No. 8 Campbell put the hurt on Waiakea 48-0 in Ewa Beach on Friday night to advance to the Division I semifinals of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Football Championships.
The Sabers (9-4) started fast, scoring on their first four possessions against the visiting Warriors (3-9) from the Big Island, who brought a sizable fan base along with them but couldn’t get much going all night.
With the victory, Campbell moves on to a semifinal next Saturday against ‘Iolani, which beat Moanalua 17-14, also Friday night.
“The sky is the limit,” said Sabers senior wide receiver Markus Ramos, who scored one of his team’s seven touchdowns. “We were a little unfocused today, but we played a helluva game. We stayed focused and stayed through it. We’ve got a big game ahead of us — ‘Iolani — and we’ve got to practice 110 percent harder than what we did this week.”
Tasi Faumui got the ball rolling for the Campbell offense on its first possession, rumbling for a 31-yard touchdown.
Dane Esprecion’s fumble recovery, one of two by him for the night, on Waiakea’s first time with the ball led to the Sabers’ next score — quarterback Kawika Ulufale’s 6-yard TD run.
Esprecion’s recovery was one of five takeaways by the Campbell defense.
“Tonight, we needed to come in and take care of business,” Sabers coach Amosa Amosa said. “So I’m proud of how our kids responded. We had two weeks to get ready for Waiakea and it’s hard to wait that long at this point in the season. Our kids got anxious. Our defense is back to taking care of business, pitching a shutout. We did a lot of good things tonight, but our personal fouls and penalties stand out. We’re going to have to clean that up.”
The Warriors’ deepest penetration was to the Sabers 14 in the second quarter before they lost the ball on downs.
“It was hard for us the whole season,” Waiakea coach Bryon Pita said. “We’ve got a lot of young kids, a lot of freshmen starting for us. As the years go on, they’ll get a lot better. The (Oahu Interscholastic Association (Campbell’s league) and Big Island Interscholastic Federation (Waiakea’s league), different kind of football. I’m pretty proud of how they played. They’ve never been in this kind of limelight before.”
Ulufale finished the game with three touchdown runs, including two in the first half as the Sabers took a 41-0 lead into the intermission. Another Campbell QB, Dustin Abillanida, threw two touchdown passes — one to Ramos for 14 yards and another to Vernon Etrata-Daite for 9 yards.
The Warriors’ Wesley Amuimuia was the workhorse for the visitors, gaining 66 rushing yards on 14 carries. Fafo Tevaseu and Isaiah Toledo recovered fumbles for Waiakea.
