KAPAAU – At first glance, Saturday’s contest at Kohala High School may have looked like a mismatch. The Cowboys of Kohala were coming off a 29-6 loss against Honokaa; the incoming Ka Makani of Hawaii Prep, meanwhile, were fresh off a 51-0 beatdown of Ka’u.
Make no mistake: in their lone home game of the season, Kohala showed up ready to play.
Ka Makani ultimately outlasted the Cowboys in a physical battle, with the difference coming in the fourth quarter. A 27-yard Mason Hunt field goal gave HPA a 17-14 lead with 10:35 left to play, and a one-yard touchdown plunge up the middle from Braeden Samura ultimately put the game on ice for a 24-14 win.
“It’s all about fight; it’s all about heart,” said Samura of his team’s mentality with the game on the line. “It’s what this squad’s got.”
Defense ruled early on; neither side was able to put points on the board in the first quarter. Space began to open up a bit more in the second, with each team finding the end zone once, but both scores – first a Kohala 13-yard touchdown pass from Kona Ledward-Mongkeya to Legend Libron, followed by a HPA one-yard touchdown run by Jakob Honda – were possible in part due to short fields.
As the tight contest wore on, tempers nearly boiled over after halftime. After a 50-yard scoring strike from Tre Walker to Luke Hendricks gave HPA their first lead of the day with eight minutes to play in the third, a handful of Ka Makani penalties put Kohala in prime position to tie the game back up.
The Cowboys did just that, with Ledward-Mongkeya finding Onipaa Tavares-Matsuda for a 25-yard scoring strike on the ensuing possession. With the score 14-14 heading into the fourth quarter, Ka Makani finally calmed down, putting Kohala away to keep their undefeated record intact.
“(HPA head coach) Kaluka (Maiava) always tells us to play with class, win with class,” Samura said. “We don’t want to damage that saying he has; we want to respect it.”
“It’s just reminding them of the big picture: we’re here to win,” Maiava said. “We’re not in a talking battle; we’re not going to lose sight of what we’re really here for.”
With their latest win, HPA (4-0) has set up a potential showdown with Kamehameha. The Warriors still have one more hurdle to clear before the Nov. 27 contest at HPA, but if Kamehameha can take care of business against Kohala (1-3) on Nov. 20, both squads would sport undefeated records in BIIF D-II.
Ka Makani will have a bye next week, but after two years of waiting for their shot against the reigning BIIF D-II champs, they’re ready to finally get a rematch.
“I’m so stoked,” Samura said. “A lot of things have been brewing within this squad, a lot of drive, a lot of passion. It’s going to be a dogfight, I’ll tell you that.”
“We’ve got it at home, senior night for our guys, extra cheese on the table to make it more exciting,” Maiava said. “Kamehameha: get ready. Because we’re coming.”
Hawaii Prep 0 7 7 10 – 24
Kohala 0 7 7 0 – 14
Second quarter
Kohala – Ledward-Mongkeya 13-yard pass to Libron (Preston kick)
Hawaii Prep – Honda one-yard run (Hunt kick)
Third quarter
Hawaii Prep – Walker 50-yard pass to Hendricks (Hunt kick)
Kohala – Ledward-Mongkeya 25-yard pass to Tavares-Matsuda (Preston kick)
Fourth quarter
Hawaii Prep – Hunt 27-yard field goal
Hawaii Prep – Samura one-yard run (Hunt kick)