The 2007 Hawaii high school football season got underway this month. No less than seven teams appear to be very serious contenders for the state Division I title - St. Louis, who knocked off defending state champion Kahuku in the pre-season opener, Kahuku, Kamehameha, Punahou, Waianae, Mililani, and Baldwin. All seven look very strong in what could be one of the best years ever in local gridiron history.

Already we've seen at least one record set. And this record isn't likely to be broken. In fact, it can never be broken - officially.

It happened in Punahou's 56-18 opening pre-season victory over McKinley.

No matter what anyone says officially, you can credit Punahou's Manti Te'o with the longest run from scrimmage in high school football history. Te'o's third quarter dash against McKinley will be officially credited for 99-yards, but anyone who was at the game knows otherwise.

"The back of the ball was virtually touching the (goal) line," Te'o said after the game. Any further back, and the ball would have been in the endzone.

Here's how it happened. McKinley quarterback Earvin Sione was stopped just inches shy of the goal line on the 4th down when Punahou's defensive line stuffed the 6-foot 5-inch senior quarterback. Moments after the Buffanblue took over on downs, they were penalized half the distance to the goal. That distance brought the ball literally micro-inches from the goal line.

Punahou then lined up with starting quarterback Kimo Makaula under center, an unusual formation for the Buffanblue who played out of the shotgun all game long. The call was to hand the ball off to Te'o, a highly-recruited junior linebacker/runningback who is being sought after by the likes of USC, UCLA, Penn State, and Notre Dame, among other big name Division I schools.

"I just followed my fullback JJ Autele and that side of the line (Chris Chun, Abe Markowitz, and Mark Hinkley) and the hole was there," Te'o said. With McKinley playing up close, hoping to force a safety, Te'o broke off tackle and was also immediately in the open-field. With nothing but green grass ahead of him, his only concern was whether anyone could catch up to him. "I kept looking back to see if I could slow down," he said.

Ironically, he couldn't. Te'o had to turn on the afterburners at about the 50-yard line and then no Tiger could catch him the rest of the way. The play officially covered 99-yards, but anyone who was there knew it was as close to 100-yards as you can get.

The longest run was one of three touchdowns scored by Te'o in a 56-18 Punahou romp. He started the day with a five-yard dash to paydirt, following a massive block by senior guard Abe Markowitz at the goal line as Punahou jumped out to a 7-nothing lead on the first offensive series.

His other touchdown was a 24 yard reception from junior quarterback Cayman Shutter in the second quarter. On that play, Te'o was the safety valve receiver, but Shutter found him, and Te'o outraced several Tiger defenders to get to the corner of the endzone. "I was more tired on that play (than the 99-yard run)," he said.

Te'o also made a huge play defensively when he swept in from his linebacker position and tackled McKinley's Sione at his own one yard line after a high snap. "I'm just glad to be out there again," Te'o said. This was the talented junior's first game back since suffering a season-ending foot injury last year.

All in all, it was a great start to the football season for Te'o in a game that should be remembered for the longest run of all time. Call it 99 yards with an asterisk.

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