Daliglig, defense powers Kapaa past Kailua

Brien Ing | SL

For the second straight season, the Warriors are marching on to the Division I semis.

Kapaa jumped out to a 21-0 point first quarter advantage en route to a 38-12 final result over Kailua in the opening round of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football Championships.

Quarterback Evan Daliglig passed for 123 yards and ran for a game-high 99 yards and two scores to lead the Warriors' offense, while Nainoa Simmons was a workhorse in the backfield, toting the ball 28 times for 86 yards and another score.

The junior running back averaged just over three yards per carry, but forced the Surfriders' defense to respect the threat between the tackles, which created opportunities for Daliglig on keepers and RPOs.

Kapaa's methodical approach on offense led to sustained drives and also allowed the defense the ability to stay fresh. And the defense responded in kind, forcing four turnovers, three interceptions (two by freshman Takazee Thomas) and a fumble recovery.

"I think we could've done better, but we wanted that donut," laughed Thomas. "We executed most of the game, we came out with the win and we stopped them at the goal line too."

The Warriors' special teams was also key, helping turn the field on a number of occasions, as Burkhart almost broke free for even bigger gains on two punt returns and a kick return. He also contributed with three punts averaging just under 40 yards.

"We really work on that (special teams) every day, more than we work on defense sometimes," said Burkhart. "We want to dominate all three sides of the ball."

Simmons opened up the scoring with a one yard plunge with 8:28 in the first, and Daliglig broke free on a 31 yard keeper five minutes of game clock later to make it 14-0.

"It was like a front side read," said Daliglig. "Read the end, and if the end crashes give it, if not take that thing to the house."

Kapaa then made it a 21-0 game at the 1:22 mark of the first when Kaimana Chong took one around the end for a 10 yard score.

Kailua got back into the game in the second quarter, as Isaiah Keanui-Demello found Stoney Pocock in space on an intermediate route and Pocock did the rest, accelerating past the Warriors' defense for a 72 yard score.

Micah Rapoza kicked a 22 yard field goal with 1:09 left until halftime, as Kapaa opted to put points on the board rather than take a chance on 4th and goal, making it a 24-6 game.

On the ensuing drive, the Surfriders drove the ball 58 yards in five plays, where it looked poised to possibly halve the lead at the break just outside the Warriors' two yard line.

But Kapaa got a huge play when Burkhart recovered a fumble on a keeper by Keaunui-Demello to get the ball back and keep the lead at 18.

Daliglig padded the lead with a six yard run to make it 31-6 midway through the third, and the rout was on.

The Surfriders hit double digits on the scoreboard when Keaunui-Demello found Xavier Kauhi-Balbad in the right corner of the end zone for a 16 yard scoring toss, but that would be the last of the points for the visiting squad.

On the Warriors' final drive, Daliglig found a wide open Chong for a key 41 yard gain that got Kapaa out of its own side of the field, but might have meant more as a confidence builder heading into next week.

"That felt good, we were pinned kind of deep on a third and long, the O-line held strong and I just led it to him," said Daliglig.

Kapaa head coach Mike Tresler agreed the play was big.

"I'm pretty sure that teams know they have load the box to stop us and we have the downfield threats," he said. "Evan can sling or he can run it."

Kamalei Gonsalves put the finishing touches on the win with 38 seconds left in the contest, tumbling into the end zone from a yard out.

A crowd of just under 900 at the Brian Baptiste Sports Complex saw KIF champions rack up 204 yards on ground compated to just 70 for OIA runners-up.

For the game, Kailua actually outgained Kapaa, 339 to 327, but four turnovers ultimately were too much to overcome.