MILILANI — For the Kamehameha Warriors, a 28-day pause paled in comparison to a 16-year drought. 

Kamehameha clamped down defensively and scored the final 24 points en route to a convincing 31-10 win over Kapolei in the nightcap of an Open Division state semifinal doubleheader at John Kauinana Stadium Friday night. 

A crowd of about 3,000 fans saw the Warriors (5-4), the No. 3 team in the ScoringLive Power Rankings, come back from two first-half deficits to turn back the second-ranked Hurricanes (7-6). 

Kamehameha will play No. 5 Campbell, which pulled off a thrilling 15-12 upset of top-ranked Kahuku earlier Friday, in the title game of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Championships on Dec. 5 at the University of Hawaii's Clarence T.C. Ching Athletic Complex. 

It is the first championship game appearance for the Warriors since 2009, when they won their last of two state titles — seven years before the addition of the Open Division. 

"We work hard and this has been years, years of our process, so why not us?," Kamehameha coach Kaeo Drummondo said. 

Drummondo, a 2003 graduate of the Kapalama campus, is in his third season leading his alma mater after a highly-successful run at Hilo High that included a pair of Division I state titles in 2017 and 2019. 

"We work as hard or harder than anybody else in the state, so I think the kids deserve it and we're happy to have the opportunity to go play for it," Drummondo expressed. 

The Warriors' defensive unit paved the way Friday night by shutting down a Kapolei offense that entered the contest averaging more than 31 points and nearly 370 yards per game. 

Instead, the Hurricanes were held to a season-low 83 yards of total offense, including minus-37 rushing. Running back Chazz-Michael Kapahu, who was a mere 74 yards rushing shy of 1,000 on the year, finished with only 18 yards on 12 carries. 

Linebacker Evan Cazimero said slowing down Kapahu was a key to Kamehameha's defensive game plan. 

"We definitely had a focal point on him (because) he's a very good running back, so we just watched for him and number four, too, Nikko Smith; He's very fast," said Cazimero, who finished with a team-high 5 ½ tackles.

Smith, a speedy wideout, was limited to three receptions for 35 yards, but it was his 97-yard kickoff return for touchdown with 4:06 left in the second quarter that seemed to give the ‘Canes all the momentum. Smith's second kickoff return for score this season came on the heels of the Warriors' seven-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by Jayden Braun's 53-yard touchdown pass from Mana Forges that put Kamehameha ahead, 7-3. 

"That's a tough one, that's a tough one to swallow," Drummondo said of Smith's return. 

"(We) got the momentum and we kick it to their best playmaker and he does what he does — and he's special — and he takes it to the house and I think right there, how you're gonna respond to that dictates the rest of the game," he added. 

The Warriors responded by manufacturing an eight-play, 91-yard scoring drive that culminated with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Forges to tight end Taimane Purcell to put their team back in front with 47 seconds left in the half. 

The second half began with Drummondo's defense chalking up a three-and-out to force a Kapolei punt. 

Kamehameha began its first possession after halftime at its own 45-yard line. Running Nainoa Melchor picked up a pivotal first down with his one-yard run to move the chains on fourth-and-1. Four plays after that, Forges lobbed up a fade ball to the back, left corner of the end zone, where Braun hauled it in over his shoulder just as he got one foot down in bounds for their second touchdown connection on the evening. 

"Mana's that guy. I just want to thank him for giving me a chance to get that ball and go score," said Braun, who tallied five grabs for 109 yards. 

Both of the Forges-to-Braun TD passes came on third downs — the former on third-and-9, the latter on third-and-4. 

Kapolei's ensuing possession resulted in a turnover when quarterback Jacob Ballesteros was strip-sacked by Kalei Harbottle. The fumble was recovered by defensive lineman Esaiah Wong at the ‘Canes 49-yard line. Forges hit Noah Aki for a 31-yard completion on the very next play and four plays after that, Melchor punched it into the end zone from five yards out. Tyler Fujimoto tacked on the extra point to stretch the Warriors' lead to 28-10 a few minutes into the fourth quarter. 

Fujimoto closed out the scoring with a 34-yard field goal with 1:15 remaining. 

Forges finished 20-of-23 passing for 245 yards and was not intercepted. Melchor carried 21 times for 97 yards in the win. 

Kamehameha recorded 366 total yards and did not turn the ball over on offense. It failed to convert on its first three third downs, but moved the chains on five of their final seven third-down opportunities. 

The Warriors' first three possessions resulted in two punts and a turnover on downs, but their final five drives led to four touchdowns and a field goal. 

"The offense did amazing. Everyone did their job, we all stuck together, no one pointed fingers, we all stuck together and that's what we had to do to pull it out," Cazimero said. 

Kamehameha registered 10 tackles for loss by nine different players on defense. Harbottle had two of his team's five sacks. 

"It just shows that we all work hard. One person might make a play, but the others are doing their job too; we're all doing our job and once we all do our job, we all make a play," said Cazimero, a junior linebacker.

Kapolei averaged only 1.7 yards per play. It never once penetrated the red zone. In fact, the ‘Canes deepest penetration was the Warriors' 29-yard line. 

"We just had to play fundamentally sound and we did our job and we also had to just play as a team like we always do and we pulled it out. We're all one team so we gotta play together," Cazimero said. 

The Hurricanes opened the scoring with a 46-yard field goal into the wind by Larry McCarley to give his team a 3-0 cushion at the 6:54 mark of the second quarter. 

Kamehameha answered with a 53-yard TD pass from Forges to Braun. On the scoring play, Forges fired a short pass to Braun, who caught the ball then made a defender miss before he went untouched down the left sideline to the end zone. 

However, Smith seized the momentum back for Kapolei when he fielded the ensuing kickoff, found a crease then broke away from the pack down the right sideline for the 97-yard return for touchdown. 

"Once that happened we knew defensively we had to pick it up, offensively we had to pick it up, too, so we just had to pick it up and our special teams might have messed up, but we just picked them up anyway," Cazimero said. 

Drummondo said it was the best game to-date all year for both the defense and offense. 

"You gotta give it to the offensive staff. We watched a lot of film on these guys and there were some tendencies we felt like we saw and they put together a great game plan for (Forges) and he executed well."

Defensively, Drummondo said the key was applying pressure on Ballesteros and never letting him get comfortable. 

"We know that these guys have weapons so we knew to give ourselves a chance we had to get after the quarterback and not let him just sit in the pocket, not let him roll to his right and break the pocket and then you kind of gotta try to put an umbrella over all the playmakers and I think our kids did a great job of executing the game plan," Drummondo said. 

Despite the fact that Kamehameha had not played a game since Oct. 24, it did not seem to be affected by any rust. 

"Coach Kaeo put us on lockdown for the past four weeks so we've been working the whole time and we were hungry today, so yeah, we showed that today," Braun said. 

The four-week wait mattered little in comparison to the larger picture. That is, the 16-year span of time since the Warriors' last appearance in a state title game. 

"It means a lot to us. We've been ready for this. We've been waiting a long time for this and we're just coming to take it all and bring that koa back to Kamehameha, back to the hill," Braun said. 

It was the Warriors' first-ever appearance in the Open Division state tournament. 

Kapolei last played in the Open Division state tournament was in 2016.