Waimea explodes against Kapa‘a

HANAPEPE — Fourth quarter fireworks under the Friday night lights saw Waimea emerge with a 35-21 win over Kapa‘a as the KIF football season kicked off Friday night at Hanapepe Stadium.

Waimea running back Alan-Michael Gaspar paced the Menehune victory with two touchdowns, one coming on a 22-yard scamper midway through the opening quarter and the second midway through the fourth.

Waimea opened the books with two quick touchdowns, but Kapa‘a battled back through some flat spots to break the ice in the second quarter when Daniel Lizama broke open for a 35-yard run to paydirt.

A penalty negated the PAT, and Kahai Nakano failed to convert on the second chance, leaving the score 14-6 at the half.

Jarrick Ornellas set up a third quarter score for Waimea when he picked off a Coty Salausa pass and returned it to the Kapa‘a 28-yard line. Oni Schmidt, who had an opening kickoff TD called back on a penalty, skirted the sideline down to the Kapa‘a 2-yard line, and Reggie Vigilia charged in from there for a 21-6 lead.

Kapa‘a answered with 6:12 left in the quarter on a 22-yard Evan Lotu pass to Nick Mortell for a score. Another Lotu pass accounted for the two-point conversion, trimming the deficit to 7.

Less than two minutes after Gaspar’s second touchdown at the 8:38 mark in the fourth, Schmidt ripped off a 51-yard touchdown, virtually icing the victory with Waimea up by 21 with 7:03 remaining.

Allen Pancho, who was five-for-five in PATs for Waimea, picked off another Salausa pass, and it started to look like a laugher. But Schmidt, going for his second touchdown of the quarter and third of the night, fumbled on the 1-yard line after a long run.

With just 47 ticks left on the clock, Salausa connected with Mortell for the final score of the night.

The Waimea win sets the stage for next Friday’s showdown when the Menehune meet three-time defending KIF champions Kaua‘i High School at Vidinha Stadium at 7 p.m.