Raiders stay grounded in 33-14 win

HANAPEPE — From the “Run & Shoot” to the “Run & Run some more.”

The Kaua‘i Red Raiders (3-1) showcased a new offense and had it rolling along with precision as they came away with a 33-14 win over the Waimea Menehune (0-4), Saturday afternoon at Hanapepe Stadium.

Without completing a single pass in the game, Kaua‘i called just one pass play and 49 running plays out of the “wishbone” formation, utilizing three running backs in the backfield. The result was 246 yards on the ground, most of it coming in the first half as the Raiders built a 24-0 lead.

“I never thought I’d see the day when we’d just run the ball all game long,” Kaua‘i head coach Derek Borrero said after the game. “But it came to a point where we figured that’s what we’re going to have to be. We’re not a very good passing team and we’ve got a lot of running backs. When we introduced the wishbone offense to the players last week, they got excited… Man, I’m glad this was the result.”

The win was made sweeter in that it was accomplished without the injured Kele Hanohano, Travis Koga and Daylin Huni.

The Raiders displayed their new look from the get-go, taking the game’s first drive 67 yards on 16 plays for a 7-0 lead. Jake Leake finished the drive with a touchdown plunge on 3rd and Goal from the 2-yard line. Leake carried nine times on the drive for 44 yards.

The senior ended the game with 19 carries for 92 yards.

Darren Acoba, a converted wide receiver, ran hard out of the wishbone on his way to 118 yards and two touchdowns on just eight carries.

His biggest run was a 67-yard touchdown scamper late in the second quarter. On a 2nd and 8, Acoba ran behind the right side of his offensive line, made his way past the second line of defense and outran the Waimea secondary down the right sideline to give the Raiders a 24-0 lead with just 1:15 to play before halftime.

“He’s an incredible athlete, he’s got so much speed,” Borrero said. “We tried to put him in the offense as a receiver, he just didn’t have enough time to understand exactly how the shoot works. But we know as long as we give him the ball, he can do some stuff. So we figured instead of throwing it to him, we’ll just hand it off.”

Acoba’s second touchdown was a three-yard run in the third quarter on a 4th and Goal call. He strung the play out wide to the left side and managed to get in untouched, giving Kaua‘i a 33-0 lead.

Austin Motooka gave the Raiders eight carries for 19 yards, while Keoki Pantorilla had five carries for 16 yards.

“This has to be our identity,” Borrero said. “We tried and tried and tried to throw the ball and we had a difficult time. Who knows? We might try a few things, have Shea (Shimabukuro) roll out, but we’re going to try to perfect this.”

Quarterback Shimabukuro attempted just one pass, an incompletion. He seemed comfortable with the new offense and had just one miscue, a fumble on a 3rd and Goal at the 1-yard line, which he recovered. Acoba scored on the next play.

Field position was a major force in the outcome, as Kaua‘i was always in Waimea’s half of the field, while the Menehune seemed to be backed up to start every drive.

The Raiders’ average field position on the day had them starting their drives at the Menehune 47-yard line.

The Menehune’s average start was at their own 18. They never began a drive beyond their own 24.

Kaua‘i’s second touchdown was a result of great field position, as Waimea attempted to catch the Raiders off-guard with a quick kick punt on 3rd and 10 at their own 20. The attempt was blocked and covered up by Kaua‘i at the 19-yard line.

Two eight-yard runs by Leake set up a 1st and Goal at the 2, which was taken in by Austin Oshiro for the score and a 14-0 lead with 10:27 to play in the second quarter.

Oshiro had just two carries for seven yards and the score.

Just minutes later, another Waimea miscue led to more points when Arjay Honorato jumped on an Alika Emayo fumble at the Waimea 40.

Waimea fumbled four times in the game, two resulting in turnovers and one in a safety. Kaua‘i did not turn the ball over in the contest.

“We’ve seen more of that in the league this year,” Borrero said about defenders going for the strip on the ball carrier. “I think Coach (Keli‘i) Morgado, Coach (Keali‘i) Aguiar, Coach (Mike) Tresler have stressed this a lot and that has been a problem for us. They have been stripping the ball from us and the turnovers were horrendous. Today we had two penalties and one fumble that we recovered, instead of five turnovers that usually is the cause of us stalling our drives.”

An eight-play drive ended in three points when Shimabukuro connected on a 24-yard field goal for a 17-0 lead with 3:38 to play in the half.

Waimea’s ensuing drive produced the game’s first completed pass when Jae Delos Reyes hit Devan Banasihan-Kenney for a six-yard gain with 2:29 remaining in the second quarter, though the catch was short of a first down and produced a three and out.

The Menehune came to life in the fourth quarter as Delos Reyes flashed his ability as both a passer and runner.

Facing a 3rd and 11 from his own 19, Delos Reyes hit tight end Kyle Fleming with a 22-yard pass. That was followed by a 37-yard completion to Clifton Callejo down the seam. A short pass to James Dupree was followed by a 16-yard touchdown strike to Fleming for Waimea’s first points of the day.

Fleming again was the target on a converted two-point attempt to make it 33-8 with 5:40 to play in the game.

After forcing a three and out, Waimea put together a seven-play, 86-yard drive to get into the end zone again. Delos Reyes ran for 57 yards on the drive, including a 36-yard run in which he broke three tackles in the backfield and burst through the line for the big gainer.

Emayo scored on the next play, taking it in from 12 yards out and getting inside the right pylon, creating the final math at 33-14.

Emayo ran 21 times for 90 yards and the score.

Delos Reyes was 8 for 11 passing for 110 yards and one touchdown. He ran for 62 yards.

Kaua‘i will now square off with Kapa‘a (3-1) on Saturday at New Kapa‘a Town Park with first place in the KIF on the line.

Borrero said his team will be working to refine the offense this week in preparation and he is confident the Raiders will get a couple players back on the field.

“First of all, we’ve got to get better in the wishbone, because there are different things we can do to make it better,” he said. “We’ve got to be stout on defense and we’re going to get a couple guys back next week. Koga — I’m glad we were able to get by this game without him. We’ll probably be getting back our defensive tackle, Daylin Huni.

“It’s going to be a great game,” he said. “Everybody should be there.”