Think "Doug Flutie."

Or, "The Play."

This one was just as exhilarating, and taking into account the final 10 seconds and what was at stake, it may even be better.

Last night's crazy Hail Mary finish that gave Kahuku a pulsating 22-20 state semifinal victory over upstart Baldwin came on a lateral and pass that isn't even in the Red Raiders' official playbook, from a starting defensive back who ran onto the field wearing his gloves, on a team that might be the least likely in Hawai'i to throw the ball deep.

But it worked to perfection, to the delight of thousands of Kahuku fans and the heartbreak of hundreds of Bears faithful at Aloha Stadium.

"We just call it 'Receiver-pass,' " said Pelefoni "Bruddah" Soliai, who caught the game-winning 43-yard touchdown throw from Shiloah Te'o. "We keep it simple. We don't really practice it, not every day. I give credit to the offensive line for blocking, and to Shiloah for making the throw."

Soliai, who caught the spiraled rainbow at about the 5-yard line behind three Baldwin defenders, eluded a couple of would-be tacklers and dashed into the end zone as the crowd went wild.

"I just had my eyes on the ball the whole time," Soliai said. "I didn't pay attention to where I was until I caught it and turned around. Then I just tried my hardest to get into the end zone."

The play came after Gary Nagy's 16-yard return of a free kick, the result of a safety when Baldwin botched a punt attempt with 10 seconds remaining.

Red Raiders coach Reggie Torres called for a pass play, and offensive coordinator Sterling Carvalho decided on the double-pass, in which quarterback Richard Torres threw a long lateral to the left side.

"We practiced it before, but not with the (receiver) who threw it tonight," Carvalho said. "That guy was ineligible. But Shiloah is a former JV quarterback, and he was a quarterback in our Red/White (spring) game, so we knew he could throw."

Te'o said he did not expect to go in for the last play.

"They told me to go in and line up in 'trips' (formation), and I was surprised," Te'o said. "I ran in and still had my gloves on. I took it off right before the play. I saw Bruddah open for just a second, so I just tried to make sure I threw it hard enough to reach the end zone, and I'm glad he caught the ball."

Baldwin was playing a prevent "Cover 4" defense with four deep safeties, but when Torres threw the lateral, the defensive backs made a move toward the line of scrimmage.

"That's all we needed, was for (the Bears) to look to our backfield," Carvalho said. "They were in a prevent, but I knew if we got them to look at our backfield, then Pele could get a step behind them, and that's what he did."

It was Soliai's only catch of the game and only his third of the season. In three previous postseason games, the Red Raiders completed only one pass, for five yards to the tight end.

Last night, Jordan Kapu caught three passes for 74 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown to help Kahuku close to 17-14 late in the third quarter. Kapu entered the game with one catch all season.

Richard Torres said the Red Raiders had been working on their passing game all week, but even he did not expect the final play to be called.

"We used to play around with it in practice," Torres said. "But I never thought we'd ever use it in a real game."

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.