KAPAA — Following a pair of preseason losses, the Kapaa High School football team entered the Kauai Interscholastic Federation field looking for a win on Friday before a good-sized audience at the Bryan J. Baptiste Sports Park stadium.
Kapaa quarterback Evan Daligdig passed for two touchdowns, and kept the ball for another pair of scores in the 31-6 victory over Waimea High School. The Menehune were trying to rebound from their 9-0 loss at the hands of Kauai High School during the Menehune’s season opener at home.
The Warriors scored three times in the second period, and following a Menehune touchdown in the third stanza, finished the night with a score in the final period when Daligdig found Nainoa Simmons at the end of an 85-yard scoring aerial with just 4:28 showing on the game clock.
Daligdig set up his own score late in the opening frame when he drove to the Waimea 2-yard stripe. He tapped paydirt on the long drive with a 3-yard drive to the end zone with just eight ticks peeled off the quarter.
Midway through the quarter, Daligdig went to the left for the Warriors’ next score as the quarterback found a receiver on his own 34-yard line. After pulling in the pigskin, the Warrior outran the defense for a touchdown on the Lihue side of the stadium.
A Micah Rapozo field goal with no time left on the clock saw the Warriors take a 17-0 bulge at the break.
The third period was the Waimea’s Micah Brun show as the big special teams receiver brought the pigskin through traffic to the Menehune 44-yard line, just 6 yards shy of midfield. In a move that caught the Warrior defense off guard, Waimea QB Kyka Linoz found Brun on a pass that brought the ball breathing on the end zone at the Kapaa 2-yard line. Brun capped the drive on a slant to the right for a 3-yard touchdown.
Kapaa softened the sting of the touchdown when the Warrior defense blocked the PAT kick.
The Warriors capped the win in the final period with the Daligdig to Simmons connection for its first season win.
Earlier in the day, the Junior Varsity Warriors suffered an 8-20 loss from the Waimea JV squad.
The Menehune will face Kauai High School for the second time this season during daylight hours at Vidinha Stadium on Saturday. The JV contest is scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff followed by the varsity contest kicking off 30 minutes following the completion of the JV game.
