Cody vonAppen helped Kalaheo finally finish a game, and the Mustangs pulled off an upset in the process.

The senior quarterback held off late pressure by 'Iolani and rushed 20 times for 97 yards and three touchdowns as Kalaheo beat then-No. 10 'Iolani, 28-25, Saturday.

"He played great football," Kalaheo coach Chris Mellor said. "He played big-time football, came through in the clutch and led his team to victory.

"He's a very competitive player and his mindset is not accepting anything less than a win."

Mellor said the Mustangs (2-0) had a hard time finishing close games last season, but vonAppen pulled through against the Raiders (1-1). With less than a minute left in the game and his team at fourth-and-6 at the 'Iolani 26, vonAppen dodged several defenders while scrambling for 21 yards. He took a knee twice to finish out the non-league game.

"Their defense started blitzing a lot and my offensive line did a good job picking up the blitzes," said vonAppen, who also completed 7 of 13 passes for 116 yards.

Mellor told vonAppen late in the game to "just finish this."

"Last year we got used to losing," vonAppen said. "We'd always fumble in the fourth quarter. This game we pulled out the victory and it felt really good."

VonAppen scored on two 1-yard runs to help Kalaheo take an early 14-0 lead in the game. Eight minutes before halftime, vonAppen rushed for a 48-yard touchdown on fourth-and-1.

"Coach Chris really opened up the playbook," said vonAppen, the son of former University of Hawai'i football coach Fred vonAppen. "He let me call some plays and do some things myself."

"You win one game and he has a highlight reel that's amazing," Mellor said. "He had a lot of people falling down while chasing (him).

"When people don't expect it, he can shake and bake. He's an exciting player to watch."

VonAppen also threw three interceptions. After watching film of the game on Sunday, he said those were "bad reads" and that "he was thinking too much."

"It's a big win," vonAppen said. "It's an ILH (Interscholastic League of Honolulu) team and we wanted to represent the OIA (O'ahu Interscholastic Association). They were talented, it was a good win for us."

Reach Stanley Lee at sktlee@honoluluadvertiser.com.