KEAAU — DallasJ Duarte put just enough air on his pass to give Makana Manoa ample time to run under it. When the ball came down, Kamehameha had a 40-yard scoring play and a little breathing room early in the
KEAAU — DallasJ Duarte put just enough air on his pass to give Makana Manoa ample time to run under it. When the ball came down, Kamehameha had a 40-yard scoring play and a little breathing room early in the third quarter. Most important, the Warriors had all the more peace of mind about its quarterback situation as it turns to the regular season.
No matter whom coach Dan Lyons calls upon to start under center Friday in the BIIF regular-season opener at Kealakehe, the Warriors’ offense shows little sign of slowing down after losing Division II Offensive Player of the Year Micah Kanehailua.
Making his second career start Thursday night, Duarte passed for three touchdowns, and the Warriors broke open a first-half slug fest against Waiakea for a 38-14 victory at Paiea Stadium to close an undefeated preseason.
“I think he gets better each time out there,” Lyons said.
Duarte, a sophomore playing his third career game after Kamakana Pagan injured his foot in the preseason opener, was on point in the first half even as his receivers let him down. Kamehameha’s first three drives stalled because of dropped passes.
“He could have gone over 300 yards and had five or six touchdowns if we caught on to the ball,” Lyons said.
As it was, Duarte finished 20 of 27 for 252 yards, spreading the ball around in a short, quick-hitting passing game that’s designed to get play-makers in space. And Kamehameha has a plethora of weapons, starting with Kaeo Batacan, who nearly reached 200 yards on the ground and rushed for his sixth touchdown of the preseason.
Duarte twice hooked up with Manoa for 40-yard touchdowns, and he also hit Tre Evans-Dumaran for a 20-yard strike in the second quarter as Kamehameha (3-0) scored 31 consecutive points after falling behind.
Kainalu Whitney and Evans-Dumaran each caught six passes, and Manoa saw his first action of the preseason, hauling in four passes for 135 yards.
“He’s just another guy that we can use,” Lyons said of Manoa. “All the receivers are good. We can put five guys out there and it makes it difficult (to defend).”
Gehrig Octavio ran for a touchdown and threw for score for Waiakea (0-3), which trailed only 8-6 at halftime. But a penalty halted one first-half drive, and Kamehameha cashed in on two third-quarter turnovers and started to pull away as its defense strengthened.
On third-and-15, Duarte dropped back and found a streaking Manoa to give Kamehameha a two-score lead. Kamehameha only needed to go 7 yards on its next drive after a personal foul was tacked on to a turnover.
“The game was never comfortable,” Lyons said. “but it was a great effort in the second half. We want to be able to overcome adversity. It’s not always going to be easy.”
Tyler Kepano set up Waiakea’s first touchdown, blindsiding Duarte in the backfield and forcing a fumble that Manuia Sevao returned 37 yards to the Kamehameha 3. Octavio ran into the end zone two plays later.
The only dent in Kamehameha’s defense during the second half was Octavio’s 47-yard touchdown pass to Cody Cuba.
Kamehameha only allowed 20 points in the preseason.
Octavio found success when he used his speed to get to the edge, but his 50 first-half rushing yards were muted by three sacks. Waiakea welcomes Konawaena on Friday at Wong Stadium in its season-opener.
In the second half, Pagan saw his first action since leading two touchdown drives in Kamehameha’s preseason opener. Pagan scored Kamehameha’s final touchdown after Batacan scampered 55 yards up the middle.
“Coming back off an injury, we wanted to get him some looks and some reps,” Lyons said. “Obviously, we’re comfortable with Kama or Dallas in there.”
Lyons backed away from naming a clear-cut starter.
“We’re just a team.” he said. “We don’t play for ourselves, we play as a team. Kama goes over and gives Dallas a big hug after the game.”
Waiakea 0 6 8 0 — 14
Kamehameha 0 8 23 7 —38
Second quarter
Wai — Gehrig Octavio 3 run (kick failed), 6:02
KS-Hawaii — Tre Evans-Dumaran 20 pass from DallasJ Duarte (Kainalu Whitney pass from Duarte), 4:43
Third quarter
KS-Hawaii — Makana Manoa 40 pass from Duarte (Jaisten Cabatbat kick), 9:05
KS-Hawaii — Kaeo Batacan 4 run (Cabatbat kick), 7:15
KS-Hawaii — Safety, Iokua Manuia tackles Octavio in end zone, 5:44
KS-Hawaii — Manoa 40 pass from Duarte (Cabatbat kick), 2:04
Wai — Cody Cuba 47 pass from Octavio (Octavio run), :51
Fourth quarter
KS-Hawaii — Kamakana Pagan 5 run (Cabatbat kick), 6:51
