Fifth-seeded Kamehameha Schools-Hawai‘i football’s season ended Saturday night against No. 4 Roosevelt. The outing was low-scoring and a defensive battle, but the Rough Riders found life in the second half that the Warriors ultimately couldn’t counter.
“I felt that (both teams) were evenly-matched,” KSH coach Kealoha Wengler said postgame. “Our team performed with a lot of heart in this game. I like that we faced adversity well with great resilience.”
After a scoreless first half of great defense, Roosevelt’s Keawe Davis caught a two-yard touchdown throw from quarterback Ioane Kamanao in the third quarter. Once Journey DePeralta secured an 18-yard field goal later in the quarter, the Rough Riders led by 10.
KSH finally got on the board at the end of the third, when quarterback Adam Perry rushed from 13 yards out to secure the team’s last points of the season.
DePeralta kicked a 28-yard field goal to essentially ice the game in the fourth.
“I thought we did an awesome job stopping the run, but credit to Roosevelt for converting on those critical third-and-long situations,” Wengler added. “Offensively, we ran the ball decently against a very stingy defense, but fell short when we really needed it on fourth-and-short situations. Hat’s off to Roosevelt’s defense — they played very well.”
The Rough Riders were led by Kamanao, who completed 21 of his 30 passes for 211 yards, a touchdown in two picks. Teammate running back Shaeden Sexton rushed for 54 yards. Davis led the night in receiving yards with 86.
Backfield star Xander Hoopai led the Warriors offense with 68 rushing yards. Defensively, Kanoa Honda secured a pick while the line collected five sacks.
Roosevelt will next play No. 1 KS-Maui in the DII semifinals at 7 p.m. Saturday on Maui.
KSH finished 2024 at 11-2 overall, averaging 36.6 points per game and allowing 9.7. It was the Warriors third straight season with over 10 wins. They also secured a consecutive Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) Division II title.
While the Warriors season is now over, Wengler reflected positively on the season, adding that he was proud of the growth of his team’s leadership and work ethic on and off the field.
“This season, some of the strengths included the development of some promising future leaders for our lahui and our community. As an extension of our school mission, we did a great job infusing our Hawaiian language, knowledge and culture into everything we do — which was an added challenge for not just our athletes, but our non-Hawaian-speaking coaches. And in doing so, it contributed to the commitment and dedication to our program and identity.
“Although we did not get as far into the playoffs as we anticipated, we did achieve many of our team, character and leadership goals. I feel very privileged and honored to work with such a talented and committed coaching staff and team.”
Mules maul Lunas, will play Kona in semis
Thanks to Leilehua running back Cameron Keeve’s 256-yard, four-touchdown performance, the fifth-seeded Mules dominated No. 4 Lahainaluna in Saturday’s HHSAA Division I quarterfinals in Maui County by a score of 40-13.
Reeve got the Mules on the board first in the midway point of the opening quarter, rushing in for a 19-yard score. Once Lunas quarterback Jaeden-Ian Pascua rushed for an 82-yard score to open the second quarter, Reeve responded with two more rushing touchdowns before halftime to lead 20-7.
Leilehua continued to pile it on in the latter half, as quarterback Bennett Strobel connected with receiver Talon Tarpley for a seven-yard pass to score another Mules’ touchdown at the eight-minute mark of the third. Just over a minute later, Keeve rushed for his longest gain of the night — 71 yards — to secure his fourth and final touchdown.
Lahainaluna running back Ezekial Opunui opened the fourth quarter with a 15-yard touchdown run to nab the Lunas’ final points of the season. Mules running back Kyin Rivera-Galbraith rushed in a 51-yard score to end the game.
Collectively, Leilehua netted 509 yards of total offense to the Lunas’ 177 — including 330 yards of rushing. In the passing game, Strobel finished the night completing 17 of his 30 attempts for 179 yards and a touchdown. Tarpley was his top receiver of the outing, hauling in four catches for 60 yards and a score.
Pascua led Lahainaluna with 73 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Now winners of nine consecutive (10-3), the Mules will next have their toughest test yet in the state semifinals this weekend — slated to take on the Big Island’s best in No. 1 seed Konawaena at 7 p.m. Saturday at Julian R. Yates Field. The two teams last met in Sept. 2023, when the Wildcats won 28-19. See the paper this week for pregame and postgame coverage.
The Lunas end 2024 at 6-5, winning a Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) title over Baldwin earlier this month. They finished the season averaging 20.6 points per game while allowing 14.2.
Around the state:
• HHSAA DI Open semifinals: Kahuku 8, Mililani 6
• HHSAA DI Open semifinals: Saint Louis 27, Campbell 24
• HHSAA DI quarterfinals: Kapaa 38, Kailua 0
• HHSAA DII quarterfinals: Kaiser 30, PAC-5 0