OIA Football
No. 8 Kapolei downs Aiea, 41-0


  



Fri, Oct 6, 2017 @ Kapolei [ 7:30 pm ]


Final 1 2 3 4 T
Aiea (2-6-0) 0 0 0 00
Kapolei (5-5-0) 0 21 13 741

KAPOLEI — Fourth-seeded Kapolei crushed visiting Aiea, 41-0, Friday night in the first round of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I football tournament.

But the Hurricanes (5-4) will have less than 10 hours to celebrate their victory. By about 9 a.m. Saturday, Kapolei's focus will be on No. 2 Kahuku in next Friday's quarterfinal at Carleton E. Weimer Field. Kahuku is 7-1 against Kapolei, 4-1 in OIA quarterfinals. Kapolei beat Kahuku in the 2007 quarterfinals, 14-7, the last time the Red Raiders lost at home.

"We're going to the toughest place to play. They're tough," Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said of the defending OIA D1 champion Red Raiders (7-1). "We're going to enjoy this for a little bit. Then we're going to regroup, start watching film and try to get healthy because Kahuku is one of the toughest teams to play against, especially at their place."

While the Hurricanes (5-4) beat Na Alii (2-6) handily, the win wasn't without issues. There were dropped passes by Kapolei. The Hurricanes were penalized 14 times for 127 yards. Their first series ended on downs at the Aiea 35. Its second series was riddled by three penalties and Kapolei was forced to punt from Aiea's 43.

"The slow start really plagued us," Hernandez said. "That first drive, we had four dropped passes and the second drive we had two holdings and a false start that really derailed us."

Ironically, it was a penalty against Aiea during the punt – illegal participation for having 12 players on the field – that gave Kapolei second life. The penalty moved the ball to Aiea's 27. Three plays later, sophomore quarterback Lonenoa Faoa hit freshman Titus Mokiao-Atimalala on a 3-yard touchdown to break the ice to start the second period.

"That's mental mistakes that we have," Aiea coach Wendell Say said. "We had one guy ran out. That kind of stuff, when we have penalties like that, the kids started hanging their heads. But you just have to fight back, get it back the next play."

It was the break Kapolei needed, as it scored on its next two series on a 15-yard run by Josh Kansana and 3-yard TD catch by Ransen Paison to take a commanding 21-0 lead into the half. 

Kapolei added three second-half TDs on runs of 3 yards by Kansana, 3 yards by backup quarterback Kaniala Kalaola and 43 yards by freshman Sunny Semeatu to finish off Aiea. 

The offense wasn't the only one jelling for Kapolei. Its defense held Aiea to 81 yards of total offense and got two turnovers from a fumble and interception by Landan Shove. The front seven pursued Aiea quarterback Ty Matsunami, dropping him for lost yardage four times. Aiea QB Ty Matsunami was pressured into 10-of-23 passing for 67 yards.

"We ran a lot of stunts and (we) blitzed," Kapolei defensive lineman Aaron Faumui said. "We made the quarterback uncomfortable and he had to scramble. We did our jobs."

Kapolei spread the ball around, as 10 different players recorded receptions. The most heavily used was Mokiao-Atimalala, who had 10 catches for 124 yards. Just as many players also registered carries for Kapolei. Dylan Toilolo led with 60 yards on six carries; he could have had more, but several rushes were called back by penalties.

Despite being outmanned by Kapolei's depth, Aiea played about as hard as it could.

"They wore us down," Say said. "They're a good team. They're peaking at the right time. They're a sleeping giant; that's why I was afraid of these guys. Our kids played hard; they never quit."



Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].




Show your support

Every contribution, no matter the size, will help ScoringLive continue its mission to provide the best and most comprehensive coverage of high school sports in the state of Hawaii and beyond.

Please consider making a contribution today.

ADVERTISEMENT


IMAGE GALLERY



MORE STORIES

Big inning aids No. 3 Maui to victory against No. 8 Waiakea

The Sabers sent 11 batters up in a five-run third inning to take down the Warriors.

Small ball goes long way in No. 4 Baldwin's win over No. 7 Hilo

The Bears endured two delays en route to its 5-4 win against the Vikings in the quarterfinals.

Kamehameha batters Leilehua to face Baldwin in semis

The Warriors raced out to a 7-0 lead in the first inning and led 11-0 after three to rout the Mules in...

Two-time champ Damien registers rout of Molokai in D2 opener

Monarchs rapped out 18 runs on 19 hits, with four pitchers combining to hold the Farmers to just one...

No. 7 Campbell rallies to knock out No. 3 Maryknoll to advance

The defending Division I state champion Sabers rallied from a first inning deficit and answered with...

Crusaders knock off Rough Riders in mercy-rule finish

Shannon Fee and Jonah Brub combined on a two-hitter and No. 2 Saint Louis downed Roosevelt in five inning...