Waimea ends with 8-0 record overallWaimea Homecoming Menehunes 24, Raiders 0By JASON GALLIC TGI Sports Editor HANAPEPE — Friday night’s story unfolded in handshakes, hugs and congratulations doled out by Kaua’i High School at Hanapepe Stadium. And the message was
Waimea ends with 8-0 record overallWaimea Homecoming
Menehunes 24, Raiders 0By JASON GALLIC
TGI Sports Editor
HANAPEPE
— Friday night’s story unfolded in handshakes, hugs and congratulations doled
out by Kaua’i High School at Hanapepe Stadium.
And the message was clear:
After nine Kaua’i Interscholastic Federation football games, the island now
unifies behind its champ, Waimea.
The Menehunes ran their KIF record to a
perfect 6-0 (8-0 overall) with a 24-0 victory over Kaua’i (0-6). Now, the squad
will begin full-scale preparation for its November 17 matchup at Aloha Stadium
in Honolulu against the Oahu Interscholastic Association champion.
With
scouts from the top OIA teams surely in the Hanapepe stands Friday night,
Waimea appeared to work only on a few of the things it may implement before the
playoffs begin.
And the Menehunes did not let one single running back
explode for big yardage. Senior Jessie Sablan ran nine times for 68 yards. Josh
May, also a senior, ran nine times for 60 yards.
Waimea also got a chance
to give backup quarterback Adrian Agan some game-time work. The junior, who
also booted a 35-yard field goal, completed 2-of-4 passes for 21
yards.
Starting QB Nikko Naumu was 3-of-6 for 40 yards and a
touchdown.
But where the passing game is concerned, the real concern for
Waimea looked to come from the Raiders’ aerial attack.
Appearing to finally
feel some comfort with Kaua’i’s think-on-your feet offense, junior Kamo’i
Refamonte had a solid game in the pocket, completing 10-of-16 passes for 126
yards and one interception. Bransen Zeffiro was Refamonte’s favorite target. He
reeled in four passes for 60 yards.
Waimea was quick to make adjustments to
a few of Kaua’i’s routes — especially across the middle — but the Menehunes
surely will be concentrating on defending the pass over the next two
weeks.
Receiver Micah Bermoy scored Waimea’s first TD, on a 15-yard pass
from Naumu. Sablan then found the end zone on a 13-yard run. The final score
came from May, on a 10-yard blast. Agan added all three extra
points.
Despite a series of promising drives, the Raiders again proved
their own worst enemy. Their first fumble led directly to Waimea points. Their
third negated the field position they’d attained on Waimea’s 19-yard
line.
Jameson Smith led Kaua’i with 71 yards rushing on 14
attempts.
The Waimea JV team beat Kaua’i 14-0 to end with a 6-0 record on
the year.
Waimea 24, Kaua’i 0
Waimea 14
3 7 0 24
Kaua’i 0 0 0
0 0
Scoring summary
Waimea —Bermoy 15 pass Naumu
(Adrian Agan kick)
Waimea —Sablan 13 run (Agan kick)
Waimea —Agan 35
field goal
Waimea —May 10 run (Agan kick
The Vital
Stats
Team Stats Menehunes Raiders
1st Downs
13 10
Total Yards 263 159
Rushing
37-202 26-33
Passing 5-10-0-61
10-16-1-126
Punting 1-46 5-35
Fumbles-lost
2-1 4-3
Penalties-Yards 13-99 5-40
Staff
Photo by DENNIS FUJIMOTO
kaua’i’s dustin goias (top) punches the ball free
from the grasp of Waimea’s Josh May during the Menehunes’ 24-0 victory at
Hanapepe Stadium Friday night. Waimea’s Jessie Sablan (bottom) runs the
ball.
