PAHALA — Ka‘u HS’ football team turned the tables on Pahoa HS, defeating the Daggers 54-28 at home Saturday — thanks to a 32-point, two-turnover fourth quarter.
Pahoa defeated Ka‘u 26-6 during the pair’s season opening bout. Because Ka‘u beat the Daggers by 26 points on Saturday and are 2-0 against Kohala HS, the Trojans have taken away the No. 4 BIIF DII standing from Pahoa — and now stand atop the ranks of the isle’s former eight-man teams.
Saturday’s game was anyone’s until the fourth quarter, which stretched out to nearly an hour long. The Trojans’ home field advantage not only came from their crowd support, but also from being well-conditioned to the dry, Ka‘u heat — which gradually wore down on their rivals from the rainforest.
The game began with intensity, but without much movement on offense as both teams were stopped on their opening drives.
The first touchdown of the game came when Ka‘u’s Ocean Nihipali-Session took a handoff, ran to the outside and hit daylight — running 65 yards to the endzone.
After the kickoff, Pahoa was able to only briefly maintain possession as Joe Buyuan recovered a fumble. The Daggers’ defense forbade the Trojans from capitalizing — pushing them back to a fourth-and-30 inside their own 20-yard line to force a punt.
Pahoa’s offense moved into the Ka‘u redzone, but the Trojan defense made a big stop of their own. After the Daggers recovered their own fumble Buyuan and La‘a Kajiwara-Ke teamed up for a sack. After the quarter ended and the second began, an incomplete pass on fourth down turned the ball back over to Ka‘u.
The Trojans ran into trouble during their next drive. A sack by Kai Chavez set them back a ways, then — after Adahdiyah Ellis-Reyes scrambled far upfield — a holding call pushed them back further, and Ka‘u was faced with a fourth-and-15. The Trojans then converted in a big way, as Ellis-Reyes connected with TJ Kuahuia-Faafia for a 40-yard touchdown pass. Buyuan carried in the PAT for two points, giving Ka‘u a 14-0 lead.
Pahoa scrambled to catch up before halftime, and was successful in doing so. After the kickoff, William Duarte-Jose connected a 30-yard pass to Dwight Enriquez in the redzone. A couple of plays later, Enriquez carried in a seven-yard touchdown, then carried in the two-pointer — chopping the Daggers’ deficit down to 14-8.
Pahoa quickly got the ball back, as Kukui Ahin-Ganir recovered a fumble and carried it all the way to Ka‘u’s redzone. The Trojans held the Daggers to a fourth-and-goal, but the ever-elusive Enriquez slipped into the endzone on a short carry. The two-point failed, tying the score at 14-14 going into halftime.
At the start of the third quarter, the momentum seemed to be moving in Pahoa’s favor. Ka‘u’s kickoff return was fumbled, and the Daggers snatched it. After moving back into scoring position, Enriquez notched his third touchdown of the outing, carrying the ball 15 yards to the goal line. The two-point again failed, and Pahoa led 20-14.
The Trojans ate up the clock with a steady ground drive. Just outside the redzone, Ellis-Reyes scrambled and carried the ball 19 yards before he was brought down at the one-yard line. Nihipali-Session scored a touchdown on a halfback dive, then Ellis-Reyes ran to the outside for the two-pointer — which put Ka‘u back in the lead at 22-20.
However, Ka‘u had no room for relief as Enriquez struck again — scoring a 60-yard kickoff return touchdown. Pahoa’s two-pointer was good, putting them ahead 28-22.
The Daggers stopped the Trojans during their next drive, but were also unable to score after getting the ball back.
Just before the end of the quarter, a chaotic play turned the tide of the game. Pahoa’s Cash Cohen intercepted a pass and ran it back to the Trojan’s redzone — nearly getting a pick-six. But, amid a cloud of dust on the field’s baseball diamond section, the ball came loose and was recovered by Ka‘u.
The fourth quarter began with the Trojans backed up to their own goal line. Ellis-Reyes was forced to scramble, and narrowly avoided getting tackled for a safety before finding room to move upfield for a first down. Ka‘u then moved into the redzone — where Nihipali-Session scored a touchdown on a ten-yard carry, then ran in the two-pointer to put Ka‘u back in the lead at 30-28.
The Trojans attempted an onside kick, but it didn’t go far enough and gave Pahoa an advantageous field position. However, luck was on Ka‘u’s side as Jaestin Karasuda recovered a fumble. The Trojans capitalized, driving on the ground to scoring position before Karasuda carried in a touchdown. The two-point was good, extending Ka‘u to a two-score lead at 38-28 with four minutes left on the clock.
Ka‘u’s rampage began after Ellis-Reyes intercepted a pass. Shortly after, Ellis-Reyes and Kuahuia-Faafia connected for a 50-yard touchdown pass and Nihipali-Session carried in the two-point PAT.
The Trojans stopped Pahoa’s exhausted offense for a turnover on downs. Then — with less than two minutes remaining — Ellis-Reyes notched a 50-yard touchdown carry, then Karasuda rushed in the two-pointer.
Now 3-4 and riding a two-win streak, Ka‘u will face a solid test next week — playing away Saturday at Hawaii Prep, which defeated Honoka‘a HS 16-12 last weekend to take the No. 2 standing in BIIF DII. Ka Makani played against Pahoa two weeks ago and won 28-14.
The Daggers (2-5) were unable to go 2-0 against Ka‘u, but they still have ample opportunity to do some damage before the end of the season. Pahoa’s three remaining outings will all be in Puna, the first being 5 p.m. Friday at undefeated KS-Hawaii (8-0). After that, the Daggers will return to the Kea‘au HS football field to host Honoka‘a and then Kohala for their final home game.
