LIHUE — Koloa Redskins Junior Peewee Sean Mullikin set the stage for the game against Wailuku, Maui, Sunday during the Harold Naumu Bowl at Vidinha Stadium. Mullikin took the first play from scrimmage and skirted the sidelines for 50 yards
LIHUE — Koloa Redskins Junior Peewee Sean Mullikin set the stage for the game against Wailuku, Maui, Sunday during the Harold Naumu Bowl at Vidinha Stadium.
Mullikin took the first play from scrimmage and skirted the sidelines for 50 yards and a touchdown over the visiting team.
Wailuku put up a valiant fight, including a spectacular fumble recovery by Kiesen-Leo Mercado and explosive kick returns by Danelle Daniels, but could not get past the Kauai Pop Warner Football League co-champions.
“We’ve had some really good games from the visiting teams,” said Lenny Rapozo, a football official.
“Saturday, during the Junior Midget Kaneohe Knights match against the Hanapepe Colts, Kaneohe, who never passed once in the game, threw a screen pass on the last play of the game to win,” he said. “That was a great game.”
The Harold Naumu Bowl, named after one of the founders of Pop Warner on Kauai, brings the Kauai Pop Warner Football League’s season to a close. They played eight games but did not keep track of the scores.
“We’ve been blessed with five teams visiting,” said Teddy Arroyo, the KPWFL commissioner. “We won’t be having any teams traveling to play football, this year. The only teams traveling will be the KPWFL cheer squads who will be competing at the Pop Warner National Cheer and Dance Competition in Orlando, Florida.”
Laureen Naumu-Balocan, related to the bowl’s namesake, said it was very nice to have so many off-island teams visiting Kauai to play football over the weekend.
“This is so exciting for the players and their families,” Naumu-Balocan said. “You can see that in their faces — traveling to a neighbor island to play football. This is so special.”
Naumu-Balocan said on behalf of the Naumu family, she provided commemorative plaques and a commemorative team photo for the participants.
“Those players in the Shrine Game are so special,” she said. “They spend a lot of time in the background, but during these East-West Shrine games, they’re in the limelight.”
The was a fundraiser for the Kauai Shriners Club and the Shriners Hospital.
