Kapaa High football coach Phillip Rapozo doesn’t want his team to think about the state tournament until they can capture the Kauai Interscholastic Federation championship crown.
The Warriors (4-0, 5-1), are one victory away from capturing the KIF crown.
Standing in Kapaa’s way is Waimea High (2-2, 3-3), a team that needs to win the remainder of its games to stay in contention for postseason play when the two meet at 2:30 p.m. today at Vidinha Stadium.
Rapozo knows the game with Waimea is critical. Yet, he said, he, his team and his coaching staff will go about their business like it’s just another game.
That’s the philosophical approach that has worked for his team since Rapozo took over the Warriors’ program in 2014.
“I think I’ve been coaching the same way every year, and every game to us is a championship,” Rapozo said. “Our team has the big-game experience, and that is our motto since I took over. I think we are fine, and when we come into big games, we are mentally always going to be prepared, and know what we are going to have to execute and do our jobs.”
Double trouble
Warriors quarterback Kahuna Davis has led the way for the Warriors as their top dual-threat quarterback.
As a rusher, Davis has accumulated 326 yards and four touchdowns on 52 attempts. On the ground, he is averaging 6.3 yards per attempt.
Waimea High School football coach Jason Caldeira knows Davis’s athleticism, which his team has to be accountable for.
“I’ve always seen he is one of the better athletes, and it’s not a surprise to see him do so well in the KIF, and Kapaa is lucky to have him,” Caldeira said.
The Warriors have improved, and Davis’s improvement was cited as one of the main reasons by Rapozo.
“I think we got a lot better on the offensive side of the ball, and no doubt we need to clean up some of our penalties, but I think we did a lot better job against Kamehameha,” Rapozo said.
In their 54-0 victory over KS-Hawaii last Saturday, they continued to show signs of improvement, but Rapozo would like to see his team clean up even more.
“I think we did a better job, but we always have to get better on both sides of the ball. And we are trying to peak right now and, hopefully, this game will be the start of that,” Rapozo said.
Backs against the wall
Waimea High School is coming into this game with their proverbial backs against the wall.
Caldeira knows his team needs to win the remaining games on their schedule to have a chance to win the KIF crown and have a postseason run.
Coming off of a bye week, the Menehune are well-rested and relatively injury-free, Caldeira said.
“It was valuable mentally and spiritually,” Caldeira said.
“We are ready to finish the season and give it our best effort, and we are trying to play the best game we can, and whatever happens happens,” he said. “We will try our best and, hopefully, we can look back on the season to be proud.”
In the recent game against Kauai High, they had help from their defense when Barak Aviguetero intercepted a pass and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown. It turned the tide.
They also got some help from the offense with a young sophomore quarterback Maka Shigematsu continuing to improve. In their latest game against Kapaa, they showed it.
“Our team is starting to grasp the flow of the offense, and our quarterback is growing, and he is doing such an outstanding job at his position for such a young age,” Caldeira said.
He expressed confidence in his varsity signal-caller.
“He is a strong-willed person with a heavy heart, and he is helping our offense flow,” Caldeira said.
Shigematsu has had some help from running back Kawelo Huddy. During the game against the Red Raiders, he scored a critical touchdown on a screen pass in the third quarter to change the complexion of what was a tightly-contested game.
“We are with our kids every day, and we are watching them grow as football players and as young men” Caldeira said.
Supreme effort
To stay in contention for the KIF championship and beat Kapaa will take a supreme effort.
The rushing combination of Baba Na-o, who has accumulated 412 yards and two touchdowns, and Davis, have accounted for the bulk of the team’s yards.
“Kapaa has a strong running attack, an unbelievable athlete in Davis, a solid offensive line, and a good running back,” Caldeira said. “I admire the effort and cohesiveness on the field, and they are the defending champs, and are well-coached and trained. They have the confidence of being returning champs both mentally, physically, and we have to be there and stay mentally tough, and if we can do that, we will give ourselves better odds.”
The Warriors are coming off last Saturday’s shellacking of Kamehameha, a team they didn’t expect to defeat by such a large margin.
“They are leading the league on the Big Island,” Rapozo said. “It just goes to show you how tough our team is, and it’s a lot closer than people think. I guess it proved to us what we already knew, that our league is tough, and people outside know that there are three good football teams on this island, and that is a positive thing for KIF.”
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Jason Blasco,sports reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or jblasco@thegardenisland.com.
