KAPA‘A — Kapa‘a kicked off the spring football slate with its Green and White scrimmage, Saturday night at the New Kapa‘a Town Park. The threatening skies gave way to a dry night for the Kapa‘a High School faithful as many
KAPA‘A — Kapa‘a kicked off the spring football slate with its Green and White scrimmage, Saturday night at the New Kapa‘a Town Park.
The threatening skies gave way to a dry night for the Kapa‘a High School faithful as many of the Warriors’ experienced veterans and new faces showed the fans a taste of what they might expect to see come August.
“We’re just trying to get a temperature check on the program,” said head coach Keli‘i Morgado following the game. “Our defense is what I expected, just a physically superior squad compared to the offensive line, which is very young. So they dominated early on, but we have some good skill position guys, good special teams. We have our work cut out for us.”
The team is graduating the majority of its offense, with four of the five offensive linemen, two tight ends, receivers and the starting quarterback all needing to be replaced with this new crop of talent.
“It showed that we are, more or less, rebuilding the offense,” Morgado said. “But the defense we just reloaded. The defense is stacked again. That’s always a good thing. It’s always a good thing to be able to defend the end zone, score one and hopefully win.”
Fittingly, it was the defense that provided the first score of the night. After a scoreless opening half, White Team defensive back Keoni Kinzie made a break on a sideline pass and jumped in front of the receiver for an interception, taking it all the way back for a touchdown.
The night’s second touchdown came off a long pass from quarterback John Das to receiver Kainalu Akiona, which spanned over 70 yards.
The third and final score of the evening came on the last play of the game, when quarterback Fresno Masaniai rolled right, then threw back towards the middle of the field, where he found Turtle Kuhaulua in the back of the end zone.
Other standout performances during the game included a good early punt return from Keane Agoot, then an outstanding late punt return for Daniel Alonzo. Alonzo sliced through traffic and found daylight, but paid the price at the end and took a big hit. He stayed down for a minute, but was up with a smile.
Harold Dias had an interception, which he hauled inside the five yard line to end a drive.
Running back Leevi Bethel showed good burst getting to the edge out of the backfield and also caught a well-executed screen pass for a nice gain.
Zavier Cummings bullied his way through a few arm tackles after grabbing a shovel pass in the first half.
Offensive lineman Aaron Salvador threw two great blocks on a screen pass, getting out into the second level and engaging a pair of would-be tacklers.
Morgado pointed out some of the players who will have to become the leaders of this team. Offensively, senior quarterback Das and junior quarterback Daniel Reis, as well as center Austyn Pagtolingan.
“He’s got to lead that very young offensive line,” Morgado said of Pagtolingan.
On the defensive side, he named both Una and Tumua Masaniai at defensive tackle, along with defensive end Treston Brede, three-year varsity player Kaulana Kaui.
“I expect a lot of leaders,” he said.
Morgado said he was encouraged that his offensive linemen, after being dominated in the first half, continued to play hard and improved in the second half. With that young unit as his biggest concern moving forward, he was pleased that it maintained its focus and got better throughout the game.
The next spring game will take place May 27 as the Waimea Menehune showcase their team in the Blue and White game at Hanapepe Stadium.
That will be followed by Kaua‘i High School the next night, May 28 at Vidinha Stadium.
