Football
No. 8 Kamehameha holds off No. 9 Leilehua


Kalani Takase | ScoringLive
August 10, 2024, 1:11am

  

Fri, Aug 9, 2024 @ Kamehameha [ 7:30 pm ]

Leilehua

3

Kamehameha

10

Final 1 2 3 4 T
Leilehua (10-4-0) 0 0 0 33
Kamehameha (5-4-0) 0 0 7 310
Ezra Forges 114 yd 1 TD
Hanohano Plunkett 52 yd
Noah Aki 44 yd 1 TD
Talon Tarpley 39 yd



KAPALAMA HEIGHTS — The opening night of the prep football season brought with it some kinks to work out for both Kamehameha and Leilehua. 

In the end it was the Warriors who did enough to start the year with a win. 

Ezra Forges and Noah Aki hooked up for a 20-yard touchdown pass that proved to be the difference for Kamehameha in its 10-3 victory over the Mules in the season opener for both teams Friday night. 

A crowd of about 1,000 fans at the Warriors' Kunuiakea Stadium was on hand for the largely defensive struggle between the visiting Mules, who entered the contest ranked ninth in the ScoringLive Power Rankings, and the eighth-ranked Warriors. 

The teams combined for just 313 yards of total offense. Leilehua was limited to 135 yards, including 52 through the air, while Kamehameha tallied 118 of its 178 total yards via its passing game. 

Forges, who came off the bench in the second quarter, completed nine of 22 passes for 114 yards. His scoring strike to Aki came one play after one of three takeaways by the Warriors' defense on the night. 

Defensive lineman Peyton Costa came up with the fumble recovery just outside of the red zone at the 7:31 mark of the third quarter. The very next snap saw Aki beat the Leilehua cornerback on a streak route down the left sideline and Forges hit him in stride for the game's lone touchdown. 

"The kids knew what their keys were and they executed well when we needed them to, so that's all we can ask," second-year Kamehameha coach Kaeo Drummondo said. 

It was the second key takeaway in the red zone for the Warriors' defense. Late in the first quarter, Savili-Hiapo Leovao covered up a Leilehua fumble near the goal line to halt an 11-play, 53-yard drive by the Mules. 

"We had our opportunities to put some points on the board, but we got some youth and with the youth, we make youthful mistakes, but that's what preseason is for," Mules coach Mark Kurisu said. "(Kamehameha is) an Open (division) team, we're a (division) one team — we did what we thought we could do. Of course, we would have loved to execute at the goal line and make some stops here and there, make some interceptions, but that just comes with the territory."

For the most part, Kurisu's defense was up to the task against the Warriors' offense. Kamehameha turned it over on downs four times, including three in the first half alone, and was forced to punt to end three other drives. It was just three of 13 on third downs and one of five on fourth downs. 

"We're a young team, but we work hard," Kurisu described. "These guys run for days and they just love playing for each other and I think you can kind of see it in how they run around."

Leilehua's youth is especially evident on offense, where it lost a pair of prolific producers to graduation since last season in running back Cole Northington and wide receiver Timothy Arnold. Northington racked up 1,135 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on 209 carries a year ago, while Arnold hauled in 67 receptions for 1,117 yards and 10 TDs in 2023. 

While incumbent starter Hanohano Plunkett returns for his season senior at quarterback this fall, he is surrounded by inexperienced skill position players around him. Leilehua saw a pair of sophomores step up to the plate Friday in running back Cameron Reeve (11 carries for 48 yards) and wide receiver Talon Tarpley (seven catches for 39 yards). 

Plunkett, who finished 17-of-32 passing for 52 yards with an interception, left the game with under five minutes remaining after he was on the receiving end of illegal helmet contact from a Kamehameha defender. Kurisu said that Plunkett was held out for the rest of the contest as a precaution. 

"He's fine," Kurisu said of the southpaw. "He's fine. We just wanted to make sure he was safe, but he went through the protocol and knew all the answers, so he's good to go."

With reserve quarterback Trustin Gomes at the controls, the Mules faced a touchdown deficit with about two minutes left. They drove to the Kamehameha 14-yard line, but turned it over on downs after Gomes was stopped short of the line to gain on a fourth-down option-keeper. 

The Warriors got the ball back with 1:53 to play and picked up one first down to run out the clock. 

Forges completed nine of his 22 pass attempts for 114 yards. Running back Nainoa Melchor carried 19 times for 57 yards in the win. 

"There's just a lot that we gotta clean up on. We need more continuity, period, across the board," said Drummondo, whose team was flagged 11 times for 109 yards, including four personal fouls. 

"We knew we were gonna have adversity. (Leilehua) is a good team, they're a good team. We need continuity, we need the same lineup in practice for our (games), that's our big thing. At the end of the day it's just all about making sure we can play fundamentally sound. I think this was good for us. We needed this type of game," Drummondo added. 

Leilehua was penalized a dozen times for 84 yards. 

The Mules were also hurt by an inadvertent whistle on the opening kickoff. They forced and recovered an apparent Kamehameha fumble near the end of the return, but officials mistakenly blew the play dead and the result was a do-over. Kurisu refused to blame the final result on the blunder by the officiating crew. 

"Nothing," he said when asked how much the call impacted his team's momentum right off the bat. 

"Nothing. We throw a lot of things at these kids in practice, so that's nothing. They learn how to just do the next play, as we say, so we're not gonna put it all on one play," Kurisu stated. 

Gabriel Liua led the Mules defensively with three tackles for loss, including a pair of sacks. Jordan Tugaoen racked up eight total tackles in the loss. 

Keahi Kuikahi registered 7 1/2 tackles, Duke Alderete-Labuguen posted seven tackles, including two for losses, while Kainaluokala Keaweehu chipped in 5 1/2 tackles and a forced fumble. Defensive back Israel "Kahanu" Kamai came up with an interception and broke up three other passes in the win. 

Leilehua's Kingston Kennedy was ejected from the contest in the second quarter after a brief skirmish that resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. 

The Mules' lone points were the result of a 30-yard Rodel Alano field goal early in the fourth quarter. 

Kamehameha stretched its lead to 10-3 with Madden Aquino's 28-yard field goal with 5:41 to play. 

The Warriors will host Mission Viejo (California) next Saturday.

Leilehua will face its second opponent from the Interscholastic League of Honolulu in as many weeks when it hosts Iolani Friday night at Hugh Yoshida Stadium. 


Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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