Waimea, Kaua’i tie at 7-7

LIHU’E — The Red Raiders and Menehune went into last night’s contest wanting a win, but instead they came out of the game with a 7-7 tie at Vidinha Stadium.

Both squads had numerous chances to go ahead, but penalties and miscues were the biggest reasons for the deadlock. Waimea senior Kenny Estes failed on two field goal attempts, one (35 yards) at the 4:40 mark in the fourth quarter, and other one (36 yards) with three seconds to go in the half.

Meanwhile, the Red Raiders drove the ball deep in Menehune territory at the end of the game, but Frank Speetjens’ 40 yard field goal sailed short.

The Menehune struck first, thanks to a 35 yard interception return touchdown by Estes off of a Kainoa Lemke pass. Markis Carveiro’s pressure on Lemke was key on the INT. Estes nailed the extra point for the 7-0 lead.

The margin would stand all the way until the 11:52 mark in the second quarter, as Kaua’i plunged into the end-zone on a Pono Matthews 25 pass play to Jett Jasper. Matthews sailed the ball sky high, but Jasper made the heads up play and adjusted to the ball and was also able to keep his feet in the endzone. Speetjens connected on the game-tying PAT.

Both defenses stiffened after the first half and enabled no scores the rest of the way.

Kaua’i remains on top of the KIF standings at 3-0-1 and Waimea is in second-place at 2-1-1. The homecoming round kicks off on Friday, as the Warriors host the Menehune at Vidinha Stadium.

In the JV game, the Red Raiders continued to roll in a 23-0 win over the Menehune. Tyrus Ceria-Lux scored on a 9 yard run in the first quarter and kicked the extra point as well for the 7-0 lead. Then Ceria-Lux connected on a long 52 yard TD bomb to Jonathan Gebauer in the second quarter for the 14-0 advantage, thanks to another Ceria-Lux PAT.

Micah “Da Machine” Alayvilla (10 TD’s on the season) got into the score books at the four minute mark in the second stanza, thanks to a 4 yard TD run. Keala Lovell kicked the final PAT for the 23-0 final. The Red Raider defense also added a safety to the final tally. Kaua’i improved to 4-0 on the season.