LIHU‘E — Kapa‘a High School’s Kaikea Tandal scored two touchdowns, and quarterback Kapono Na-O passed for a score and ran the ball in for a touchdown to lead the Warriors to a 42-12 win over the efforts of Kaua‘i High School Saturday at Vidinha Stadium.
Playing under humid conditions that threatened rain during the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation outing, the Kapa‘a victory improves the Warriors to 4-0 for the Max Preps top-ranked Division II team.
The Warrior defense opened up the score books near the end of the opening stanza when Connor Payomo took control of a loose pigskin and ran it back some 30 yards for the first touchdown. The point-after-touchdown kick failed and Kapa‘a marked a 6-0 lead at the end of the first frame.
Tandal opened the second quarter by punching through the end zone on a 5-yard charge with less than two minutes peeled off the game clock. The PAT came up empty and Kapa‘a sat on a 12-0 bulge with 9:13 showing in the half.
The Red Raiders brought its fan base to life with about a minute showing in the break when Kaomea Inouye blocked a Kapa‘a punt and recovered the loose ball on the Kapa‘a 47-yard line. Kaua‘i quarterback Andrew Passi capped the possession by finding Andrew Renaud in the end zone at the end of a 28-yard scoring strike. The PAT came up empty in the frenzied atmosphere with just 17 ticks remaining in the half.
“There are moral victories, and there are real victories,” said Kaua‘i Athletic Director Keli‘i Morgado at the break. “We have a game! I just got through telling Kapa‘a High School Principal Tommy John Cox about how this is like being at Magic Mountain, taking off all your jewelry, securing your pockets and keeping your hands and arms inside the cage.”
The Kapa‘a locker room adjusted to the first score against them and roared back in the second half with four touchdowns, two in the third quarter and two in the fourth quarter.
But the Raiders wouldn’t lay down when facing a 34-6 deficit in the fourth quarter. Kaua‘i QB Passi again took to the air, this time connecting with Nakoa Andrade on a 48-yard scoring pass with 5:16 showing on the game clock.
Kapa‘a answered the interruption when special teams player Keanu Ebesu took the ensuing kickoff and cradled the ball on an 85-yard runback for a touchdown with 1:54 showing in the contest. Solomone Malafu, running the PAT for two earlier second-half Warrior scores, capped the win with a 2-point run-in for the 42-12 final math.
With the victory, Kapa‘a next makes the trip to Hanapepe Stadium Saturday to face off with Waimea High School in the Menehune homecoming, marking the final three games of the KIF season. The junior varsity contest kicks off at noon, followed by the varsity kicking off 30 minutes following the completion of the JV game.
The First Hawaiian Bank Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association Division II semifinals kick off Dec. 22 on O‘ahu with the championship contest scheduled for Dec. 30.
