LIHU‘E — With five seconds to play, Kapa‘a had the ball on the Kaua‘i 28-yard line. The Warriors were down by one and were attempting a last-ditch effort to get the ball in the end zone some way, any way.
LIHU‘E — With five seconds to play, Kapa‘a had the ball on the Kaua‘i 28-yard line. The Warriors were down by one and were attempting a last-ditch effort to get the ball in the end zone some way, any way.
With quarterback Rudy Agoot dropping back to pass and Kaua‘i defenders hot on his heels, Agoot slung the ball down the field for the end zone only to see his last hope snatched from the air by a defender in red. The interception ran the final ticks off the clock and Kapa‘a was left with the 26-25 loss by the hands of the Kaua‘i Red Raiders.
Kaua‘i would start off strong. On its first possession, quarterback Christopher Efhan would connect with wide receiver Lanakila Wilson for the deep 46-yard touchdown pass, which put the Red Raiders up 7-0.
On the other side Kapa‘a had a nice drive brewing toward the end of the first quarter, but it was all for not, as the Warriors eventually fumbled, which Kaua‘i was able to recover to bring the quarter to a close.
The Red Raiders would capitalize on the turnover and put together a solid drive via the legs of running back Kekoa Cacal and Wilson. On fourth and goal, Kaua‘i decided to go for it, but a dropped pass in the end zone would eventually turn the ball over on downs.
Coming off of another Kapa‘a turnover, Kaua‘i was able to get the ball down to the 15-yard line where Wilson would run it in the rest of the way for the touchdown giving Kaua‘i the commanding 14-0 lead.
Kapa‘a would eventually find its footing on offense getting the ball into the red zone just before the half expired where Agoot would keep the ball himself for a 10-yard touchdown run. The score would put Kapa‘a down 14-7, which it stayed through the first half of play.
The third quarter would start quickly as a nice run by Wilson would set up a 21-yard touchdown scamper by running back Jhustin Balisican. Kaua‘i would miss the extra point leaving the score at 20-7.
Kapa‘a wouldn’t be held down for long as Agoot connected with Chaz Pacleb for a 45-yard touchdown pass. The Warriors would miss the extra point, which proved to be costly down the stretch, and put them down 20-13.
The Warriors would get the ball back on a Kaua‘i turnover and Christian Rapozo would punch it in the end zone from 10-yards out. Unfortunately, for Kapa‘a the Warriors would miss yet another extra point, leaving the team trailing 20-19.
With an all around solid performance from Wilson and another touchdown run from Balisican, Kaua‘i would take a somewhat comfortable 26-19 lead deep into the fourth quarter.
Kapa‘a would not stand idly by as the Warriors moved to the ball to the Kaua‘i 1-yard line, where Agoot kept the ball for the touchdown. The run put Kapa‘a down by one again. The Warriors made a gutsy call, and went for the win by going for the two-point conversion. The bold move did not pay off as Agoot was stuffed at the goal line by a host of Red Raider defenders.
The game was 26-25 in favor of Kaua‘i. The Warriors had no choice but to attempt the onside kick, which was successful. But in the end Kapa‘a did not have enough to try and capture the victory away from Kapa‘a.
The win puts Kaua‘i at 1-0 on the season. These two teams will meet again on Sept. 7 at Vidinha Stadium at 5 p.m.
•Rick Killeen, sports writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or sports@thegardenisland.com. Follow Rick on Twitter @RickKilleen.
