My, oh, Miah.

Miah Ostrowski's punt return for a touchdown broke the ice for No. 2 Punahou in a 35-14 romp of No. 6 'Aiea in the first round of the First Hawaiian Bank Division I state football tournament last night at Aloha Stadium.

The Buffanblu (10-2) will play No. 4 Baldwin (11-0), the only unbeaten team in the state, in a 7 p.m. semifinal Saturday at the stadium. The other semifinal will pit No. 1 Kahuku (9-1) against No. 8 Wai'anae (9-3) in an all-O'ahu Interscholastic Association matchup at 4 p.m.

'Aiea (8-4), which had hopes of winning a Division I title to go along with its 2003 Division II crown, is done for the season.

Ostrowski's 72-yard punt return was the first score of the game. It came after the Buffanblu punted after three incomplete passes on their first possession and after Na Ali'i punted after three downs netted three yards.

"Maika Murashige and Dane Costa made the key blocks," Ostrowski said. "It wasn't anything special. I started in the middle then bounced to the outside."

He said the blocks came as he made the turn up the left sideline. River Kim's PAT gave Punahou a 7-0 lead at 9:59 of the quarter.

"It was awesome for us," Punahou coach Kale Ane said. "It turned the momentum for us."

"We work on that stuff," 'Aiea coach Wendell Say said of the return. "We just collapsed (breaking down when the returner catches the punt) too early."

Punahou's offense seemed to feed off the return, scoring on its next two series on running back Colin Viloria's runs of 13 and 5 yards. That gave Punahou a commanding 21-0 lead with 1:06 left in the quarter.

Quarterback Brett Kan completed 21 of 33 passes for 246 yards and TDs of 20 and 9 yards, both to Ostrowski. Ostrowski had eight catches for 100 yards.

Following Viloria's second TD, 'Aiea junior Lofa Li'ili'i returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. Sam Higgins blocked the PAT to keep the score 21-6 with 56 seconds left in the quarter.

Punahou's defense came up with big plays to stave off 'Aiea's offense, containing quarterback Kali Kuia to 210 yards and intercepting him twice. The Buffanblu also forced two fumbles, each leading to a score.

Linebacker Sean Murphy jarred the ball from Li'ili'i on a running play that was recovered by Mike Egesdal at the 'Aiea 34. That led to Viloria's second TD in the first quarter.

An interception by Murashige late in the second quarter led to Ostrowski's 20-yard TD catch. Murashige stayed step-for-step with the speedy Li'ili'i and grabbed the ball just inches from the receiver.

"I was just trying to keep up with my guy," Murashige explained.

Higgins also forced a fumble on a sack of Kuia that was recovered by Jonathan Overton at Punahou's 24. That was cashed in on Ostrowski's 9-yard TD early in the fourth quarter that made it 35-6.

Li'ili'i returned the ensuing kickoff 49 yards to the Punahou 35. But on first down, Li'ili'i, who came in at quarterback, was intercepted by Costa, negating the benefit of the good field position.

Punahou intercepted three passes, two by Adrian Labuda. But only Alex Mauga's pick of Punahou backup Pono Akina was recycled into a score, a 24-yard TD pass from Kuia to Lahaina Olsen-Kuroda. Kuia then hit Li'ili'i for the 2-point conversion to make it 35-14 with 4:25 left in the game.

Although Punahou appeared to be in control, it didn't feel that way, Ostrowski said, acknowledging 'Aiea's fight.

"'Aiea's a tough team," he said. "Even when we were up 28-6, we knew it wasn't over."

That's because 'Aiea's answer to Ostrowski was Li'ili'i, who played receiver (8 catches for 105 yards), lined up as a tailback and quarterback (5 rushes for 16 yards), returned kicks (146 yards in returns) and punted.

"It was fun," Li'ili'i said of playing many roles. "That's football. I'll do what it takes to help the team."

But last night, even his effort was not enough.

"It was a heart-breaker," Li'ili'i said. "But there's still next year."

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertis er.com or 525-8042.

PUNAHOU (10-2 21 7 0 7 — 35

'AIEA (8-4) 6 0 0 8 — 14

Pun—Miah Ostrowski 72 punt return (River Kim kick)

Pun—Colin Viloria 13 run (Kim kick)

Pun—Viloria 5 run (Kim kick)

'Aiea—Lofa Li'ili'i 97 kickoff return (kick blocked)

Pun—Ostrowski 20 pass from Brett Kan (Kim kick)

Pun—Ostrowski 9 pass from Kan (Kim kick)

'Aiea—Lahaina Olsen-Kuroda 6 pass from Kali Kuia (Li'ili'i pass from Kuia)

RUSHING—Punahou: Kan 5-13, Viloria 9-52, Christopher Wong 6-13, Kainoa Carlson 11-37, Zac Yamagishi 1-4, Matt Solomona 2-3. 'Aiea—Kua 6-1, Landen Dela Cruz 1-5, Li'ili'i 5-16, Matt Higa 4-19, Team 1-(minus 3).

PASSING—Punahou: Kan 21-33-2—246, Pono Akina 1-2-1—2. 'Aiea: Kuia 16-24-2—210, Li'ili'i 3-5-1—56, Keenan Naole 1-4-0—11.

RECEIVING—Punahou: Kim 7-80, Ostrowski 8-100, Carlson 4-51, Yamagishi 1-10, Kyle Whitford 2-7. 'Aiea: Josh Blakemore 6-86, Li'ili'i 8-105, Olsen-Kuroda 2-18, Joshua Asuncion 1-12, James Buchanan 3-56.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.