LIHU‘E — With less than four minutes on the game clock Saturday, the Waimea High Menehune football team spoiled the Kaua‘i High homecoming game, 6-0, during the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation football games contested at Vidinha Stadium.
Both teams looked at a 0-0 stalemate before an audience that filled both sides of Vidinha Stadium as the clock ticked down on the defensive battle.
With 6:05 showing on the game clock, the Menehune took control of the ball on its own 44-yard line.
A keeper play by Menehune quarterback Kameron Apilado peeled off 31 yards to set up the touchdown that came on a pass to Haweo Akeo, who snagged the pigskin outside the 20-yard line and shook off a Kaua‘i defender to coast into the end zone. The point-after-touchdown kick attempt was blocked.
On the ensuing Raider possession, Apilado plucked an Austin Renaud pass intended for Joshua Ibaan on the Waimea 35-yard line to effectively secure the 6-0 victory.
Kaua‘i High had an opportunity to score in the second quarter when Kaimana Inouye blocked a Waimea punt and recovered the ball in good scoring position. However, a holding infraction against the Red Raiders moved the ball back to the Waimea 42-yard line with 1:59 showing before the break.
Fueled by a 37-yard pass play, Renaud to Ibaan, the ball rested on the Menehune 7-yard stripe before time ran out on the 0-0 half.
Earlier in the afternoon, the Waimea junior-varsity squad claimed a 14-6 edge over the Red Raider JV during the first contests played during daylight, a move mandated by the endangered seabird fledging season that started Sept. 15.
With the late-game win, the Menehune earn a spot in the Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association Division II playoff scheduled for later in the year. Seedings are yet to be determined as contests continue.
Kapa‘a, Waimea’s opponent Saturday, is the KIF Division I representative.
The JV game at Hanapepe Stadium kicks off starting at noon, with the varsity contest to follow 30 minutes following the JV game’s completion.
Ticket sales are online, and the contest is scheduled to be streamed live on the Menehune network.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
