LIHUE — Takazee Thomas ran for two touchdowns and pulled in a pass from quarterback Chase Kawakami to lead the Lihue Raiders, Mighty Mites division, to a 24-14 edge over the Kapaa Eagles, Saturday during the series of Kauai Pop Warner Football League games at Vidinha Stadium.
Thomas led the Raiders’ efforts with touchdown runs of 19 yards and four yards, and pulled in a 50-yard pass from Kawakami for the three Lihue touchdowns. Kawakami followed his scoring pass with a 53-yard touchdown run in the second half.
Kapaa Eagle’s Kaiten Mundon found the end zone at the end of 51-yard run to knot the contest, 6-6 in the first half. Facing a 24-6 deficit, the Eagles closed the match when CJ Jenkins pulled in a Pa‘a Troche pass and outran a pair of Lihue defenders to the end zone. Axten DeRego ran in the point-after for the 24-14 final.
The Mighty Mite division match was the only one in the six games that filled the Saturday calendar at Vidinha Stadium, starting with a Flag Football matchup where the Lihue Raiders gained a 12-6 edge over the Hanapepe Colts in the 7:30 a.m. opener.
Xailer Nihea-Kamaka, and Ikaika Miyashiro of the Kekaha Titans, Junior Pee Wee division team, notched two touchdowns apiece to lead the Kekaha JPW team to a 31-6 win over the Lihue Raiders.
Nihea-Kamaka, who scored both his touchdowns in the first half, got help from Ikaika Miyashiro who broke out for a 48-yard score, and Pehana Durant bulling for four yards in the first half. Nihea-Kamaka found the end zone on runs of 33 yards, and three yards as well as adding a point-after.
Lihue Raiders JPW Aukai Arruda found the end zone at the end of a 13-yard run to keep the Raiders from being shut out.
The Hanapepe Colts JPW’s TJ Ceria plucked a Kapaa Eagles pass in the first half, and ran the pigskin back 96 yards for a touchdown. Edward Dela Cruz, finishing the day with a pair of point-after boots, upped the scoreboard to an 8-0 bulge at the break.
Iziah Henderson hit paydirt on an eight-yard run in the second half for the 16-0 final.
The Kekaha Titans opened the afternoon series when its Flag Football team emerged a 26-6 winner over the Kapaa Eagles before the Mighty Mite contest.
During the day’s finale, Nash Burkhart scored three touchdowns and passed for two successful point-afters to lead the Kapaa Eagles to a 32-0 win over the Koloa Rams in a JPW division matchup.
Bubba Simmons, the recipient of one of Burkhart’s PAT passes, scored a four-yard charge in the first half.
Burkhart put the Eagles on the board behind touchdowns of 23 yards, three yards, and a 16-yard run. He also passed to Sami Kauvaka for one of the PATs.
The Kauai Pop Warner Football League next moves the games back to the Hanapepe Stadium, Saturday starting at 7:30 a.m.
