LIHU‘E — Having its offense stifled has not been a familiar feeling for Kaua‘i High School to this point in 2009, yet the Kapa‘a Warriors did just that for much of the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation’s season opener on Friday. In
LIHU‘E — Having its offense stifled has not been a familiar feeling for Kaua‘i High School to this point in 2009, yet the Kapa‘a Warriors did just that for much of the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation’s season opener on Friday. In the end, the Raiders had too many chances and came away with a 21-0 victory at Vidinha Stadium in Lihu‘e.
A defensive struggle throughout the first half, the two teams went to the locker room knotted at 0-0. Kapa‘a stood up to a Kaua‘i offense that had been rolling throughout the preseason. The Warriors’ solid front seven made sure the Raiders’ Paleku Yasay could not get the ground game going early as it had against the likes of Coronado and Lahainaluna.
The passing game was forced to take over and Trey Shimabukuro, though sharp and precise, was unable to sustain many drives through the air alone, early on.
Coach Keli‘i Morgado had stated that all three of his team’s quarterbacks would see action during the game, starting with senior Brehdan Kamibayashi. Marshall Adkisson also saw time under center on the opening drive, before Coach Morgado settled on junior Brentten Rapozo, who was last to see the field, but was the most effective of the bunch.
Rapozo showed poise and command in the pocket, giving his team chances throughout the night’s action. However, it was Kaua‘i that ultimately broke through first when Trey Shimabukuro found wide receiver Shea Shimabukuro down the right sideline on a 61-yard score with 7:14 to play in the third quarter. Shea stayed on the field and put the extra point through the uprights to give his team a 7-0 lead.
Kapa‘a’s offense awoke after the score and Rapozo threw for 46 yards on the following drive. He moved his team to the Kaua‘i 21-yard line, but the Warriors stalled at that point. Gabrielle Aloi came on the field in his bright green cleats to try a 38-yard field goal. The kick had the distance, but missed just wide to the right and Kapa‘a remained scoreless.
The Raiders took over at their own 20 and began to roll down the field once again. Taran Tani, Shimabukuro’s most frequent target throughout the game, added to his impressive night, hauling in 12-yard and 15-yard receptions.
Kaua‘i moved down to the Kapa‘a 23-yard line, when Shimabukuro threw a pass out into the flat towards the left sideline. He and his receiver were not on the same page and the pass headed straight towards Kapa‘a defensive back Jon Allen Apana.
The defensive back’s eyes got big as he saw the endless sight of open field in front of him. However, the ball snuck up on him and ultimately fell harmlessly to the ground. A potential turning point was suddenly just an incomplete pass.
Another chance arose when Shimabukuro was pressured in the pocket and defensive end Kekoa Alfiler forced the ball loose. Again, Kaua‘i was the fortunate unit and managed to fall on top of the ball, even picking up a gain on the play.
Two plays later, Shimabukuro found Tani all alone in the back of the end zone for the second score of the night. The point after attempt was true and Kaua‘i now had a 14-0 lead with 10:18 to play in the contest.
Kamibayashi came into the game to lead the Kapa‘a offense once again, finding a rhythm with a few of his wide receivers. The team looked to be moving the ball as well as it had all night, but was stood up once it crossed the 50-yard line. Coach Morgado elected to punt the ball away and Kaua‘i took over on its own 22.
The quick-strike offense that had been on display in the preseason appeared once again for Coach Derek Borrero’s team. On the drive’s second play, Yasay finally broke loose and found the open field. He busted through the line and made his way toward the Kaua‘i sideline where he outran the Kapa‘a secondary.
The final obstacle was avoiding getting tripped up inside the 10, which he was able to accomplish as he capped off a 77-yard touchdown run. The point after gave Kaua‘i a 21-0 lead with 5:15 to go in the game.
Yasay finished the night with 123 yards on 12 carries.
Shimabukuro finished the night 27 for 40 with 311 yards through the air. Tani hauled in 11 of those passes for 84 yards.
Cousin Shea caught seven balls for a whopping 146 yards.
Rapozo was 8 of 16 for 57 yards through the air for the Warriors offense. He also led the team with 10 carries for 21 yards.
A roster adjustment after tonight could see Kaua‘i’s Travis Koga taking over punting duties full-time. He came on as a replacement after poor punting early in the contest and was very impressive, booming a few in the second quarter and downed one inside the 2-yard line in the game’s final minutes.
Trey Shimabukuro left the game briefly in the first half after appearing to suffer an injury to his knee. He was on the sideline for a short time before returning and leading the team to a win.
Kaua‘i travels to Hanapepe Stadium on Sept. 18 to face Waimea in its regular season opener.
Kapa‘a will get the week off before taking on the Menehune on Sept. 25.
