LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i High School has a chance to clinch a seventh consecutive Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation championship with a victory in tonight’s matchup with Kapa‘a High School at Vidinha Stadium. The Red Raiders, 4-0 in the KIF and 7-0 on
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i High School has a chance to clinch a seventh consecutive Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation championship with a victory in tonight’s matchup with Kapa‘a High School at Vidinha Stadium.
The Red Raiders, 4-0 in the KIF and 7-0 on the season, can eliminate Kapa‘a (2-2) from contention by beating the Warriors for the third time this season.
Beating a team three straight times is never an easy task in football and those who have seen the previous two encounters know that the final scores of those games were not indicative of their true competitive nature.
In the teams’ first meeting, the game was scoreless until midway through the third quarter, when Kaua‘i decided to avoid Kapa‘a’s strong defensive front and go to the air. A 61-yard touchdown bomb from quarterback Trey Shimabukuro to receiver Shea Shimabukuro opened the scoring.
Kapa‘a had chances to force turnovers and stay in the game, but a few bad bounces cost them and when Kaua‘i running back Paleku Yasay broke loose for a 77-yard scamper to paydirt late in the fourth, any chance for a comeback basically evaporated.
The second game played out similarly, with Kaua‘i holding a slim seven-point lead in the fourth quarter, before Kapa‘a’s turnover troubles led to 17 more Raider points and a seemingly lopsided outcome. But the Warriors were able to get in scoring range on different occasions and had Kaua‘i struggling offensively for most of the game.
Tonight we may be in store for another tight battle, with Kapa‘a coming off of its best performance of the season in a 26-6 win over Waimea. Quarterback Brehdan Kamibayashi looked the sharpest he has in 2009 and showed confidence in a number of different Warrior receivers.
Running back Darren Taylor was the offensive star, putting Kapa‘a’s offense on his back and taking over the first half, running for 148 yards and a score in the opening two quarters. He got a well-deserved rest for much of the second half and should be ready to go back at it tonight.
Kaua‘i’s defense has seemed to exhibit a “bend but don’t break” mentality for much of the KIF season. It is susceptible to an up-the-middle running game and struggles to defend receivers in a mid-range passing attack.
Yet once they get backed up into their own defensive half, they begin to get more aggressive and create opportunities. Many of their forced turnovers have come when the opponent is approaching the red zone.
If the Warriors hope to keep their KIF chances alive and become the first team to walk away with a win over the Raiders this season, they will have to avoid the turnovers that have plagued them in the previous two meetings. That has been the factor most responsible for the margins in the final scores.
With a win tonight, the Warriors can remain in the hunt for a KIF championship, though they will need a number of events to go in their favor.
The Raiders, with a win, can move to 5-0 and clinch their spot in the HHSAA state tournament next month.
The action will start at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Vidinha Stadium.
Ways for Kaua‘i to clinch 2009 KIF championship:
• Kaua‘i win over Kapa‘a tonight
OR
•Kaua‘i win over Waimea on Oct. 30
OR
• Waimea win over Kapa‘a on Nov. 6
