If there were any questions regarding Zedekaiah Campbell's intestinal fortitude, he certainly put those to bed over the weekend.

Campbell, a junior running back on the Kamehameha-Maui football team, overcame a lingering shoulder injury to shoulder the load in the Warriors' 37-14 win over Kaiser in the title game of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Division II State Championships Saturday night.

The 5-foot-11, 175-pound junior carried the ball 18 times and gashed the Cougars for 239 yards in the process. Campbell averaged an astronomical 13.3 yards per carry, accounted for nine of KS-Maui's 14 total first downs and converted three third downs.

Warriors coach Ulima Afoa disclosed that Campbell played most of the season with a sore shoulder.

"That's what impressed me the most, that he actually played with an injury and it's something that he had to kind of suck it up and deal with," Afoa said. "First of all the area his injury was – his shoulders – is a high-impact area, but what's not a high-impact area, especially if you're a running back you gotta take some hits and you gotta protect the ball and he did a great job of that, but I think the adrenaline kind of masks some of the pain that you have to go through."

Campbell made his presence felt early on in Saturday's title game. After its defense forced a three-and-out by the Cougars to open the game, KS-Maui gave the ball to Campbell on four consecutive plays on its first possession. Campbell responded with runs of three, five, 26 and six yards to set-up a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kolten Waikiki-Caldeira to wide receiver Tevyn Apo. 

Campbell's 26-yard pick-up converted a third and 2. Afoa said Campbell's effectiveness running the football helped to open up the passing game for Waikiki-Caldeira and the receiving corps.

"It's always a good mix when you can run the ball. You'll find that with most offenses, if you just throw the ball then basically everybody either starts pressuring you or dropping everybody (into coverage) and those windows to throw into get very small, but if you can run the ball and force people to keep people in the box and open up bigger windows, then it opens up the opportunity for you to throw," Afoa said.

Later in the first quarter, Campbell ripped off runs of 34 and 29 yards on back-to-back plays. The latter put the ball on the Kaiser 4-yard line and two plays after that, Waikiki-Caldeira found the end zone with his 1-yard TD run off right tackle to give the Warriors a 13-0 lead.

KS-Maui held a 20-14 lead at halftime, but once again fed Campbell the ball early and often out of the break. He registered five carries for 65 yards on the seven-play drive, including the first four plays from scrimmage in the second half. Campbell moved the chains three times on the drive, twice converted a third down, and capped off the possession with his 35-yard touchdown. His lone trip to the end zone came with 8:49 left in the third quarter and was followed by a Kayden Yap extra point that made it a 27-14 lead for the Warriors.

Late in the third quarter, Campbell ran up the middle for a 27-yard gain then followed that up with a 12-yard jaunt off right tackle on the very next play. Afoa said Campbell's ability to tote the ball on consecutive plays speaks to both Campbell's level of conditioning as well as the execution of his teammates around him.

"He's a pretty well-conditioned athlete, but it's just the fact that he did it working through the pain and basically kind of dominated his role and then the other thing that it says is there are people up front that helped him and he thanked the group up front because they opened the gaps for him and allowed him to spring a lot of time," Afoa said.

KS-Maui has benefitted from a two-back system with a pair of ball carries of contrasting styles. The speedy and shifty Campbell fills the "lightning" role, while 5-foot-10, 210-pound sophomore Kaikea Hueu complements him as the "thunder" back.

"Zedekiah is a very gifted athlete who has a slasher-type running style. He runs hard and he has really good hands so we're not afraid to throw to him, but I think the thing that makes him special is that he can make some of those cuts that maybe Kaikea can't at this point. Zedekaiah can make people miss, or he can basically take a piece of them with him and he's obviously got some true grit playing with that bad shoulder all year," said Afoa, who compared Campbell to the likes of Pro Football Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson.

"He's kind of that same type of long-strider," Afoa added. 

Campbell's 239 rushing yards were the second most by a single player in the history of the Division II state championship game and the fifth most in any D2 state tournament game.

"The one thing I really love about Zedekaiah is that he's always a very positive person. He gets everybody else fired up too, so I think that's a positive for him, but it's kind of weird because he's really not the most vocal person, but I think in the way that his demeanor is and the way that he just basically goes about doing his business and smiles and laughs, I think that basically plays a big role," Afoa described.

Campbell, who is also on the track and field team at KS-Maui, was coming off of another solid outing in a state semifinal win over Roosevelt the week prior. Campbell tallied a 121 yards and two touchdowns against the Rough Riders on just 10 carries.

The Afoa and the Warriors, their title-game triumph was several years in the making. They made trips to the championship game in 2021 and 2023, but lost both times. KS-Maui is just the third school from the Maui Interscholastic League to win a state football championship – all of them at the D2 level – joining Kekaulike (‘06) and Lahainaluna ('16, '17, '18, '19).

"It was a great season. They just continued to get better and with each setback there was an opportunity for our guys and the coaches did a great job of keeping them on track and refocusing. The kids bought into the plan, didn't worry about the end results, but just doing everything right and understanding that if we do that, it increases our percentages of success: Maintain your process and continue to meet the standards that you set for yourself," Afoa said.

Injuries notwithstanding, Campbell – who can also play defensive back – will be a third-year starter in the Warriors' offensive backfield in 2025 and projects to fill an even larger role as a team leader.

"I think eventually he will fill in that role and he has that opportunity to do so with his senior year coming up," Afoa said.

After an 0-2 start to the season that included a 49-0 loss to eventual-Open Division state champion Saint Louis, the Warriors won nine of their final 10 times to finish the year with a 9-3 record.

FOOTBALL

Kamahao Akima, Kamehameha-Maui — Made six tackles, including one for a loss and recorded three pass break-ups in a win over Kaiser 

Nash Burkart, Kapaa — Scored on a 50-yard punt return for touchdown, made 1 ½ tackles and intercepted a pass in a win over Konawana 

Kaimana Carvalho, Kahuku — Made 9 ½ tackles, including one for a loss, in a loss to Saint Louis 

Bodhi Kaanga, Kahuku — Caught seven passes for 101 yards in a loss to Saint Louis

Sami Kauvaka, Kapaa — Made six tackles, intercepted a pass and broke up another in a win over Konawaena 

Timote Kupu, Kaiser — Made five tackles, including 2 ½ for losses, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble in a loss to Kamehameha-Maui 

Charles-Titan Lacaden, Saint Louis — Ran for 155 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries in a win over Kahuku 

Elias Malapit, Konawaena — Made eight tackles, including one for a loss, and recovered a fumble in a loss to Kapaa 

Dallas Pelen-Talalotu, Saint Louis — Made nine tackles, including one for a loss, in a win over Kahuku 

Ryan Peteres, Kapaa — Made 12 tackles and recovered a fumble in a win over Konawaena 

Malaki Soliai-Tui, Kahuku — Made nine total tackles, including one sack, and recorded a pass break up in a loss to Saint Louis 

Aliimalu Tan, Konawaena — Caught 11 passes for 134 yards and intercepted a pass in a loss to Kapaa 

Austin Takaki, Konawaena — Recorded 109 all-purpose yards, including eight receptions for 80 yards, made four tackles and intercepted a pass in a loss to Kapaa 

Kolten Waikiki-Caldeira, Kamehameha-Maui — Threw three touchdown passes and ran for another in a win over Kaiser 

BOYS BASKETBALL

David Akiona, Honokaa — Scored 20 points in a win over Hilo 

Josiah Amuimuia, Waiakea — Scored 22 points in a win over St. Joseph 

Lucas Andrews, Kalaheo — Scored 21 points in a loss to Campbell

Anthony Bautista, Pearl City — Scored 22 points in a loss to Kalani 

Kama Carroll, Kamehameha II — Scored 25 points in a win over Pearl City

Chazen Dabalos-Vereze, Moanalua — Scored 21 points in a win over Nanakuli 

Levi Damo-Agcaoili, Damien — Scored 21 points in a win over Kaimuki 

Bromo Dorn, Seabury Hall — Scored 27 points in a win over Kekaulike and scored 35 points with six rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block in a win over Maui 

Caelan Fernando, Saint Louis — Scored 21 points in a win over Kailua 

Dylan Kuia, Baldwin — Scored 24 points in a loss to Kailua 

Jeziah Mahaulu, Christian Liberty — Scored 20 points in a loss to Keaau 

Ryan Man, Mid-Pacific — Scored 25 points in a win over Aiea 

Riley Miura, Mid-Pacific — Scored 35 points in a win over Aiea 

Sebastian Peterson, Seabury Hall — Scored 20 points with eight rebounds, eight assists, one steal and a block in a win over Maui 

Matthew Shigetani, Hawaii Baptist — Scored 23 points in a loss to Kalani 

Nehemiah Thompson, Nanakuli — Scored 21 points in a loss to Moanalua 

Richard Windsor, Campbell — Scored 21 points in a loss to Kapaa 

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Makenzie Alapai, Kamehameha — Scored 15 points in a win over Radford 

Nihoa Dunn, Kamehameha — Scored 16 points in a win over Radford

Anuhea Ferreira, Hilo — Scored 16 points in a win over Honokaa 

Pua Herrington, Maryknoll — Scored 15 points in a loss to Mater Dei and scored 28 points in a win over Kahuku 

Shaileia Hookahi-Bannister, Konawaena — Scored 16 points in a win over Kealakehe 

Trinity Kaupu, Keaau — Scored 15 points in a win over Christian Liberty 

Justice Kekauoha, Iolani — Scored 15 points in a loss to Mater Dei 

Leila Paraoan, Kapolei — Scored 21 points in a win over University Lab 

Taira Samiano, Kapaa — Scored 20 points in a win over Waiakea 

Ali Smith, Seabury Hall — Scored 15 points in a win over Maui Prep 

Ava Tabucbuc, Honokaa — Scored 18 points in a loss to Hilo 

Tuisila Wily-Ava, Kahuku — Scored 15 points in a win over Canyon View 

BOYS SOCCER

Austin Mohica, Waiakea — Scored three goals in a win over Makua Lani 

GIRLS SOCCER

Myla Tuitele, Kamehameha-Maui — Scored three goals in a win over Baldwin 

---