Kaua‘i High defense leads to 19-0 win

LIHU‘E —A fumble recovery, bad snap and pass interception provided the seeds for the Kaua‘i High School junior varsity team, which took a 19-0 win over Kapa‘a, Saturday at Vidinha Stadium.

With both teams demonstrating solid, aggressive defense, the first quarter ended in a 0-0 stalemate with more of the same in the second period until the defensive duo of Micah Akutagawa-Ramos and Kalen Smith snared the loose pigskin on the Kapa‘a 4-yard line.

That set up the first score at the 3:58 mark in the half as Trey Aguano reaped the score on a four-yard slant in heavy traffic.

The point-after kick failed and Kaua‘i took a 6-0 bulge into the locker rooms at the half.

The Junior Red Raiders opened the second half on another key defensive play when it recovered a bad snap on a Kapa‘a punt attempt on the Warriors’ 3-yard line.

Working against the goal line stand, Dryke Smith-Butac tapped paydirt on a two-yard charge at the 6:12 mark, Grant Basquez gracing the TD with the PAT boot for the 13-0 read.

Kaua‘i’s Michael Gabriel plucked a Kapa‘a pass late in the period and ran it in for a score.

But the play was nullified on a Red Raider penalty and the ball was called back to the Kapa‘a 23-yard line from where Basquez split the uprights on a field goal with 45 ticks remaining in the period.

On the ensuing kickoff, Alvin Honorato capitalized on a muffed kickoff return, corralling the ball on the Kapa‘a 37-yard line with 42 seconds showing.

Less than 30 seconds into the fourth quarter, Basquez split the uprights on a 33-yard field goal for the final score of the game as Kaua‘i wrapped up a 19-0 win.

Kapa‘a will host Waimea this Saturday at the New Kapa‘a Town Park stadium with kickoff scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and the varsity game to start no later than 4:30 p.m.