HANAPEPE — The season’s last game under the lights was a slugfest in every sense of the word, with the Kapa‘a Warriors surviving their visit to Hanapepe, 7-0. Saturday was the final KIF night game of 2010, as Kapa‘a and
HANAPEPE — The season’s last game under the lights was a slugfest in every sense of the word, with the Kapa‘a Warriors surviving their visit to Hanapepe, 7-0.
Saturday was the final KIF night game of 2010, as Kapa‘a and the Waimea Menehune battled in the trenches all night, each team featuring a steady dose of the running game.
Kapa‘a scored the night’s lone touchdown on a nine-play, 71-yard drive in the first quarter. The Warriors found the end zone on a seven-yard score by running back Darren Taylor.
Quarterback Brentten Rapozo took the snap and rolled to his left, Taylor trailing him in the option formation. Rapozo took on the defender and then pitched back to Taylor, who got to the edge and tip-toed the sideline to paydirt.
Max Goode was true on the extra point, giving Kapa‘a the 7-0 lead with 2:43 to play in the opening quarter.
Little did either team know it would be the only change to the scoreboard.
Waimea put together long drives throughout the game, but was stalled in key spots, going 1 for 4 on fourth down conversions.
The Menehune were also hurt by turnovers, as they lost two fumbles in the contest, both coming in the fourth quarter.
Kapa‘a was limited offensively by the Waimea defense, finishing the game with 104 total yards of offense on 39 plays.
Waimea ran 61 offensive plays for 174 total yards.
Warrior running backs Taylor and Waika Alapai accounted for virtually all the Kapa‘a offense. Taylor, who carried just three times in Kapa‘a’s 13-7 loss to Kaua‘i on Sept. 4, had 13 carries for 73 yards on Saturday, including the touchdown.
Alapai ran it 14 times for 64 yards as the Warriors continued to alternate each back to keep their two-headed attack fresh.
Quarterback Brentten Rapozo was held to just one completion in the game, a short pass to Taylor. He finished 1 for 8 for 4 yards.
The Menehune also elected to grind out yards on the ground, with junior Alika Emayo carrying 20 times for 85 yards.
Devan Banasihan-Kenney ran it 10 times for 25 yards, while Kaleb John-Kaiwi and Paul Oligo each carried four times.
Menehune quarterback Jae Delos Reyes was 5 for 12 for 51 yards, with tight end Kyle Fleming his favorite target, hauling in three passes for 35 yards.
Jonathon Tangalin had one catch for 10 yards and Keoni Ana had one for five yards.
The Menehune forced a Warriors punt with under a minute to play in the game and a pass interference call moved Waimea up to their own 46-yard line.
But Treston Brede put an end to the evening with a sack of Delos Reyes on 3rd and 10 with just 10.4 seconds on the clock.
The victory may have been saved earlier by Kapa‘a lineman Clay Levinthol, who fell on a fumble for his offense resulting in a 14-yard loss. The 225-pound Levinthol beat the Waimea defense to the ball in their own territory.
Waimea had 16 first downs to Kapa‘a’s eight, but was unable to consistently capitalize on solid field position.
The Menehune started four drives past their own 40-yard line, two of them at the Kapa‘a 48 and 47.
They also elected to go for the end zone on 4th down at the Kapa‘a 4-yard line with less than a minute left in the first half.
Delos Reyes found his receiver, Fleming, but the Warrior defender put a big hit on the tight end when the ball arrived, knocking it loose and turning the ball over on downs.
Waimea (1-2, 0-1 KIF) will be back on the field on Saturday, heading to Vidinha Stadium to take on the Kaua‘i Red Raiders (3-0, 1-0).
It will be the first afternoon game of the season, which will play only afternoons until the year is completed. Junior varsity will kick off at 1 p.m. with varsity scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.
Varsity action can be heard live on JAMZ 98.1 FM.
The Kapa‘a Warriors JV moved to 3-0 on their young season with a 21-3 win over the Waimea JV, Saturday.
Kapa‘a was able to schedule two JV games in its preseason, giving it a leg up on the rest of the KIF. It put up convincing wins against Kalani and Lethbridge Collegiate Institute.
Waimea, which had been unbeaten in JV the past two seasons, was playing in its first live action.
JV game story and photos will be in an upcoming edition of The Garden Island.
