As if there weren't enough Punahou offensive weapons for Leilehua to worry about entering last Friday's First Hawaiian Bank Division I Football State Championship game, Buffanblu receiver Mark Silverstein gave the Mules one more to deal with.

Silverstein, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound senior, had been having a quiet season compared to well-known teammates Robby Toma, Dalton Hilliard, Kimo Makaula and even Manti Te'o, an All-State linebacker who also would come in for spot duty at running back.

Toma led the team with 80 catches for 1,246 yards and 17 touchdowns entering the title game, Hilliard had 58 receptions for 666 yards and eight TDs, Makaula added 24 grabs for 313 yards and three touchdowns, and Te'o had 319 all-purpose yards and six TDs — two receiving.

That's more than Silverstein, who had one touchdown among his 21 catches for 314 yards.

But in his last high school game, on the biggest and most important night of his career, Silverstein finally shared the spotlight.

He scored Punahou's first touchdown on the game's third play from scrimmage, hauling in a 28-yard pass over the middle from quarterback Cayman Shutter. Three drives later, he made a 31-yard reception to help set up Shutter's 6-yard TD run to put the Buffanblu up, 14-0.

Silverstein added a 20-yard catch in the second quarter, finishing the first half with five receptions for 85 yards as Punahou took a 21-7 lead into the locker room. He then had four catches for 61 yards in the fourth quarter to help seal a 38-7 victory, the school's first state title in football.

Silverstein's final line: nine catches, 146 yards, one touchdown.

"He had a great game — the game of his career," said Dr. Darryl Kan, the Buffanblu's offensive coordinator.

Kan said Silverstein has "always been a talented receiver," but was often overshadowed. Last week, however, Kan said he foresaw Silverstein playing a key role.

"We thought they might focus on the other four guys — Robby, Dalton, Kimo and Manti — so we wanted to try and work Mark into the game plan a little more," Kan said. "He's been doing good things all year execution-wise, and we wanted to send him on some vertical routes early."

Kan said Silverstein's patience in awaiting his big opportunity epitomized Punahou's team-first attitude, which proved to be a key to its success.

"That was the great thing about this team," Kan said. "Nobody ever complained about not getting enough touches, and that doesn't always happen. But we never had that issue this year.

"Everybody was unselfish."