LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Junior Bulldogs engineered two touchdowns and the Jr. Bulldog defense capitalized on two turnovers for a 24-7 win over the Kapolei Islanderz Sunday at Vidinha Stadium. Playing in the Elementary Division of the Kaua‘i Youth Football program,
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i Junior Bulldogs engineered two touchdowns and the Jr. Bulldog defense capitalized on two turnovers for a 24-7 win over the Kapolei Islanderz Sunday at Vidinha Stadium.
Playing in the Elementary Division of the Kaua‘i Youth Football program, the Jr. Bulldogs got a late start, giving the first quarter to the Islanderz who were able to gain at least a first down.
Kaua‘i got its first break early in the second period when Josiah Alvarez, one of the two tall defenders for the Jr. Bulldogs, leaned over and scooped up a Zelius Ma‘ae-Liupaono aerial and lumbered it back to the Kapolei 27-yard line with 8:50 showing in the half.
Numazawa, the Jr. Bulldog signal caller, lost little time getting the ball moving, peeling off 20 yards on a keeper play to the Islanderz’s 2-yard stripe.
Christian Dela Cruz found the end zone on a 3-yard score at the 6:57 mark, escaping with a 6-0 bulge at the half.
The Jr. Bulldog defense, doing a good job until the final five minutes, faltered as Kapolei, facing a fourth-and-long situation got a break when a Jr. Bulldog was called for an unsportsmanship penalty, giving Kapolei life with 5:10 remaining in the half.
The penalty fueled the Islanderz offense as Ikari Stokes peeled off a first down to the midfield and Jayvee Daquep added another six yards before penalties snagged the drive.
Stokes recovered a fumble on the Islanderz’s 48-yard line to restart the drive, which ended on the Kaua‘i 30-yard line when Chasen Smith pounced on a loose ball with 12 ticks left in the half.
Following more defensive testing in the third period, Kaua‘i drove to the Kapolei 39-yard line with 2:31 showing in the quarter before being caught on a block behind the back.
Numazawa overcame that setback, finding Smith on an aerial hit to the Kapolei 2-yard line, where another Numazawa hit to Cameron Dela Cruz yielded the second Kaua‘i score at the 1:09 mark.
After holding Kapolei on downs, the Bulldogs opened the fourth period with the third score when Numazawa completed a 33-yard aerial hit to Mareko Wolcott at the 5:56 mark.
But Kapolei answered when petite Peter Moses slipped right and found the sideline lane for a 65-yard score at the 5:11 mark, Stokes taking the ball in for the point-after and the 18-7 deficit.
The Bulldogs took the ensuing kickoff and chewed on the clock until losing possession at the 20-second mark at the Kapolei 19-yard line.
But confusion reigned in the Islanderz camp, and following a time-out, Jr. Bulldog Orlo Beardsley found the loose ball and ran it into the end zone with nine ticks remaining in the game for the 24-7 final.
Brad Hiranaka, president of Kaua‘i Youth Football, said Memorial Day weekend will be filled with football starting with the Waimea High School Blue-and-White game May 27 kicking off at 7 p.m. at Hanapepe Stadium.
KYF will host two games May 28 starting at 10 a.m. against the Kane‘ohe Spartans. The Jr. Bulldogs take the field at 10 a.m. followed by the Bulldogs going out noon.
Hiranaka said the day ends when Kaua‘i High School hosts its Red-and-White game starting at 7 p.m.
Visit www.kauaiyouthfootball.com for more information.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
