WAIMEA — After falling short in Week 1, Hawaii Prep Academy football wanted to make sure it played with a different intensity in its second matchup of the season against Honoka‘a on Saturday in Waimea.
Ka Makani accomplished that goal — winning 16-12 after a back-and-forth second half to avenge the Dragons’ 13-12 win from Aug. 18.
“We played with much more intensity (this time against Honoka‘a),” HPA head coach Lincoln Kalama said postgame. “We started slow, but I liked how we picked it up towards the end.”
HPA improved to 5-2 on the season, taking Honoka‘a’s No. 2 spot in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) standings. The Dragons fell to 4-3 and dropped to third overall.
Ka Makani leaned on its consistent run game to lead the offense once again, with running back Alaka‘i Aipia carrying the unit with 20 carries for 209 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, HPA’s impressive performance up front was led by Kela Livingston, who recorded 12 tackles.
The Dragons’ offense was starred by dual-threat quarterback Elijah Kaupu-Alip, who scored both of Honoka‘a’s touchdowns on the ground.
The first half was a relatively quiet one, as both teams exhausted their rushing attacks to combat the aggressive Waimea winds. Ka Makani was able to move the chains a bit more consistently, as kicker Kena Craven notched a 25-yard field goal to get itself on the board first in the beginning of the second quarter.
The Dragons attempted to convert on a goal-line fourth-down pass play in the ensuing drive, but HPA’s defense held steady and forced the turnover on downs.
“We had some guys step up today, and I’m really proud of them,” Kalama said of Ka Makani’s defensive performance. “They were a big part (of why we won).”
But Honoka‘a came into the second half with a different approach. Kaupu-Alip orchestrated the offense downfield by completing a multitude of passes in the teeth of HPA’s defense. Kaupu-Alip then elected to rush the ball into the end zone through a run-pass-option play inside the 10 — giving Honoka’a its first lead.
Ka Makani answered back in the next possession.
Thanks to big runs from Aipia and Livingston, HPA found itself right back in the red zone. Aipia then punched it through the middle for a 1-yard score to reclaim the lead.
However, HPA’s reclamation was short-lived, as Kaupu-Alip continued to make plays with his arm and legs in the next drive.
He ran the ball for himself again in the red zone for another Dragons’ touchdown to take a 12-10 lead late.
But Ka Makani was ready to respond one more time to claim the victory. Aipia’s 50-yard rush to start the drive put HPA in prime position to score. Inside the 10-yard line, Aipia then ran through the middle to score the game-winning touchdown with less than four minutes to go.
Honoka‘a tried to move the ball downfield in its final offensive possession, but it was met with Ka Makani’s clutch defense to run the rest of the clock out.
With just three games left in 2023, Kalama is pleased with his team’s progress since August, but firmly believes HPA can take another step upward by season’s end.
“We really want to be in contention,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”
Up next: Ka Makani will continue its homestand against Ka‘u at 3 p.m. Saturday in Waimea. The Dragons, who have lost two straight, will seek redemption against Kohala at 2 p.m. Saturday in Kapaau.