The Kaua‘i Red Raiders capped off their preseason with a final matchup against the Coronado Islanders from San Diego, Saturday night at Vidinha Stadium. The game began to look like a tight, defensive battle until multiple Coronado turnovers turned it
The Kaua‘i Red Raiders capped off their preseason with a final matchup against the Coronado Islanders from San Diego, Saturday night at Vidinha Stadium.
The game began to look like a tight, defensive battle until multiple Coronado turnovers turned it into a one-sided affair at halftime and Kaua‘i went on to capture the 49-13 win.
Kaua‘i came out showing plenty of no-huddle offense in the first quarter, which paid dividends early on when quarterback Trey Shimabukuro hooked up with Kyle “Boom” Workman on a 22-yard touchdown pass with 9:17 left in the first quarter.
Workman hauled in a 20-yard reception to convert a third down earlier in the drive. Running back Paleku Yasay also converted a 3rd and 9 on the drive by bursting to the right sideline and picking up 34 yards.
Coronado started to move the ball towards Kaua‘i’s end of the field, but Cameron Largusa put a huge hit on the ball-carrier to force the football loose. Kaua‘i pounced on it and took over possession with 7:06 to go in the first.
Kaua‘i put together another drive and was threatening to add to its lead when Shimabukuro hit Kele Hanohano in stride but saw the pass bounce off his receiver’s chest and into the arms of Coronado safety Kodie Englehart with 4:18 remaining in the opening period.
The Raiders did not take long to return the favor when Kalen Nakaahiki stepped in front of an Englehart pass and picked it off with 2:38 to go.
Coronado marched downfield early in the second period and eventually Englehart ran it in for a two-yard score. The Islanders elected to go for two and Englehart was stuffed on the option run, so Kaua‘i held a 7-6 lead with 9:12 left in the half.
On the first play of Kaua‘i’s possession, Shimabukuro found Taran Tani in the flat. Tani weaved his way toward the left sideline, appearing to need just one block to break it for the score. He elected to take on Englehart head on, which turned out to be an ambitious, but poor decision. Englehart got both hands on the ball and ripped it out of Tani’s hands, taking off the other way and getting all the way to the Kaua‘i 10-yard line.
Just when the Islanders appeared to be headed for a lead, Englehart fumbled on the first play with Largusa again pouncing on it at the Raiders’ own 2-yard line.
The turnovers started to add up and began to eat away at Coronado’s chances of staying in the ballgame. Puna Hanohano had an interception gift-wrapped when Englehart fired a pass right into his chest. He got back down to the Coronado 3-yard line, where Yasay scored the first of his two touchdowns on his first chance to give Kaua‘i a 14-6 lead with 4:21 remaining in the first half.
Coronado brought in backup quarterback Austin Denso, whose first pass was tipped into the air and found its way to Hanohano, who took it 25 yards to the house. Shea Shimabukuro’s third extra point made it a 21-6 game.
The Islanders gave another away when Englehart’s first pass of the following drive was picked off by Travis Koga. That made three straight Coronado pass attempts that ended up in the arms of a Raider defensive player. Koga brought it back 22 yards to the Coronado 13.
Workman found the end zone for the second time on a 13-yard pass from Shimabukuro. Shea Shimabukuro’s extra point gave Kaua‘i 21 points in a span of just 43 seconds, and a 28-6 advantage.
After taking possession again, Trey Shimabukuro added a rushing touchdown from the 4-yard line to up the lead to 35-6 at halftime.
From there, Kaua‘i coasted through the second half and secured a perfect 3-0 preseason.
Arjay Honorato added another interception for the Kaua‘i defense and Boom Workman got some more work under center, managing to put points on the board and provide solid execution in place of Shimabukuro.
The Raiders have played three straight weeks and will have to get through two more before any rest will come with a bye week. Kaua‘i opens the KIF season against Kapa‘a at 7:30 p.m.on Sept. 11 at Vidinha Stadium.
They will then play Waimea on Sept. 18 at Hanapepe Stadium.
