KAPAA — The Kauai Interscholastic Federation will have two representatives on the gridiron this week as the 2024 First Hawaiian Bank Hawaii High School Athletic Association continues its football state championships calendar.
Kapa’a High School, the reigning Central Pacific Bank KIF football champions, and No. 3 seed in the HHSAA Division I playoffs, will be in action against No. 2 seeded Damien Memorial High School on Friday night in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Farrington High School on Oahu during the semifinal round of the state championships.
Kauai High School, seeded No. 2 in the Division II championship bracket, will be hosting Kaiser High School in a 2 p.m. kickoff at the Vidinha Stadium on Saturday.
The No. 2 seeded Red Raiders enjoyed a bye during the quarterfinals of the Division II fight and will be meeting the unseeded Kaiser who advanced in the playoffs following a 30-0 win over No. 3 seeded PAC-Five on Saturday on Oahu.
Both teams are still seeking berths in championship play that will take place on Nov. 30 at Mililani High School on O’ahu. The Division I title game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. The Division II title game kicks off starting at 4 p.m.
The No. 3 seeded Division I Kapaa High School advanced following a 38-12 win over the Kailua Surfriders on Saturday at the Bryan J. Baptiste Sports Park stadium that escaped the threat of rain before a near-capacity audience at the Kapaa facility.
Losing little time, Kapaa announced itself with three quick touchdowns in the opening stanza before allowing the Surfriders a second-quarter score.
Kailua came back from the break with its second score only to be outdone by the Warriors who notched scores in the third and fourth frames. The punctuation point came with just 38 ticks showing on the clock when Kamalei Gonsalves bulled through heavy traffic for a one-yard touchdown graced by a Micah Rapozo PAT boot.
Warrior signal caller Evan Daligdig who finished the game with 99 yards total rushing led the Kapaa scoring by tapping paydirt in the first quarter on a 33-yard romp, and in the third quarter with a six-yard scoring push.
Kailua, trailing 21-0 in the second quarter, and holding Kapaa to a failed first down attempt in the fourth down, found life after Stoney Pocock pulled in an Isaiah Keaunui-Demello aerial and broke open for a 72-yard score with a little more than eight minutes remaining in the half.
The Surfriders’ second score popped up in the third quarter when Xavier Kauhi-Babas found another Keaunui-Demello aerial for a 16-yard score.
On the defensive side of the ball, Kailua’s Jonah Sua and Jabez Lilo topped the stoppers with each blueshirt marking nine stops apiece. Sua also had the sole Evan Daligdig pass interception.
Kapaa’s Sami Kau Vaka topped the Warrior defensive efforts with 5.5 stops followed by Takazee Thomas marking five stops. Thomas also had two of the three Kapaa interceptions, the third pluck being marked by Brayden Bermoy. Devon Green was credited with three quarterback sacks.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 808-245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
