NANAKULI — The season-opener proved to be a battle of attribution for both the Kamehameha-Hawaii and Nanakuli football teams. 

Running backs Dallas Enriquez and Isaac Aurello combined for 183 yards and three touchdowns to help the Warriors escape with a hard-fought 33-32 road win over the host Golden Hawks in a non-league game Friday, the opening night of the prep season statewide. 

KS-Hawaii, a Division II team from the Big Island Interscholastic Federation, overcame a five-point fourth quarter deficit, to fend off Nanakuli, a D1 team from the Oahu Interscholastic Association. 

Enriquez (17 carries for 102 yards, TD) and Aurello (10 for 81, two TDs) shouldered much of the offensive load for the Warriors, who saw a number of two-way starters at the wide receiver and defensive back positions have to leave the game due to injuries. 

"Those two running backs showed a lot of character," Warriors coach Kealoha Wengler said. 

"They came out and they just were relentless and they just kept going. They gave their best effort every time they got the ball and we're just so proud of them for how they just kept going," Wengler added. 

The burly Enriquez averaged six yards per carry, while Aurello — more of a slippery speedster — averaged better than eight per rush. The complementary duo fed off of one another, but both benefitted from the hard-nosed play of the Warriors' offensive linemen up front. 

"We knew what we had to do as running backs, but it was the line that got us there. Just phenomenal blocking from those guys, so all my props to them," said Aurello, who opened the scoring with his 20-yard scamper to pay dirt with less than five minutes left in the first quarter. 

Enriquez punched in a score from seven yards out with 1:20 left in the first half to give his team a 20-12 cushion at halftime. 

However, the Golden Hawks pulled ahead with a 20-point third quarter, capped by a 2-yard TD run by Zade Kalua in the final seconds of the stanza. That put the home team ahead for the first time all night. 

Nanakuli's 32-27 cushion held until Aurello culminated KS-Hawaii ensuing possession with a 24-yard jaunt up the middle that gave the visitors the lead for good with 7:21 to play. Aurello carried three times for 33 yards and Enriquez totted the rock three times for 16 yards on the seven-play, 68-yard scoring drive.

"We've been practicing all week with runs, so we knew what we had to do. It came down to the moment and we executed. We had a lot of injuries, but we stayed together, we pushed and we gave it out all and came out on top," Enriquez said. 

Nanakuli coach Kili Watson spoke highly about the thunder-and-lightning duo in the Warriors' offensive backfield. 

"They've got a nice one-two punch with a big back and then a little scatback coming in often, so you have to be dynamic even on defense to go up against a bigger back or go up against a small, shiftier back and that was a challenge, so great running game tonight by them," Watson said. 

The Golden Hawks began their final possession with little more than seven minutes on the clock and crossed midfield to the Warriors' 43-yard line, but saw their drive stall. Faced with a fourth-and-19, they punted away with about five minutes remaining and never got the ball back. 

KS-Hawaii was able to pick up three first downs — the last coming via a 14-yard run by Enriquez — to run out the clock. 

After they allowed Nanakuli to find the end zone to cap off all three of its third-quarter possessions, the Warriors did not surrender any points in the final 12 minutes. 

Wengler tipped his cap to his skeleton crew on defense for finishing the job. 

"Our defense came in clutch. I mean, we were pulling people who were hobbling and limping back on to the field, but they wouldn't have it any other way," he said. "They fought their way back onto the field and showed a lot of character, a lot of resiliency, so we're super proud of them."

Linebacker Kaikoa Nobriga recorded 2 ½ sacks and forced a fumble to lead the Warriors defensively.

The teams exchanged scores over the course of two-plus quarters. 

Nanakuli inched to within 20-18 with Allix Yap's 6-yard TD pass to Malosi Muaau about four minutes into the third quarter. KS-Hawaii found some separation with Chanse Kaaua-Long's 35-yard scoring strike to Cole Walker a few minutes later, but it proved to be short lived as Yap and his crew needed just two plays to answer. Yap hooked up with Zhyrisen Kahalekai for a 41-yard TD pass just 42 seconds later. Damien Esteban then ran in the ensuing two-point conversion to cut the Warriors' lead to 27-26 midway through the third quarter. 

The Golden Hawks forced a turnover on downs by KS-Hawaii after Hunter Kealoha dropped quarterback Kahekili Makekau for a seven-yard loss with his sack on fourth down. Yap then orchestrated a scoring drive that covered 66 yards in just five plays, capped off with a 2-yard Kalua TD run to give Nanakuli its only lead of the night at 32-27 with five seconds left in the third quarter. 

Kalua ran for 94 yards on 14 carries, including a 6-yard TD that got the Golden Hawks on the board early in the second quarter. 

Yap missed on his first five pass attempts, but finished 15-of-25 passing for 265 yards without an interception. He threw touchdowns to three different pass-catchers in Muaau (seven receptions for 124 yards), Kahalekai (two for 62) and tight end Vainuupo Fanuaea (three for 50). 

Nanakuli posted 440 yards of total offense and racked up 23 first downs, including 13 by pass. It was 4 of 10 on third downs and a perfect 3 for 3 on fourth downs. 

"Hats off to Nanakuli, they played tough. They just came at us, they were relentless and they just were pounding and we had a hard time stopping that run of theirs and then they had a nice balanced pass attack, so they really came out to play," Wengler said. 

Watson was pleased to see his team's changes implemented at halftime pay off, but lamented the poor start in the first 24 minutes of play. 

"We made good adjustments coming out of the half, but we can't rely on that kind of football where, you know, ‘hey, let's just figure it out,' but it's a preseason game. We lost our scrimmages because of the tsunami warning so we were only left with one, so tonight was really just getting re-acclimated with the game and the speed," said Watson, who saw a large number of his players effected by muscle cramping throughout the night.

KS-Hawaii totaled 391 net yards, including 225 through the air from two quarterbacks. Incumbent starter Chanse Kaaba-Long finished 9 of 15 for 201 yards. He threw two touchdowns and was not intercepted, while Makekau came off the bench and completed just one of his four throws on the night. 

The Warriors recorded 24 first downs — 13 of them via their ground game. They went 4 of 7 on third downs. 

Wide receiver Chaseton Wong pulled down four catches for 101 yards before he left the game due to an apparent injury in the second quarter. 

Wengler's squad was coming off an 11-2 record and a D2 state tournament first-round appearance from a year ago. He is hopeful Friday's result will set his team off on the right foot in 2025. 

"It gives us a lot of confidence because we know we played a solid team and that's what we're looking for this season is some really good competition — teams that are really gonna help build us and we can learn from them and we can get better as a team to help us, maybe springboard us to the postseason," Wengler expressed. 

KS-Hawaii will visit Kealakehe Saturday night to continue its non-league slate, while Nanakuli — which went 1-6-1 overall and 0-5-1 against league competition a year ago — will have a bye before it visits Castle on Aug. 23.