KA‘U — Heading into Week 3, Hawaii Preparatory Academy football had one goal in mind: continue to ride the momentum from last weekend’s win over Pahoa.
On Saturday afternoon against Ka‘u on the road, Ka Makani did just that. Led by strong defense forcing turnovers and the rushing attack stabilizing the offense, HPA (2-1 overall) handled the Trojans in a 23-8 win — never giving up the lead once.
“Overall, it was an O.K. game — not a great game (from us),” Ka Makani coach Lincoln Kalama said postgame. “There’s definitely some things we can still work on.”
Quarterback Hayden Kalama and running back Alaka‘i Aipia (78 yards) scored the three rushing touchdowns for HPA. The backfield tallied 134 rushing yards total, while the defense collectively forced three interceptions and a fumble.
HPA’s defense made itself present from the opening drive. While Ka‘u (1-2 overall) tried to establish the run game with quarterback Adahdiyah Ellis-Reyes and running back Ocean Nihipali-Sesson, Ka Makani’s ferocious defensive line forced the Trojans’ passer to consistently roll to his right and extend plays after the snap. This put Ka‘u in a position where it was forced to make a big play nearly every time it elected for a pass.
With Ka Makani’s front four routinely rushing the passer, the Trojans never established a consistent run game. Whenever Ka‘u marched into HPA’s territory, it was met with limited time to get the ball out — which led to an abundance of pass break ups by defensive backs Kena Craven and Kekai Haines.
Ka Makani’s defense has been a cornerstone for the team so far in the early season, allowing just 21 points through three games.
“(Our defense has) been tremendous,” Kalama said. “Those guys can consistently get to the quarterback by trying to push him out to make mistakes.
“We could’ve done a better job containing (Ellis-Reyes), but that’s hard with him being so athletic.”
Aipia — playing defensive back — picked off a shovel pass late in the first quarter to put HPA’s offense at midfield. This is where Ka Makani’s offense began to open up, with Aipia then quickly finding open gaps on the ground to move the chains. Hayden Kalama then snuck it in three yards to the end zone on fourth down for the first score of the game.
With HPA’s defensive dominance continuing, Ka Makani’s offense took the field again quickly, leading to more big runs from Aipia and running back Kela Livingston to put the unit deep in Trojan territory. Aipia then ran it in through the middle inside the 10-yard line for another score.
Ka‘u threatened to score near the end of the first half following two deep connections from Ellis-Reyes to receivers Tyson Junior Kuahuia-Faafia and Keaka McDonnell. But a big sack from lineman Kian Nikkhoo and strong secondary play helped HPA get the ball back, where Aipia was able to secure his second touchdown of the day following a series of strong runs from the backfield.
“They really studied film (this week),” Kalama said of the run game’s performance. “They prepared well for us.”
Ka‘u was able to hold Ka Makani to just one field goal in the second half, which occurred in the beginning of the third quarter.
The Trojans found some groove to their offense near the end of regulation, where Ellis-Reyes found Kuahuia-Faafia on a few chunk-play passes to get the offense downfield. Kuahuia-Faafia then caught Ka‘s’s lone touchdown of the game a few downs later.
Ellis-Reyes rushed the ball in on the next play to convert the 2-point attempt.
While the Trojans made a few more attempts at staying competitive with longer drives in the fourth quarter, HPA halted them of any more chances at scoring with two more interceptions — one grabbed by Craven at midfield and the other by Landon Wilson in the red zone to help seal the victory.
While the win feels satisfying for HPA, the page is being turned immediately to Kohala, who Ka Makani will play in its Week 4 matchup at 3 p.m. Saturday at home.
Although the important games are far off, Kalama wants good habits formed early so the team is ready for the big moments later in the season.
“We take it game by game,” he said. “We just need to refocus, fix some mistakes and hone in on what we need to get done.”
“We’re just gonna keep working, and take it one game at a time,” senior linebacker Michael House, who finished with six tackles, added.
Konawaena 28, Leilehua 19
No. 8 Konawaena traveled to Oahu on Saturday night to take on Leilehua, leaving Hugh Yoshida Stadium with a victory. The Wildcats are now 3-1 on the season.
Konawaena quarterback Keoki Alani completed 18 of his 34 passes for 234 yards, two passing touchdowns and a rushing score. Running back Keawe Navas Loa had 11 carries for 87 yards to go with a rushing touchdown. Receivers Ali‘imalu Tan and Abraham Ogata each caught a touchdown pass.
On the other side of the ball, Wildcats lineman Elias Malapit totaled four sacks and seven tackles for loss.
Konawaena will next host Keaau at 5 p.m. Saturday at Julian R. Yates Field.
Honokaa 40, Kohala 7
Kohala fell to Honokaa on Friday night on the road. The Cowboys fall to 0-3 on the season while the Dragons improve to 2-1.
Sophomore Tiras Perez scored Kohala’s lone touchdown, returning it for 79 yards off a kick.
The Cowboys will seek redemption against HPA at 3 p.m. Saturday on the road, while Honoka‘a will get ready for Pahoa at 6 p.m. Friday at home.