MIL Football
No. 13 Maui grinds out win over Kamehameha-Maui


  



Fri, Sep 9, 2022 @ War Memorial [ 7:00 pm ]


Final 1 2 3 4 T
KS-Maui (3-7-0) 0 0 0 33
Maui (7-2-0) 0 0 3 710

Maui leaned on its defense and found just enough offense to eke out a 10-3 win over a determined Kamehameha-Maui squad Friday night at War Memorial Stadium.

"The defense played phenomenal tonight," said Maui QB Joe Cariaga."We couldn't really move the ball so they really bailed us out tonight. I'm really proud of our defense."

A scoreless first half saw each team commit a pair of turnovers each, two interceptions by the Sabers' defense and a pair of fumble recoveries for the Warriors. Maui drove the ball on at least three occasions inside the Kamehameha-Maui 30, but came up empty on all three possessions, including two missed field goals.

The scoring seal was finally broken in the third quarter, when Sevy Scofienza knocked home a 33 yard attempt for the first points of the game at the 3:40 mark, and the Sabers got another drive going in the late stages of the third near the midfield line, but faced a fourth and short play to open the final quarter of action.

On the first play of the fourth, Cariaga called his own number and broke through to the second level untouched, racing down the left hash for a 52 yard score to extend the margin to 10 with 11:50 to play.

"We just started noticing as the game went on where the nose (guard) is, so we just went off that," said Cariaga of the play.

That touchdown loomed big, as Kamehameha-Maui drove inside the ten yard line in the waning stages of the contest, but was forced to settle for a Makaha Pang field goal with just 2:26 left.

The ensuing onside kick was hopped on by Maui, and the run game of the Sabers churned enough yards for a game-ending first down as time expired.

Piercen Evans was a workhorse as usual for the Sabers, toting the rock 24 times for 138 yards and added a 15 yard pass reception. On the other side of the ball Makana Kamaka-Brayce completed 13 of 35 passes for 108 yards, but the two picks definitely hurt the Warriors chances.

Maui High outgained Kamehameha-Maui, but not by as large of a margin as it seemed, just 260 yards to 169.

Pang's kick broke a scoreless streak for the Maui defense that extended over a span of 10 quarters, the last score prior to that a rushing score by Lahainaluna's Kaulana Tihada back on Aug. 20

Speaking of which, the next opponent for the Sabers? A rematch with the Lunas on Sept. 24, this time at War Memorial.

"Lahaina is tough team and on a 34 game winning streak, so we gotta work on that," said Ofahelotu Falekaomo. "This whole week since we have a bye we got to really focus on knowing what our assignments are." 





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