LIHU‘E — With nine seconds left, the score tied at 14 and the Kapa‘a Warriors sitting on the Waimea Menehune 10-yard line, Kapa‘a’s junior varsity kicker Jonathan Paleka came out to the field with a championship on the line. Called
LIHU‘E — With nine seconds left, the score tied at 14 and the Kapa‘a Warriors sitting on the Waimea Menehune 10-yard line, Kapa‘a’s junior varsity kicker Jonathan Paleka came out to the field with a championship on the line. Called up to the varsity for the biggest game in his life, Paleka waited out an “icing” attempt by Waimea before putting his right foot to the ball.
It wobbled and danced. It took a step backward for every two forward. But when the ball finally lost all momentum and arched back down to earth, it didn’t matter how it got there. It had hung in the air just long enough to vanquish 22 years of heartache.
Paleka’s 27-yard connection in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter propelled the Warriors to a 17-14 win over the Waimea Menehune Monday night at Vidinha Stadium, giving the Warriors their first league championship since 1989.
“I’m so overwhelmed right now,” Paleka said after being carried off the field by his teammates. “All I could think was ‘Just make it. Just make it. Just make it.”
Paleka seemed to be the only person at Vidinha Stadium who didn’t hold his breath while the ball was in flight. Before clearing the uprights, Paleka turned his back and threw both hands into the air.
“I didn’t watch. I turned around and started screaming,” he said.
Paleka’s winner capped the perfect ending to the best game in a season many have called one of the best ever.
The Warriors route to the championship wasn’t the most conventional. They had a game in September postponed for a month due to darkness. They faced a must win against the Menehune two-weeks ago and came out with a 27-17 win. They beat the Kaua‘i Red Raiders a week ago to take control of their own destiny, but failed in the continuation of that September game, falling to the Red Raiders in a one-quarter showdown Nov. 1 that could have won them the title outright.
When things seemed to be normal for once, the KIF title game — originally scheduled for Saturday — was delayed until Monday due to weather.
Then it took the leg of a sophomore kicker to send the Warrior crowd into a frenzy.
“This game illustrates the whole season,” Kapa‘a head coach Keli‘i Morgado said. “It shows how tough it was in the KIF this season — regardless of the records. I have the utmost respect for (Waimea head coach Keali‘i Aguiar) and his players. They played like men tonight. It took every second to win this game. Every second of those 48 minutes.”
Waimea, a team that Aguiar has said in the past “is happy with 3 yards and a cloud of dirt,” took to the air 18 times. Emayo completed 14 of those attempts for 168 yards. He was particularly lethal when targeting Kyle Flemming. Flemming finished the game with 4 catches for 76 yards.
Emayo was effective on the ground as well. His 2-yard quarterback keeper touchdown, his second TD run of the game, followed by a fake extra point attempt bootleg two-point conversion gave the Menehune a 14-7 lead with 3:45 to play in the third quarter.
But it was Emayo’s last throw that turned the fortunes of the game.
The Warriors had evened the score at 14 when John Das scampered 10 yards for a touchdown with 8:34 left in the game. The Warriors regained possession but the Menehune took control when Jonathan Tangalin intercepted Das with 5:32 left to play. Three snaps later an Emayo pass was deflected and fell into the waiting hands of Kapa‘a cornerback Keane Agoot.
“I was just playing my coverage and I was there in perfect position,” Agoot said. “It was really big. I have no words.”
The Warriors proceeded to rely on their workhorse, Syndreck D’Sio, to get within field goal position.
D’Sio haunted the Waimea frontline all afternoon. The big, bruising back banged his way to a season high 188 yards on the ground. D’Sio was rarely brought down on a first attempt and barged his way to a tune of 10.4 yards-per-carry. He played the last drive on a hurt right leg after he was brought down following a 51-yard rush on Kapa‘a’s previous possession.
“D’Sio brought it tonight. He refused to go down,” Morgado said. “He kept fighting for those extra yards and our offensive line dominated today.”
In a game decided in the final seconds, in a season that came down to the last game, one team has to come out the winner and the other the loser. The Waimea Menehune failed to win Monday’s game, but the packed Menehune side of Vidinha Stadium certainly didn’t witness a game that was lost.
Waimea and its 27-man roster came from nowhere to make it to Monday’s title game. For the last several seasons, the Menehune looked up from the basement as its Eastside counterparts basked in the glory. This season the Menehune jumped out of the gates and finished 4-2 in the regular season, good for a first place tie.
“Twenty-seven guys have been the heart and soul of this team all season long,” Aguiar said. “We came up nine seconds and 3 points short with 27 guys. I can’t say anything more about my guys and their character. I love them.”
For Kapa‘a, the celebration 22 years in the making will have to be put on pause, as the Warriors must gear up to play yet again on Saturday. When Kapa‘a takes the field in the first round of the state playoffs against Pearl City, it will mark the fourth time the team has taken the gridiron since Oct. 29.
“The whole season has been crazy but we find a way to come back and get to work,” Morgado said. “Our guys have never been to the playoffs and we got to get back to work. We got another game to play.”
