The fall season is close to concluding, but a successful Kauai Interscholastic Federation season also means an elongated one.
All season, the Kapaa Warriors’ team remained the top on-island team, which earned them a two-seed in the postseason.
Securing one of the top seeds allowed the Warriors to host a Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II football playoffs against third-seeded Kaimuki Saturday, November 23, at 2 p.m. at Vidinha Stadium.
The Warriors, who captured the conference crown with 31-19 victory over Waimea High School Oct. 19, haven’t played in a real-time game situation since their Oct. 23 game against Kauai High School.
Warriors’ coach Philip Rapozo is looking at the time off as a luxury, not a hindrance, and he told the Garden Island newspaper in a recent phone interview.
“That is a luxury in the playoffs, and at the same time, to have a home game,” Rapozo said. “We need to do good, and I think that is the difference between the second and third seed, and we still just have to keep entering with the mindset to play this game.”
During the regular season, the Warriors defeated off-island school Kamehameha Schools Kapālama High School 47-0 and now will face Kaimuki.
The Bulldogs are entering the contest with Kapaa seeking their seventh consecutive victory, and they like to throw the football, and the statistics prove it.
Koby Moananu has scored 19 touchdowns in the 55 receptions he has for the season accumulating 1,068 yards and catching 19.4 yards per reception.
Their quarterback Jayden Maiava has large passing numbers. Maiava threw for 3013 yards, with 36 touchdown passes and only six interceptions.
Playing teams with top-shelf personnel is a reason Rapozo got his younger players ready in case they had to play, a luxury the Warriors had with clinching the KIF quickly.
Rapozo said he also didn’t want to expose too much on game-film, as they continue to prepare for their upcoming opponent in the state playoffs.
The Warriors continue to prepare for the unexpected.
“We don’t want to show our cards, and we keep working on executing our bread and butter plays, and on working on plays, we think can help take us to the state championship,” Rapozo said. “We have plays we’ve been working on, but may never use it.”
