LIHUE — The Warriors totaled more than 300 yards rushing en route to getting their second win of the preseason. Kapaa High School’s varsity football team defeated Konawaena of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, 33-13, in a non-league game Friday
LIHUE — The Warriors totaled more than 300 yards rushing en route to getting their second win of the preseason.
Kapaa High School’s varsity football team defeated Konawaena of the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, 33-13, in a non-league game Friday night at Vidinha Stadium.
“I think we played pretty good. Again, shot ourselves sometimes in the foot, yeah? But it’s early,” said Kapaa head coach Philip Rapozo. “We’re a very young team this year, so that’s to be expected. The great thing about is we can only get better. We just got to take care of ourselves and stop making that mistakes in the red zone and capitalize more when we get in the red zone.”
Warriors running backs — junior Ryno Banasihan and senior Kalena Harder — combined for 336 yards rushing and and scored all of Kapaa’s four touchdowns.
Banasihan ran for 227 yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries. Harder totaled 109 yards, two touchdowns and two fumbles on 10 carries.
Banasihan also had four receptions for 32 yards.
“We kind of struggled in the first. But once we got our flow, we just kept going and going,” Banasihan said.
Kapaa (2-0) opened the scoring with a pair of field goals by junior place kicker Chyson Lagunes- Rapozo. The first was from 43 yards out in the opening quarter. He booted his second from 23 yards out in the second quarter.
“When you play somebody like Konawaena, you got to keep their offense off the field because they’re so explosive,” Rapozo said. “The game plan coming in was to keep the ball on the ground and try to run the game down, and keep their offense off the field. I think we had a really good game plan, and we stuck to it. We played well on the ground tonight.”
Down 13 points, Konawaena (0-1) cut into the deficit in the third quarter. The Wildcats got their first touchdown off a 6-yard pass from senior quarterback Austin Ewing to senior receiver Jeriah Cacal.
After Kapaa scored three touchdowns to further widen its lead in the fourth quarter, Konawaena scored once more off a 1-yard run by junior running back Dominic Delacruz.
“Kapaa was definitely a formidable opponent. There’s a reason they’ve been to two state title appearances the past two seasons,” said Konawaena head coach Brad Uemoto. “Coach Philip and his staff, they do a tremendous job. Definitely impressed with what they did upfront, and they got some kids that run the ball hard.
“They just got a bunch of good athletes out there. Tough assignment football this early in the season,” he continued. “I think offensively, we still got to get some things going. We’re trying to figure out really what our identity is, and we’re trying to fill a lot of holes that left us last season. But no excuses. We faced a really good football team this early in the season.”
Konawaena will host Saint Francis School of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu on 7 p.m. Saturday to conclude its preseason.
Saint Francis defeated Kauai High (1-1) on Oahu in a preseason game Saturday, 42-0.
“Another really tough team. Both Division I opponents as it turned out to be,” Uemoto said. “We’re up for the challenge, you know? They’re physical. I think they put a beatdown on Kauai tonight, but we got them at home. We got a week to prepare, learn and look at film from this game.”
In other action on the island Saturday, Waimea High School’s varsity squad (1-0) opened its season with a 49-21 win over the ILH’s Pac-Five at Hanapepe Stadium.
The Kauai Interscholastic Federation regular season begins Aug. 25 when Waimea hosts Kauai High at Hanapepe Stadium. The junior varsity game will begin 5 p.m. and the varsity will follow.
Kapaa makes its regular season debut on Sept. 1 against Waimea at Vidinha Stadium.
“I’m excited about the KIF season. I think it’s going to be a bang-out season,” Rapozo said. “All three teams are good. I think (Kauai head coach Derek Borrero and Waimea head coach Jason Caldeira) have their teams where they need them. It usually takes about three years to build a program. I think they’re at that point where both of them feel good, and the kids are buying in. … We’re not looking at preseason scores, what we did and what they did. We’re just looking at all the work we got to do.”
SCORING SUMMARY
1st quarter
08:55 KAPAA Chyson Lagunes- Rapozo 43-yard field goal, 3-0 Kapaa
2nd quarter
10:57 KAPAA Chyson Lagunes- Rapozo 23-yard field goal, 6-0 Kapaa
04:26 KAPAA Kalena Harder 14-yard run, Chyson Lagunes-Rapozo PAT good, 13-0 Kapaa
3rd quarter
06:40 KONAWAENA Jeriah Cacal 6-yard reception from Austin Ewing, Harry Hill PAT good, 13-7 Kapaa
4th quarter
09:58 KAPAA Ryno Banasihan 2-yard run, 2-point conversion failed, 19-7 Kapaa
04:53 KAPAA Kalena Harder 43-yard run, Chyson Lagunes-Rapozo PAT good, 26-7 Kapaa
02:42 KAPAA Ryno Banasihan 59-yard run, Chyson Lagunes-Rapozo PAT good, 33-7 Kapaa
00:54 KONAWAENA Dominic Delacruz 1-yard run, Harry Hill PAT no good (Seth Wabinga block), 33-13 Kapaa
STAT LEADERS
Kapaa
Passing: Kahanu Davis, 11-21, 144 yards, 2 interceptions
Rushing: Ryno Banasihan, 35 carries, 227 yards, 2 touchdowns
Receiving: Jai Alapai, 1 reception, 55 yards
Defense: Kesomi Fonua, 8 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble
Konawaena
Passing: Austin Ewing, 17-41, 269 yards, 1 touchdown
Rushing: Dominic Delacruz, 8 carries, 38 yards, 1 touchdown
Receiving: Kaanoi Rivera-Kelekolio, 6 receptions, 92 yards
Defense: Cyrus Jumalon, 9 tackles
