LIHUE — Kapaa High and Kauai High found themselves in a defensive stalemate with neither team able to score at the end of the first half of Friday night’s contest at Vidinha Stadium.
With both teams struggling to gain a definitive edge in the second half, both the Warriors and Red Raiders were left to make adjustments at halftime.
According to Philip Rapozo, the difference in the Warriors’ 21-6 second-half surge and victory wasn’t about adjustments, but more about execution.
“I don’t think we made too many adjustments (at halftime). We did everything we did in the second half we were trying to do in the first half,” Rapozo said. “We just shot ourselves in the foot with penalties, and we just stuck to our game plan, and keep working.”
Headed into the third quarter, the Warriors established momentum, catapulted by Nikki Kamelamela’s fumble recovery on the Red Raiders’ 49-yard-line.
Sparked by the momentum of being in favorable field position, the Warriors’ offense began to take flight, and Kahanu Davis’s run to Kauai’s 12-yard-line positioned Kapaa to score the first touchdown of the contest, setting up the 1-yard touchdown plunge by Alao.
Kauai answered the Warriors’ score with a touchdown of their own when Red Raiders’ quarterback Michael Lasquero connected with wide receiver Kyson Cabinatan on a fourth-down completion for a 35-yard touchdown pass.
The momentum the Red Raiders established was slightly dissipated when Kaylee Alapai’s point-after-touchdown kick attempt was blocked on the second attempt after she made the first attempt but had to rekick after an offsides penalty.
The two teams continued to move the football, but neither of them were able to threaten consistently.
With three minutes to go, the Warriors’ Davis put the game away with a 45-yard rushing touchdown, which solidified the Warriors’ fourth victory of the season headed into their bye week.
Davis said penalties hurt the Warriors in the first half of the game, and they collected themselves in the second half.
“(In the first half) we had penalties, and that pushed us back and threw us off a little bit,” Davis said. “We just worked together and worked as a team to have fewer penalties, and we made a lot of big plays, and our offensive line just played a big game.”
Red Raiders’ coach Jason Apilado said it’s the attention to detail his team needs to emphasize moving forward, as they showcased in the first half they can compete with the Warriors.
With the victory, Kapaa improved to 4-1, and Kauai fell to 1-4.
“A lot of the times the score doesn’t always reflect how hard the kids played,” Apilado said. “We have a great bunch of kids, and (they come to play) week after week, and I believe in our coaching staff, and eventually a win will come, and we aren’t too far away (from obtaining victory). We have to take advantage of more opportunities when they are given to us and capitalize on the defensive side of the ball.”
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Jason Blasco, sports reporter, can be reached at 245-0437 or jblasco@thegardenisland.com.
