HANAPEPE — Already with a two touchdown lead, the Warriors’ offense erupted in the fourth quarter to seal a victory in the Kauai Interscholastic League season opener. Kapaa High School’s varsity football team defeated Waimea 36-0 Friday night at Hanapepe
HANAPEPE — Already with a two touchdown lead, the Warriors’ offense erupted in the fourth quarter to seal a victory in the Kauai Interscholastic League season opener.
Kapaa High School’s varsity football team defeated Waimea 36-0 Friday night at Hanapepe Stadium.
Warriors senior Shane Davis scored two rushing touchdowns in the final quarter en route to Kapaa’s favorable result.
“We just made some adjustments at halftime. We saw what they were giving us. Our guys up in the booth were good,” said Kapaa head coach Philip Rapozo. “I liked their attitudes tonight. The boys were a lot better than the last game. It was so positive in that area.
“I know we got to get back to work. We cannot take anybody lightly. I’m sure the next time we play Waimea, they’ll be a lot better,” he added.
In a shaky first half in which both teams turned over the ball in their opening drives, Kapaa held a 7-0 lead. Senior quarterback Rudy Agoot scored on a 5-yard run in the opening quarter.
Agoot then connected with junior receiver Junard Mata for a 54-yard touchdown pass in the team’s opening possession in the second half. Agoot finished the game with four completions on nine attempts, 79 yards passing and two passing touchdowns.
On the ground, the Warriors quarterback had 29 yards rushing on 11 touches and one rushing touchdown.
“We started off slow in the first half just because of the mistakes. After a while, we started getting comfortable,” Agoot said. “We calmed down, pulled through and finished.”
He also credited the offensive line for the team’s success.
Linebacker Brooks Bethel got some action on offense and pulled in a 13-yard reception from Agoot to give Kapaa its third touchdown of the night.
“It was exhilarating. It felt good to have a score in my high school year,” Bethel said.
Waimea had opportunities to get on the board because of penalties on Kapaa’s defense.
The Menehune found their way into the red zone in the second quarter, but senior running back Kaeo Palama-Souza fumbled and Kapaa junior defensive back Bryce Dato recovered the ball on their own 17-yard-line.
Waimea had three fumbles and gave up a safety in the game.
“We definitely shot ourselves in the foot a bunch a times with mental errors,” said Waimea head coach Jason Caldeira. “That’s all on me. It’s my job to make sure they’re focused and that they stay on track. I’m just going to work harder and try to get better as a coach.”
Menehune senior quarterback Patrick Keamoai-Strickland said he and his teammates will have to put in the extra work to eliminate those costly errors as the season progresses. He finished the game with seven completions on 16 attempts and 42 yards passing.
“Coach said we just have to work harder. Try to get some better drills in and see what happens from there,” Keamoai-Strickland said.
Despite the shutout, Rapozo acknowledged the mistakes made on defense.
“We got to clean that up. We got to clean up the penalties,” the Warriors coach said.
Waimea will play Kauai High on Friday at Vidinha Stadium. Kapaa’s next game will be on Friday, Sept. 12 also against Kauai at Vidinha Stadium.
In both events, the junior varsity game begins at 5 p.m. and the varsity teams play at 7:30 p.m.
“This is a big lesson. I always preach to them that without bad, there is no good,” Caldiera said. “This is one of those days where we learn that lesson. It’s how you come back that defines your character. Now we’re tested. We’ll see how we’ll come back and what is the true character of this team.”
