HANAPEPE — The Orange Glen Patriots notched three touchdowns in the second half to outdistance the hosting Menehune for a 41-16 win Friday night before a strong supporting Menehune crowd at Hanapepe Stadium.
In the win, the Patriots’ Cael Patterson peeled off a bunch of yards through a laundry maelstrom while scoring three of Orange Glen’s five touchdowns. This included a one-yard dive in the second quarter that capped a cross-field kickoff return by DJ Harris following Waimea’s first score of the game.
Patterson announced the second half with a 65-yard breakout to the end zone with less than three minutes peeled off the clock, and pulled in a 47-yard scoring pass from quarterback Ethan Villalobos in the fourth quarter. He iced the victory by running in the two-point conversion.
“He is an amazing athlete,” said Waimea coach Jason Caldeira. “We knew that going in. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to play against someone like him.”
Waimea entered the game short of key players, but hung tough through the laundry before getting shut down in the second half.
“We were short 17 players because of the flu,” Caldeira said. “Of those, 14 were varsity players, which meant the junior varsity players had to do some stepping up. I’m proud of the way the boys did what they had to do to get us through the game.”
Kawelo Huddy, scoring Waimea’s touchdown and doing most of the ground pounding, set a school field goal record in the second quarter and, defensively, sophomore defender Jonah Sandel picked up this third interception in just two outings for the Menehune.
The Menehune hung tough through most of the first quarter, with Sandel’s interception on the Patriots’ 20-yard line breaking the Patriots’ stride at the 10:27 mark. But that series was snuffed when Huddy lost the ball in the end zone, with Orange Glen’s Villalobos recovering the errant pigskin to preserve a 0-0 stalemate.
Orange Glen struck first when Villalobos found Jose Rivera at the end of a 47-yard scoring pass to cap an 80-yard drive. Nathan Kells made the point-after boot for the 7-0 bulge that was answered by Waimea on the ensuring series.
Taking control on the 47-yard line based on an onside kick recovery, Waimea plowed to the Patriots’ 25-yard stripe on a pass from Maka Shigematsu to Hekili Dizol, and a hefty penalty against the Patriots.
Huddy drove to the Patriots’ 17-yard line, and more penalties brought the ball to the Orange Glen 7-yard line, from where Huddy tapped the end zone on a one-yard lunge with 2:09 remaining in the opening period.
“We need to clean up on those mistakes,” Caldeira said. “We don’t want to become our worst enemies.”
With Huddy’s PAT boot knotting the scoreboard, 7-7, Orange Glen answered on the kickoff when Harris broke tackles and found daylight on a cross-field return down to the Waimea one-yard stripe, where Patterson found the end zone on a 1-yard dive, and Kells’ PAT saw the Patriots take a 14-7 lead to end the opening stanza.
Waimea answered in the second period when Shigematsu hit Cory Soares on a 13-yard scoring pass to cap a drive that started on the Patriots’ 44-yard line following a personal foul penalty on the kickoff return.
The PAT boot went wide, and Waimea was put in catch-up mode, 14-13.
Following scoreless exchanges, Waimea enjoyed a lead when Huddy broke the school’s field goal record on a 52-yard upright-splitter with 4:37 remaining in the half.
The lead was short-lived when Orange Glen responded when Villalobos found Patterson at the end of a 46-yard scoring pass on a drive that was set up when Julien Lesa plucked a Shigematsu aerial. A Kells PAT boot settled the scoreboard at 21-16, Patriots.
Waimea was still scrapping, because Kaili Bacio, with 1.5 seconds showing in the half, blocked an Orange Glen field goal attempt from the Waimea 15-yard line.
Orange Glen returned to score three more touchdowns in the second half.
“Orange Glen is a good team,” Caldeira said. “I’m thankful they gave us a great game, and I’m proud of the way our boys stepped up to the call. We have a lot more to work on before our big game next week against Kapaa.”
Kapaa will host Waimea in the first Kauai Interscholastic Federation match that will be televised by OC16 Friday at Vidinha Stadium. The junior varsity match kicks off at 4 p.m. followed by the varsity.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
