KEAAU – Kamehameha actually was trying a rare pass, but when Michael Perry dropped back he was flushed forward in the pocket, where he sidestepped one Honokaa defender only to be greeted by more. The slippery Perry avoided going down to a knee as he broke loose, leaving a slew of Dragons sprawling as he cut inside another player and dashed down the left sideline for a 21-yard gain.
Perry lined up at wing back, running back and quarterback in Kamehameha’s 13-8 win Friday night, and he also set up the game’s only offensive touchdown, his own, with a long kick return. He even gave coach Kealoha Wengler a reason to pass up using one of the Warriors’ best weapons, kicker Elijah Dinkel.
“He gives us that extra push,” Wengler said.
He ran so well, Perry might even have pushed Kamehameha to start to transform from its run-heavy ways.
There’s been a world of change since the last football game was played at Paiea Stadium almost two years ago, but Perry still looks the same, he listed at 5 feet, 5 inches, 155 pounds, and he fills a similar all-purpose role he did as a freshman on a BIIF Division II championship team.
“Little bit more of a leadership role, and now I have to help control the offense and make a difference,” Perry said.
“Offseason was rough one,” he said of the layoff, “but I just took whatever I could from every coach that I talked to and implemented it into my game. Reading holes, reading defenses, whatever I can do.”
Perry accounted for 149 of his team’s 224 yards of offense – he ran for 131 – and he returned the second-half kickoff for 70 more, providing a game-breaking element to a matchup that was a smashmouth special. No play better encapsulated the style than when Kamehameha’s Kaolapaolili Masuko was met in the hole by Honokaa linebacker Samson Akau, who shed a blocker to tackle Masuko in a clean, pad-popping collision that netted the Warriors 2 yards and first down.
That Warriors’ drive covered 15 plays and 53 yards and took more than 7:30 off the clock, and Dinkel’s field goal broke a scoreless tie 10 seconds before halftime.
Dinkel also booted a 43-yarder, and he would have had another one early in the third quarter, but on a fourth-and-6 from the 12, Wengler called timeout just before Dinkel kicked the ball through the uprights.
“I told him, ‘Everyone saw you could do it already, let’s go for it,”’ Wengler said.
Perry took a pitch for 7 yards and scored on a short run two plays later.
“We’re young,” Perry said, “We just have to get more grit, more grind, so go for it on fourth.”
After his fancy run down the sidelines midway through the fourth quarter, Kamehameha (1-1, 1-0 BIIF D-II) looked ready to put the game away. However, on second-and-1 from the 4, Honokaa’s Talen Cazimero picked up a fumble and raced 90 yards for a touchdown with 4:40 remaining. The Dragons’ second scoop and score in as many weeks made it 13-8 after Aka Spencer hit Keaka Cagampang for the two-point conversion.
“We kept it very simple, and when we tried to get fancy we fumbled the ball,” Wengler said. “We ran to the (weak) side, something we didn’t practice.”
Honokaa (0-2 BIIF D-II) recovered the onside kick and faced a short third down at the 50 only to be stuffed for a 10-yard loss, and Kamehameha’s Taylor Eckart broke up a fourth-down pass, allowing the Warriors to run out the clock.
Running almost exclusively out of the spread option, Honokaa managed 90 yards of offense. Coach Fred Lau saw progress, but he’s knows it’s a process.
“I think the defense is progressing, but they still missed some tackles,” he said. “When we play our (second string) at practices, they can bring them down, but it’s different at game time.”
Aided by two personal fouls penalties and nice runs by Micah Acdal and Justin Pascua, Honokaa marched to the Kamehameha 4 on its first possession of the second half. The drive stalled when Honokaa was hit with a delay of game, and Eckart broke up Spencer’s first pass attempt of the game. A field-goal attempt was blocked.
Lau also said his offense needs live game reps. The next chance comes in a home game against Kohala on Thursday night.
“The offense is run well when they see the blocking they see in practice,” he said. “When you play the game, they are going to adjust and they saw things they never saw before.”
Ezekial-Aaron Gragas was the Warriors’ second-leading rusher with 34 yards, and Spencer Yoshizumi gained 29. With Jadin Chaves at quarterback for the first three quarters, Kamehameha used elements of the wing-T offense and never utilized wide receivers. Chaves attempted two passes, completing one to Makai Snyder. Perry was 1 of 2, connecting with Yoshizumi.
There could be more passes on the way, possibly starting with next Friday night’s home game against Pahoa.
“We promised the boys we would start opening up the passing game if we established the run,” Wengler said. “We definitely showed we can move the ball down the field with the run, so we’re going to start opening up a little bit more passing.
“The goal is to be balanced by the end of the year.”
Honokaa 0 0 0 8 – 8
Kamehameha 0 3 7 3 – 13
Second quarter
KSH – FG Dinkel 38
Third quarter
KSH – Michael Perry 2 run (Dinkel kick)
Fourth quarter
KSH – FG Dinkel 43
Honokaa – Talen Cazimero 90 fumble return (Keaka Cagampang pass from Aka Spencer)