LIHU‘E — Kauai High School player Mana Inouye scored three touchdowns and the Red Raiders claimed a 28-21 victory in a Kauai Interscholastic Federation football game played at Vidinha Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 28.
Tied 21-21 with the Waimea Menehune and the clock ticking down the remaining seconds of the game being waged in the hot afternoon, Inouye swept the left side for a 22-yard touchdown that broke the logjam with just 22.2 seconds left in the game.
This was his third and longest score of the game, following his two first-half contributions that ignited the Red Raiders wagon to a 14-0 halftime lead over the Menehune.
Inouye’s first score, a 2-yard push through traffic, lit up the scoreboards with just 21.4 seconds remaining in the first quarter. His second score, a 1-yard charge to the end zone, with just 42 ticks showing before the break.
Raiders kicker Kai Potts ended the day perfect in point after touchdowns boots by gracing each of the four Kauai scores.
Facing the 14-0 hole at the break, the Menehune returned to the field with new energy as its quarterback Kyka Linoz scored two touchdowns and big Mykah Brun added a score. Menehune special team’s Shayden Ranis-Alameda Dela Cruz was 3 and 0 for Waimea scores.
The Menehune’s newfound energy slowed the Red Raiders wagon, and Linoz made a dent in the hole with his first score, a 4-yard scamper, that capped Waimea’s first possession of the second half.
Brun knotted the contest at 14-14 with his 10-yard score that came with 5:10 showing in the third frame, just about three minutes after Linoz found the end zone.
Linoz continued the Menehune march by getting his 14-yard score that peeled off just five seconds in the final quarter. The score also gave Waimea its first lead of the game.
Kauai quarterback Tyren Aona kick-started the Red Raiders offense with 10:22 showing in the contest when he found Kaedon Tam-Ventura in Menehune territory. But the Menehune enjoyed the second half control when Menehune Jeremiah Foster plucked an Aona air ball near midfield.
Unable to capitalize on the turnover, Kauai took control when Aona found Mana Kaui on the receiving end of a 78-yard scoring pass to deadlock the contest at 21-21 with 4:01 showing on the game clock.
Inouye broke that stalemate with his 9-yard score in the final 22 ticks of the game.
Earlier in the day, the Kauai junior varsity enjoyed a 7-0 edge over Waimea.
Waimea, with a 0-3 first half of the season record, will attempt to find a “W” on Saturday when the Menehune host Kapaa, currently 3-0 in the first half, at Hanapepe Stadium. Kauai, 2-1 with the Saturday win, enjoys a bye.
The JV game kicks off starting at noon with the varsity game starting 30 minutes following the end of the JV contest.
