By KEVIN JAKAHI
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
Big plays saved the day for Kamehameha, which saw its offense sputter in quicksand for most of the first half.
The Warriors toppled Hawaii Preparatory Academy 24-6 in a Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division II matchup with a share of first place on the line Friday at a packed Paie‘a Stadium, emerging after halftime with recharged batteries.
Ina Teofilo rushed for 114 yards on 22 attempts to chew up the clock for Kamehameha (3-0 BIIF , 6-0 overall), getting a huge chunk on a 46-yard scamper to set up Logan Uyetake’s field goal in the first quarter.
If a fan got caught in traffic driving up to the Keaau campus, not much was missed in the first half for either side; HPA scored in the second quarter on Koa Ellis’ 11-yard scoring strike to Michael Nakahara. And that was pretty much that.
The Warriors had 75 yards of offense in the first 24 minutes, all of it on the ground. Take out Teofilo’s nice jaunt and the rushing numbers diminish to 36 yards on 16 carries, a 2.25-yard-per-carry average.
Then at halftime Kamehameha went to the locker room and got a verbal shot in the arm from coach Dan Lyons, whose motivational tactics worked because his guys scored 21 unanswered points in the second half.
“Our coach talked to us and asked where we want to be now,” senior running back/linebacker Shaun Kagawa said. “That gave us energy and sparked the defense. It got everybody motivated and definitely made us want to win.”
Brandon Howes started the second half at quarterback and marched the Warriors into red-zone territory (20 yards and in) on his first series. But after a false-start penalty on Kamehameha, he fumbled the ball.
If the lesson of sport is to rise after one falls, Howes graded out with flying colors. That was his last mistake, and after a three-and-out series on three straight Teofilo runs, Howes made something happen.
After Adri Castro picked up his second fumble recovery at the HPA 34, Howes threw one pass during the six-play scoring drive and it was on target — a 10-yard touchdown strike to Castro for a 10-6 lead with less than a minute left in the third quarter.
Then on Kamehameha’s first possession in the fourth quarter, Kagawa showed his package of skills (speed, strength and elusiveness) on a 63-yard touchdown run, shaking off an ankle tackle, spinning around while maintaining his balance, and beating the last HPA defender.
“He’s an athlete and athletes make plays,” Lyons said about Kagawa’s TD run.
Kagawa finished with 97 yards on eight carries, and immediately turned into a volleyball player, bumping credit to his offensive line.
“It was a missed tackle there, but I kept my legs pumping,” he said. “I found daylight, but I got a great block by my line.”
HPA’s line has a tradition of excellence, the latest mauler on the assembly line is Keenan Greenbaum, who’s 6-foot-2 and 275 pounds. He’s even wearing No. 77, the old uniform of Shane Brostek who’s at Washington.
Greenbaum showed enough mobility and bulldozing prowess to help Bobby Lum pile up 133 yards on 22 carries. Unlike the fleet-footed Kagawa, Lum didn’t race around the perimeter to pick up his yards, most times he ran through the teeth of Kamehameha’s defense.
The two Ka Makani are just juniors, and quarterback Koa Ellis, who went 10 of 18 for 96 yards and one TD pass, is only a sophomore, offering a nice nucleus.
However, the visitors had three turnovers, and twice the Warriors scored off those gifts. Kamehameha had only one turnover, which proved harmless.
HPA just couldn’t string together any serious scoring threats in the second half, and Kamehameha came up with a final big play — Timmy Burke’s fumble recovery in the end zone — to smash any thoughts of a comeback.
Kamehameha plays its next two games on the road, on Friday against Ka‘u and a week later against Konawaena, another showdown that should generate a lot of attention and fill the stands at Julian Yates Field.
After the game Friday night, Burke talked about the tale of two halves, a second half that followed a sluggish first — a slow start that wasn’t costly against a youthful HPA group.
Maybe when the junior defensive lineman spoke, he had the Wildcats on his mind.
“It’s all mental. We just have to have enough drive and we need everyone to go at it hard,” said Burke, who helped save the day with one of Kamehameha’s big plays.
The game was far and away the lowest-scoring contest in the BIIF during a Week 3 that includes runaways in Honokaa and Kohala and another high-scoring affair at Waverider Stadium.
A look at the headlines:
Kealakehe overcomes
big game by Hilo’s Kell
Kealakehe’s high-powered ground game and a defense that made timely plays was just enough to offset Hilo quarterback Drew Kell’s prolific passing performance Saturday night in a 43-29 victory at Kailua-Kona.
Senior Lennox Jones ran for 145 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries, leading a running attack that piled up 434 yards.
Senior fullback David Fangupo ran for 105 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries, while Kealakehe quarterback Jordan Cristobal, bottled up for much of the night, finished with 112 yards — 55 came on a touchdown run that put the game away with 1 minute, 34 seconds remaining — on 18 carries.
Just before Cristobal’s touchdown run, Kell had thrown an 84-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Donovan Kelley on a go route down the right sideline, bringing the Vikings (1-1 Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division I, 2-2 overall) within 36-29.
However, Cristobal followed with his touchdown run, and senior Kyler O’Halloran picked off Kell’s next pass on Hilo’s next drive, sealing the game for the Waveriders (2-0, 4-1).
Kell finished the game 22-of-33 for 405 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Kelley had nine receptions for 228 yards and two scores, while Makalii Kahumoku-Jose caught five passes for 108 yards and a touchdown.
— Joe Ferraro, Stephens Media
Konawaena’s Karratti
strikes early and often
A week earlier, the score got out of hand so quickly, the Wildcats were unable to work on the passing game. So, Konawaena made sure to pass early and often Saturday in a 76-0 victory against Kohala in Kapaau.
Lii Karratti completed 11 of 13 passes for 301 yards and six touchdowns in the first half for the defending Division II champions, who were coming off an 86-0 victory against Ka‘u.
Karratti threw short, and he threw long. He tossed scoring strikes of 7, 55, 24, 43, 37 and 7 yards. Domonic Morris benefited the most from the air attack. He caught three passes for 99 yards and three touchdowns. The senior also opened the second half with a 78-yard kickoff for a touchdown for Kona (3-0 BIIF Division II, 5-1 overall), which started replacing players in the second quarter.
— Micah Lewter, Stephens Media
Honokaa does what it
needs to in 54-0 win
Honokaa was able to empty its bench and work on its passing attack after its ground game and two punt returns for touchdowns by Makana Ebanez put away Ka‘u during a 54-0 victory Friday night at home.
It took just five plays for Honokaa (1-2 BIIF Division II, 2-3) to march down the field on its first drive of the game.
Senior running back Justen Kawamoto capped the drive by running off tackle for a 12-yard touchdown. Kawamoto helped set up the touchdown with a 26-yard run, and junior Wayne Vaoga ripped off a 20-yard run on the drive.
Meanwhile, Ka‘u (0-3, 0-3) netted minus-3 yards on their first three drives, which resulted in a turnover on downs and two punts. Ibanez, a junior quarterback, turned those punts into 42- and 55-yard touchdowns, with the latter giving Honokaa a comfortable 20-0 lead with 5:51 left in the first quarter.
From that point on, Embernate emptied his bench, and all of the Dragons received playing time in the contest.
Kawamoto, who had a 96-yard touchdown run negated by a penalty in the second half, finished with 37 yards on three carries, and senior Michael Higaki finished with 61 yards on four rushes.
Sophomore Isaiah Batalona-Paiva completed 1 of 4 passes, with his lone completion being a screen pass that Kawamoto turned into a 68-yard touchdown reception.
Senior Damien Kaluhimoku-Dela Cruz also received playing time behind center, and he completed 3 of 5 passes for 20 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown pass to Ty Kauai.
Ka‘u quarterback Chance Emmsley-Ah Yee completed 9 of 39 passes for 120 yards.
— Joe Ferraro, Stephens Media