KAPA‘A — The Kaua‘i High junior varsity football team milked the final 30 ticks to halftime to score the only touchdown at the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation football season opening game against Kapa‘a High’s JV on Saturday at the Bryan J. Baptiste Sports Complex stadium.
With 28.7 ticks showing on the break, Kaua‘i High’s Colten Dela Cruz, doing most of the ball running in the contest, was sandwiched between a Warrior JV defender and his own lineman inside the Kapa‘a 2-yard line.
The jostling pushed Dela Cruz across the goal line plane for what would have been Kaua‘i’s first score this year following a 2022 season where Kaua‘i did not have sufficient numbers to field a JV team.
The play was nullified on an infraction, and instead of celebrating a touchdown, Kaua‘i High faced a 6-yard hole to paydirt with the clocking ticking.
Jacob Bukoski took the pigskin and managed to fall with the ball across the end zone plane for Kaua‘i High’s only score of the contest after Dela Cruz’s point after touchdown kick attempt was blocked by the Warriors with 18 ticks left in the half.
Earlier, with less than two minutes in the half left, Red Raider quarterback Jaysah Rapozo hit Caleb Stebbins on a long aerial that resulted with Kaua‘i High threatening on the Warriors’ 14-yard line, from where Kaua‘i High capped the possession with the sole score in the 40-minute encounter.
The KIF, on Wednesday, announced the cancelation of the varsity contest, with no reason given.
That did not stop the crowd of several hundred people from enjoying the first football game of the fall season between the JV teams.
Kapa‘a next travels to Hanapepe Stadium on Saturday to take on the Waimea High Menehune. The JV contest kicks off at 4 p.m. followed by the varsity contest starting 30 minutes following the JV game.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
