, the feeling's indescribable. It's just absolute love for these kids."

The game wasn't settled until J.D. Baba returned an interception 47 yards for a touchdown with 24 seconds left.

Na Menehune opened the third quarter with a 10-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by Leti's 3-yard TD run to make it 21-13.

But the Warriors narrowed the margin with 9:10 left in the game, when Daniel Kalai scored on a 19-yard middle screen pass from Mana Silva. The Warriors elected to go for the kick, instead of two and a potential tie.

"There was enough time on the clock where we felt we could've gotten the ball back," Warriors coach Ulima Afoa said. "Obviously, they did a good job of holding on to the ball."

Moanalua responded with a 14-play, 80-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard TD run by Jarin Salvador-Atabay with 1:33 left. The drive killed 7:37 off the clock and increased Moanalua's lead to 28-20.

Kamehameha tried to mount a comeback, but Baba's interception return for the TD killed the Warriors' hopes.

"You gotta give credit to Moanalua," Warriors quarterback Silva said. "They came out prepared. Unfortunately, we didn't come out with a victory, but we just have to move on from this."

The Warriors got off to a good start when Chris Aiwohi-Kegler returned a Quinton Tang fumble 70 yards for a touchdown with 7:32 left in the first quarter to make it 7-0.

But Moanalua followed with two TDs off big plays: Leti's 55-yard run in which he broke numerous tackles and his 55-yard TD pass to Jim Mateo to give Na Menehune a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

An interception by Reece Alnas set up the Warriors' second TD, a 32-yard run by Kolten Wong with 2:51 left in the half to make it 14-13. A high snap on the PAT didn't allow the Warriors to get off the kick.

Na Menehune came out with great respect for the Warriors, who are only in their second season of varsity play and will have their first graduating class in the spring.

"They're the most considerate team I've ever played," Leti said. "Every time I got tackled, they helped me up. I just felt the love between us and that team."

Moanalua's defense came up with big turnovers. Ricky Sierra also had an interception off Silva, the Big Island's leading passer with more than 1,500 yards passing. Moanalua also sacked Silva three times and caused him to lose a fumble.

Moanalua had turnover issues of its own. Leti was intercepted twice and fumbled twice, losing one of them.

KAMEHAMEHA-HI (10-3) 7 6 0 7—20

MOANALUA (9-2) 14 0 7 13—34

KSH—Chris Aiwohi-Kegler 70 fumble return (Leon Peralto kick)

Moan—Stanford Leti 55 run (Landon Watanabe kick)

Moan—Jim Mateo 55 pass from Leti (Watanabe kick)

KSH—Kolten Wong 32 run (kick failed)

Moan—Leti 3 run (Watanabe kick)

KSH—Daniel Kalai 19 pass from Mana Silva (Peralto kick)

Moan—Jarin Salvador-Atabay 3 run (Watanabe kick)

Moan—J.D. Baba 47 interception return (run failed)

RUSHING—Kamehameha: Silva 15-54, Wong 17-98. Moanalua: Leti 18-134, Quinton Tang 4-21, John Estores 10-58, Jordan Monico 3-22, Salvador-Atabay 3-18, Ben Crippen 1-20.

PASSING—Kamehameha: Silva 7-17-2—75. Moanalua: Leti 6-14-2—159, Estores 1-3-0—9, Salvador-Atabay 1-1-0—6.

RECEIVING—Kamehameha: Kalai 4-61, Wyatt Kaili-Leong 3-14. Moanalua: Savai'i Eselu 2-33, Estores 3-62, Mateo 1-55, Leti 2-15, Salvador-Atabay 1-9.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.