LIHU‘E — The Kapa‘a Junior Varsity football team marked three scores in the final period to break a 6-6 halftime stalemate and take a 23-6 win on Saturday at Vidinha Stadium. The victory gave the Warriors a 5-1 season while
LIHU‘E — The Kapa‘a Junior Varsity football team marked three scores in the final period to break a 6-6 halftime stalemate and take a 23-6 win on Saturday at Vidinha Stadium.
The victory gave the Warriors a 5-1 season while the Red Raiders finished 2-3-1.
Kapa‘a lost little time trying to light the scoreboards with quarterback Fresno Masaniai finding Turtle Kuhaulua in the end zone on a 49-yard pass in the opening quarter.
But a holding penalty called the ball back, keeping the scoreboard lights dark while Kuhaulua, instead of celebrating a touchdown, was forced to punt.
The Warriors had another opportunity early in the second quarter when Brooks Bethel plucked a Kelson Andrade aerial, but again, the Warriors could not close the drive.
The Raiders lit up the boards at the 4:47 mark when Andrade found Kaiea Iwasaki for a 69-yard score, the point-after coming up empty for the early 6-0 lead.
With 1:18 remaining in the half, Warrior Leevi Bethel fumbled the ball inside the Kaua‘i 30-yard stripe. On the fly, the Warriors’ Kanai Thronas-Kaho‘onei scooped up the bouncing ball and cradled it into the end zone for the 6-6 tie at the half.
The defensive exchange continued until the opening of the final period when Masaniai, on a keeper play through traffic, tapped paydirt on a two-yard charge, Kuhaulua doing the point-after boot for the 13-6 go-ahead with 7:47 remaining in the contest.
On the ensuing Raider possession, Chaz Pacleb grabbed the first of his two game-total interceptions from Kanoa Iwasaki who replaced Andrade in the QB slot after Andrade was injured while forcing another Bethel turnover earlier in the quarter. But Pacleb was not through, grabbing another Kanoa airball and running the ball back 15 yards for a touchdown. Kuhaulua did the point-after boot for the 20-6 margin.
Still not satisfied, the Warriors struck again with 20 ticks remaining in the game as Kuhaulua capped a final Kapa‘a drive with a 30-yard field goal for the 23-6 final.
