KEAAU — It was far from pretty Friday night, but Kamehameha defeated Hawaii Prep 32-11 to maintain home-field advantage in the BIIF Division II championship on at Pai’ea Stadium.
Elijah Dinkel kicked three field goals, and the Warriors (9-3, 8-0 BIIF) found enough ways to score despite 13 penalties for 165 yards in the first half.
Ka Makani (6-2, 6-2) needed to beat the Warriors by 23 points to claim home field. In the first meeting, Kamehameha won 34-12 in Waimea. The teams will meet again Nov. 1 at Paiea in the title game.
In an uneventful first quarter, the teams traded field goals. HPA’s Conor Hunt converted on a 27-yarder; Kamehameha’s Elijah Dinkel drilled a line drive 44-yarder.
Kamehameha’s Austin Wilson scored on a 1-yard run, set up by Izayah Chartrand-Penera’s 39-yard reception from Koby Tabuyo-Kahele.
The first quarter took an hour. Quarters are 12 minutes long. At the end of the slow-paced first period, it started to rain.
The only significant action came late in the second quarter when Ka Makani punted. The Warriors worked the ball to the 9 and attempted a 25-yard field goal with 0.5 on the clock. The attempt was no good, but a penalty was called on HPA for roughing the holder.
Dinkel nailed a 20-yard field goal with no time on the clock on his second try for a 12-3 Kamehameha halftime lead.
HPA had two turnovers in the first half; Austin Eckart and Joshua Luiz had interceptions.
Also in the first half, Kamehameha starting running back Apu Alfiche went out with an injury in the first quarter, and offensive lineman Kuahiwi Glendon went out in the second quarter. Both walked off the field on their own. Quarterback Koby Tabuyo-Kahele was also on crutches.
In the third quarter, the Warriors increased the lead to 18-3 with old-fashioned smash-mouth football. The only pass during the 11 play, 65-yard scoring march was a Michael Perry 23-yard pass to Chartrand-Penera.
Perry was 8 of 9 for 173 yards with one touchdown. Chartrand-Penera caught five balls for 209 yards.
Other than that, they ran the ball, including four straight times by Micah Mahiai to reach Ka Makani’s 23. From there, Tobey Lau ran twice for 20 yards, setting up the ball at the 2. Mahiai ran twice, 1 yard on each attempt, to get into the end zone for an 18-3 lead.
On HPA’s ensuing possession, Kaai Martin-Hisato recovered a fumble, and two plays later Mahiai scored on a 6-yard run for a 25-3 cushion.
In the fourth quarter, Kamuela Gaughen returned a fumble for a 65-yard touchdown, and quarterback Umi Kealoha ran in for the two-point conversion to get HPA within 25-11 with 3:53 left.
On Kamehameha’s next series, on the third play, Perry fired a 73-yard scoring strike to Chartrand-Penera, who beat his defender down the sideline for a 32-11 lead with 2:37 remaining.
With 25.6 seconds, Dinkel kicked a 40-yard field goal for the final margin.
HPA 3 0 0 8 — 11
Kamehameha 9 3 13 10 — 35
First quarter
HPA — FG 27 Conor Hunt
KSH — FG 44 Elijah Dinkel
KSH — 1 run Austin Wilson (kick no good)
Second quarter
KSH — 20 FG Dinkel
Third quarter
KSH — Micah Mahiai 1 run (pass no good)
KSH — Mahiai 6 run (Dinkel kick)
Fourth quarter
HPA —Kamuela Gaughen 65 fumble return (Umi Kealoha run)
KSH — Izayah Chartrand-Penera 73 pass from Michael Perry (Dinkel kick)
KSH — 40 FG Dinkel