Damien running back Kepono Kawaakoa rushed for a game-high 82 yards on ten carries and a touchdown in a win over Saint Francis. Evan Asato | SL

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Sat, Sep 19, 2015 @ Roosevelt [ 6:00 pm ]

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Saint Francis

6

Damien

21

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Saint Francis (4-4-0)	0	0	0	6	6
Damien (6-2-0)	7	14	0	0	21

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Marcus Faufata-Pedrina 55 yd 1 TD

Wembley Mailei 29 yd

Kepono Kawaakoa 82 yd 1 TD

Destin Pakele 44 yd 1 TD

Austin Ballesteros 39 yd 1 TD

Zachary Alcos 22 yd

MAKIKI — Damien used an early first half lead to hold off Saint Francis, 21-6 in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division II game at Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium Saturday night.

The Monarchs were playing in their first game since an Aug. 22 and improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in league play. 

"We're happy for the win," said Damien coach Eddie Klaneski. "We're happy to be back on the football field and we can't wait for the next game."

Damien held Saint Francis to just 31 yards of total offense and led 21-0 at the end of the first half. The Saints got their offense rolling in the second half, but could not overcome the early deficit and dropped to 2-4 and 0-2.

"I thought we adjusted defensively, but slow starts and giving up early leads doesn't play to our strong suits as a team," said Saint Francis first-year coach Kip Akana. "With a sophomore quarterback who's never played the position, playing catchup is a tough thing to do."

The Monarchs held the Saints to a three-and-out on their first possession and pieced together a 13-play drive that culminated in Kepono Kawaakoa's 2-yard touchdown run. Kawaakoa finished 10 carries for 82 yards and a score.

After forcing another three-and-out defense, the Monarchs went on an 11-play drive that ended with Marcus Faufata-Pedrina's 4-yard touchdown pass to tight end Shaun Apiki. Kaimana Cameron's PAT gave Damien a 14-0 lead three seconds into the second quarter.

"In the first half we controlled the clock on the offensive side and we just got stops on defense," said Klaneski.

Defensively the Monarchs got four sacks on Saint Francis quarterback Wembley Mailei while going up against a bigger offensive front.. Courtney Paaga led the way with six tackles and two sacks.

"We knew that they had some real big physical guys so we moved around and blitz and did a lot of different things," said Klaneski.

Damien's final score of the game came on Bransen Apao's 37-yard touchdown pass to Austin Ballesteros with 2:01 remaining in the first half. Apao, who was the starting quarterback heading into the season before suffering a knee injury, lined up at receiver and caught a lateral from Faufata-Pedrina before firing a scoring strike down the right sideline.

The Monarchs' offense in the second half was a different story. Faufata-Pedrina suffered a bruised shoulder and Apao took snaps under center for the first time in a real game all year. Damien converted just one of its six third down opportunities in the second half and opened the door for Saint Francis.

"Second half I don't know what happened," said Klaneski. "It's like we stepped off the gas. We had an issue with one of our quarterbacks and we kind of were looking at the other one and that kind of slowed down the momentum on offense."

Saint Francis moved linebacker Destin Pakele to running back on the last play of the third quarter and saw success when it got the ball back in the fourth quarter. On the Saints' only scoring drive of the game, Pakele carried it six times and capped the 10-play drive with a 4-yard touchdown run.

"The strength of our team is our offensive line," said Akana. "Although young, they are very aggressive and they work hard."

Damien will take on Pac-Five (3-0, 1-0) next Friday at Aloha Stadium.