In comparison to his off-the-field responsibilities, the game of football is a walk in the park for Zeph Salis. 

Salis, a sophomore running back for the Kapolei Hurricanes this fall, is the eldest boy of 11 total siblings in his household. To say that he is mature beyond his years is very much an understatement. 

It's part of the reason why longtime Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez knew he could depend on Salis to step up when his number was called Saturday night. Despite it being his very first varsity football game, Salis delivered a performance to remember in the ‘Canes 46-21 win over visiting Punahou at the Alvin Nagasako Sports Complex. 

Salis ran for 201 yards and three touchdowns on just 10 carries — an average of more than 20 yards per rush. 

"Man, he's an electrifying runner," Hernandez said of the 5-foot-8, 165-pound Salis. 

"He just has a knack for finding a seam and exploding through the seam and it's very difficult to coach that. His work ethic is amazing. He works hard and he has a super attitude, but that next level of instinct — when you cut against the grain — that kind of stuff you can't coach it," Hernandez described. 

Salis is actually the backup to starting running back Chazz-Michael Kapahu — who ran for 112 yards and a touchdown himself Saturday night — but it didn't take long for him to make his impact felt. In fact, Salis' very first carry went for a 42-yard touchdown to get Kapolei on the board late in the first quarter. 

"After he did that I thought, ‘Man, we got something here,' " Hernandez shared. 

Salis spent his freshman season at another school, but transferred in to Kapolei during the spring semester of last school year. 

"When he came to us in January and transferred in, he came up to me and asked if he could tryout for the football team. We didn't know much about him, but when we saw him on the football field in March and April in the spring, we saw that he's really fast," said Hernandez, who added that Salis can run the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds. 

Not only has Salis been gifted with great athleticism, it's coupled with both a strong work ethic and a no-nonsense attitude, Hernandez points out. 

"He's just a very quiet, hard-working kid — I mean, he doesn't say two words. He's super mature, he's not a clown, doesn't fool around, he's just there and it's all business for him. He just does what he has to do and he's not a kid that you ever have to worry about. He's just a super kid and it shows on field. For him to be only a sophomore, it's really amazing," Hernandez expressed. 

Salis' second trip to the end zone capped the ‘Canes second scoring drive in as many possessions. He sliced his way through the Buffanblu defense on third-and-9 with his 24-yard TD run. In the immediate aftermath of that, Salis completed a pass to Shayden Roman to successfully convert the two-point conversion and even the score at 14 a few minute into the second stanza. 

Later in the same quarter, Salis ripped off a 27-yard run to set-up first and goal and near the end of the first half, he was on the receiving end of a 25-yard pass play from quarterback Jacob Ballesteros. Both drives were capped by Kapolei touchdowns to give them a 26-14 advantage at the half. 

Salis added long runs of 15 and 26 yards after the intermission and finished off his night with a 56-yard scamper to pull away from the Punahou defense for his third and final touchdown. That score gave his team a 40-21 lead with 6:18 left in the fourth quarter. 

Hernandez said that while he saw flashes of brilliance from Salis in practices over the summer and leading up to Saturday's season opener, he still found himself in awe of what the young ballcarrier was able to accomplish under the bright lights. 

"We saw him in practice do some great things, but we didn't know how it would translate against an Open Division defense and we saw that first step and how quick he was, but until you play against varsity competition in a real game, it's tough to gauge, but he's lightning in a bottle," Hernandez said. 

Hernandez was sure to highlight the contributions of the offensive line — Shyzen Akiona, Kalalau Puulei-Sene, Ioane Paselio, Amarxus Tagovailoa-Amosa, Riley Leuma and Angel Watson-Amaral — as well as fullback Ava Cook, who tallied five pancake blocks as a lead blocker Saturday night, according to Hernandez. 

"We have a great offensive line. They're very young — we start one freshman and three sophomores on the o-line, so they're very young — but they work well together and they're big and physical.

Hernandez also credited his veteran offensive line coach Al Kaaihue, along with run-game coordinator Tyler Fabrao, for implementing a solid game plan that worked to near perfection. 

"Those two did a tremendous job of scheming up the run game and coaching up the offensive line and running backs and getting them ready," Hernandez said. 

Salis' versatility as a pass-catcher and a kick returner further complements his skillset. He finished with two receptions for 30 yards. 

"He actually started out playing slot when we started practicing and he was looking really good there, but we had a bunch of guys at slot, but he was in the rotation," Hernandez said. 

Kapolei saw three-year starting quarterback Liatama Amisone — who accounted for more than 100 career touchdowns in his prep career — graduate in the spring and although now-junior Leysen Rodrigues saw extensive playing time as a sophomore a year ago, Hernandez was keen to balance the offense between the one-two punch of running backs Kapahu and Salis and the quarterbacking duo of Rodrigues and Ballesteros. 

"The win over Punahou was a lot. I mean, the first game you don't know what to expect. We're breaking in a new quarterback after having Tama Amisone for three years — the greatest player we've ever had at Kapolei — so replacing him is tough. We have two capable quarterbacks, but we wanted to run the ball as an option to take some pressure off the young QBs, so that was good," Hernandez said. 

As compared to the speedster Salis, Kapahu, at 5-feet, 8-inches and 180 pounds, provides more of a power-running style. 

"Kapahu is more of a north-south runner as a banger so I guess you could call it ‘Thunder and lightning,' but what a luxury to have a backup like Zeph. We have three, four guys that can run the game so we're pretty excited about that, but Zeph just kind of bided his time, he knew he wouldn't be the starter, but he worked his butt off and when his opportunity came, he took full advantage," Hernandez said. 

Salis and the Hurricanes (1-0) are ranked third in this week's ScoringLive Power Rankings and will host Lahainaluna Saturday in a non-league game. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Nagasako Sports Complex. 

FOOTBALL

Colton Amai-Nakagawa, PAC-5 — Threw for 248 yards and three touchdowns on 17-of-27 passing without an interception in a win over McKinley 

Jhayean Baptista, Waipahu — Scored on a 36-yard interception return for touchdown in a win over Leilehua 

Uriah Belaras, Saint Louis — Made three total tackles and scored on a 44-yard interception return for touchdown in a win over Kahuku 

Kahlen Boteilho-Dougherty, Maui — Threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns on 16-of-30 passing without an interception and ran for 89 yards and another touchdown on 14 carries in a win over Kealakehe 

Willie Canyon, Leilehua — Scored on a 100-yard interception return for touchdown in a loss to Waipahu 

Dallas Enriquez, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Ran for 102 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries in a win over Nanakuli 

Ronin Fanelli, Iolani — Ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries in a win over Radford 

Mana Forges, Kamehameha — Threw for 191 yards and three touchdowns on 10-of-16 passing without an interception in a win over Farrington 

Chanse Kaaua-Long, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Threw for 201 yards and two touchdowns without an interception in a win over Nanakuli 

John Michael Kaio, Waianae — Threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns on 23-of-29 passing without an interception in a win over Lahainaluna 

Ioane Kamanao, Roosevelt — Caught six passes for 103 yards and a touchdown in a win over Aiea 

Kekama Kane, Iolani — Caught 10 passes for 177 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Radford 

Isaiah Keaunui-Demello, Kailua — Threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns on 12-of-16 passing without an interception and ran for another touchdown in a win over Castle

Dane Kellner, Punahou — Made 5 ½ tackles, broke up a pass and scored on a 23-yard interception return for touchdown in a loss to Kapolei 

Chazz-Michael Kupahu, Kapolei — Ran for 112 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries in a win over Punahou 

Malachi Liilii-Utu, Aiea — Scored on a 29-yard fumble return for touchdown in a loss to Roosevelt 

Tenari Fuamatu-Maafala, Saint Louis — Ran for 102 yards on 19 carries in a win over Kahuku 

Malosi Muaau, Nanakuli — Caught seven passes for 124 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Kamehameha-Hawaii

Kaikoa Nobriga, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Recorded 2 ½ sacks and forced a fumble in a win over Nanakuli 

Tristan Pacheco, Waipahu — Ran for 110 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries

Zayne Pasion, Campbell — Caught six passes for 165 yards and a touchdown in a win over Moanalua

JJ Rezentes, Kailua — Ran for 165 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries in a win over Castle

Kingston Siliado, Saint Louis football — Caught 13 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown in a win over Kahuku 

Thomas James Smith, Kailua — Scored on an 80-yard interception return for touchdown in a win over Castle

Malaki Soliai-Tui, Kahuku — Made 11 total tackles, including 2 ½ for losses and one-half sack in a loss to Saint Louis 

Noah Sullivan, Pearl City — Scored on a 40-yard interception return for touchdown in a win over Kohala 

Zyon-Blaze Telles-Kuwahara, Radford — Caught five passes for 127 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Iolani 

Alyza Taufa, McKinley — Caught seven passes for 119 yards in a loss to PAC-5

Afi Togafau, Radford — Threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns on 7-of-11 passing without an interception and ran for 170 yards and another touchdown on 26 carries in a loss to Iolani 

Ethan Toia, Aiea — Scored on a 40-yard interception return for touchdown in a loss to Roosevelt 

Bradin Tollefson, Kalani — Threw for 198 yards and three touchdowns on 19-of-23 passing with one interception in a win over Waiakea

Ikaika Torres, Pearl City — Threw for 404 yards and four touchdowns on 23-of-35 passing with one interception in a win over Kohala 

CJ Villanueva, Iolani — Threw for 308 yards and four touchdowns on 22-of-30 passing without an interception in a win over Radford 

Moose Wailehua, Kamehameha — Recorded 8 ½ tackles, including four for losses, in a win over Farrington 

Chaseton Wong, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Caught four passes for 101 yards and a touchdown in a win over Nanakuli 

Allix Yap, Nanakuli — Threw for 265 yards and three touchdowns on 15-of-25 passing without an interception 

Avari Zion-Branch, PAC-5 — Caught five passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns in a win over McKinley