KAPA‘A — The Kapa‘a High School Warriors football team enjoyed an explosive second half on Saturday to wrap up a 63-7 victory over the Saint Louis II squad in a non-league preseason contest played at the Bryan J. Baptiste Sports Complex stadium.
The visiting team is one of three squads the Honolulu private school fields, and is not the one that traditionally vies for an Interscholastic League of Honolulu crown and state championship in the top tier.
Leading 14-7 with less than a minute remaining in the half, Warrior signal caller Kapono Na-O found Kamalei Gonsalves at the scoring end of a 23-yard pass.
Gonsalves, who earlier pulled in a 22-yard scoring aerial to break a 7-7 deadlock in the second quarter, kicked the point after touchdown (PAT) boot to give Kapa‘a a 21-7 advantage at the break.
The Warriors roared in the second half, scoring three touchdowns in the third quarter, and piled another three scores onto the board, including two scores that came following the initiation of the running clock in the fourth quarter.
Kapa‘a’s Steeler Burley set up the first second-half score by plucking a Crusader air ball and setting the stage for a Gonsalves score that came at the end of a 49-yard scamper to paydirt. Gonsalves also booted the PAT for the 28-7 arithmetic.
Na-O, scoring the first TD of the game on a 2-yard charge, found paydirt again in the third quarter after breaking out for a 49-yard scoring run that was graced by another Gonsalves PAT boot.
Kapa‘a marked its final third stanza score when Evan Daligdig pushed for three yards to paydirt, the TD being graced by Micah Rapozo booting the PAT that ended the frame with Kapa‘a holding a 41-7 lead.
With just 10 ticks peeled off in the final quarter, Daligdig found Kamalei Dasalia-Mundon at the end of a 2-yard scoring toss. Another Gonsalves PAT boot gave the Warriors a 48-7 lead, and triggered the running clock that was necessitated due to the St. Louis II flight back to Honolulu.
The running clock did not deter the Warriors, who continued to score two more touchdowns before the final horn, including a long punt return for a touchdown by Nash Burkart and a 10-yard plunge by Charles Lee with more than four minutes remaining on the field clock.
St. Louis’ sole score came early in the second quarter when signal caller Leysen Rodrigues passed to Xavier Brown for a 6-yard score.
The win over St. Louis II wraps up preseason play for the Warriors, who get to watch the remaining two games before hosting Kaua‘i High at the Bryan J. Baptiste Sports Complex stadium on Sept. 2 when the junior varsity game kicks off starting at 4 p.m. and the varsity contest starting 30 minutes following the completion of the JV encounter.
This Friday, Kaua‘i High School will host Damien High School in a single contest starting at 4 p.m. at Vidinha Stadium in Lihu‘e.
On Saturday, Waimea High School will host a team from Arizona, Buckeye Union, in a single contest starting at 6 p.m. at Hanapepe Stadium. This will be Waimea’s only preseason contest after its game against King Kekaulike High School from Maui was earlier canceled.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
