Campbell quarterback Siaosi Soto threw a 14-yard touchdown pass and ran for a 25-yard score in a scrimmage at Waipahu. Mycah Yokotake | Waialua HS

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07311557_IMG_6345.jpg - Mycah Yokotake | Waialua HS

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While the Cane Knife Trophy was no where to be found Friday night, the Campbell and Waipahu football teams renewed a long-running rivalry in the form of a controlled scrimmage.

For the record, Campbell scored three touchdowns to Waipahu's one, but official score was not kept. The teams ran five 10-play offensive series each with no halftime.

The Sabers got two of their scores on their first drive with junior Siaosi Soto at quarterback. Soto, who is battling Saint Francis-transfer Kawika Ulufale for the starting job, was a perfect 4-for-4 passing on the drive, including a 14-yard touchdown pass. He also scrambled for a 25-yard TD run.

Soto, the JV starter from a year ago, led the first, third and fifth drives. He completed his first eight pass attempts and showed good decision-making. He was decisive with the ball — including several read-option runs — but didn't force many throws into traffic. Soto moved his feet well in the pocket and worked through his progressions before taking off with the ball if he had to.

Ulufale, who is also a junior and about three inches shorter than Soto, threw a 5-yard fade to the back left corner of the end zone to highlight Campbell's second drive, but was also picked off on the fourth drive. His arm isn't quite as polished as Soto's and it seems he's still learning coach Amosa Amosa's spread offense.

Meanwhile, senior running back Terrell Johnson saw limited action. He played in Campbell's first drive, carrying just once for about a 20-yard gain on a delayed draw before taking the rest of the night off. Johnson, who participated in camps at Oregon, Oregon State and Washington this summer, grew about an inch (to 6-1) and put on about 15 pounds (to 213), but does not appear to have lost a step. In fact, he looks stronger and faster and will see some time at wide receiver as well this year. Depth behind Johnson, however, looks like a question mark at this point for the Sabers.

The Sabers were strong against the run defensively and got to the quarterback at least five times throughout the course of the night. Senior linebacker Tyson Tafai made numerous tackles in the backfield and showed great athleticism getting from sideline to sideline. Aaron Bunting, a transfer from Texas, worked mostly at left cornerback and had several passes batted away.

Waipahu, unfortunately, wore practice jerseys without numbers, so it was a little more difficult to identify its players.

Quarterbacks Gavin Marques (6-1, 195, Sr.) and Blaise De Asis (5-8, 148, Sr.) rotated series for the Marauders. Marques accounted for their lone score on a 6-yard touchdown run during the very first series. The offense sustained a long, time-consuming drive, which included several third- or fourth-down conversions, but struggled to move the ball the rest of the night.

Waipahu worked mostly out of the pistol formation, but mixed in wrinkles of the triple- and read-options and utilized a lot of play-action passes. Marques didn't get much time in the pocket from his offensive line to find receivers downfield — most of his pass attempts were quick-hitters to the edges — but also showed some elusiveness when pressured.

Outside of defensive tackle Elijah Taimatuia (6-3, 315, Sr.), the Marauders lack size defensively and also struggled with their pre-snap alignments at times.

The teams, which hail from communities with historically strong ties to the sugar cane industry, traditionally play for the Cane Knife Trophy, which dates back to 1963. The trophy itself has the scores of all the meetings between the schools engraved on it. However, with Waipahu in the Oahu Interscholastic Association's Division I Red and Campbell in the D1 Blue, the teams are not scheduled to meet during the regular season.

Both teams conclude their scrimmage schedule Saturday. Waipahu will host Damien at 9 a.m., while Campbell will take on Fagaitua, of American Samoa, at 5 p.m. at Aiea.