HANAPEPE – As if there was any doubt, Waimea figures to be a major player on the state level this year. In fact, if the Menehunes again win the KIF, the squad may be more of a player than Oahu
HANAPEPE – As if there was any doubt, Waimea figures to be a major player
on the state level this year.
In fact, if the Menehunes again win the KIF,
the squad may be more of a player than Oahu schools would like.
Waimea
(2-0) pitched its third shutout of the season Friday night, blanking Kaua’i
29-0 in front of nearly 1,000 fans at Hanapepe Stadium. The Menehunes shut out
Kapa’a two weeks ago and Konawaena in the preseason.
Not only did the
Menehunes, led by all-state candidate Brandon Perreira, hold the Red Raiders
scoreless, but, for the bulk of the contest, Waimea held its opponent
offensiveless.
Kaua’i (0-2) managed to gain just 88 total yards, the bulk
of which came in the final minutes of the game, when the Menehunes’ substitutes
took the field.
But the Red Raiders managed to put up a fight of their own
defensively. Kaua’i held Waimea to 142 yards in the first half, but 53 of those
came on a single pass play. Menehunes quarterback Nikko Naumu (3-9, 85 yards)
found senior Chaz Barba for Waimea’s second TD of the evening.
But Kaua’i
managed to force five first-half Menehunes’ punts, and limited Waimea to 13
points before intermission.
The second half, however, was a different
story. Waimea’s Ikaika Cabral gained 94 of his 104 yards after the break, as
the Menehunes returned to a style familiar to fans – smash mouth.
Waimea
took to the ground for its first touchdown, a six-yard push from Cabral in the
first quarter. The pass from Naumu to Barba followed just two minutes
later.
The Menehunes turned on the hard-nosed football early in the second
half. Waimea took the ball 68 yards on eight plays, as Chesley Barba (9
carries, 47 yards) punctuated the drive with a 16-yard dance into the end zone.
The Menehunes picked up a safety in the final quarter, and their scoring
ended when Cabral stuffed the ball in from two yards out late in the
fourth.
Waimea registered no fewer than five sacks of Kaua’i quarterback
Kamo’i Refamonte. But the Red Raiders’ QB (10-20, 46 yards, one interception),
did show enough quickness to evade even more sacks, as the Menehunes were in
his face on nearly every play.
Jameson Smith led Kaua’i with 32 yards
rushing on 13 carries. Waimea’s Josh May also ran 13 times, picking up 69
yards.
By DENNIS FUJIMOTO, Staff
