Kapolei pulls away in second half to outlast Castle

Holding on to a slim 3-point lead at halftime, Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez gathered his Hurricanes on the team’s sideline as each player took a knee.

He knew they were capable of more.

In front of an almost capacity crowd, the Knights (2-2, 1-2 OIA Red) and the No. 8 Hurricanes (3-1, 2-1 OIA Red) exchanged blows all night long, but it was Kapolei that pulled away in the fourth quarter with a 40-21 victory that was closer than the scoreboard indicated.

“I just thought that we killed ourselves with penalties and made a lot of mistakes. We didn’t play our game and we could have played better, so I was upset,” Hernandez said. “All in all, you can’t be upset when you score 40, but it took us a while to get on track.”

Kapolei sophomore quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa led the Hurricanes all night, going 30-for-44 with three passing touchdowns and an interception. Jaymin Sarono caught all three touchdowns and finished with 10 receptions for 135 yards.

“It’s a blessing throwing to a man who’s not afraid to catch the ball in the middle,” Tagovailoa said of Sarono. “So aggressive when he touches that ball … We work on it in the offseason.”

Castle got off to an ideal start in the first quarter when the Knights scored on the game’s opening possession. On fourth-and-7 at the Kapolei 30, wide receiver Jeremy McGoldrick rushed for a touchdown on a double reverse.

Kapolei responded with 17 unanswered points. Hurricanes lineman Dylan Naehu sacked Castle quarterback Makana Smith in the end zone for a safety with 1:12 remaining in the first quarter. Kapolei’s 285-pound running back Antoneo Brown then bulled his way to rushes of 21 and 11 yards before pounding in a 2-yard score and an ensuing 2-point conversion with 7:12 left in the half. Brown finished with six carries for 37 yards.

Tagovailoa was in total control on Kapolei’s next drive, completing all seven of his passes for 80 yards, capped by a 10-yard touchdown to Sarono with 4:17 left in the second.

McGoldrick answered with his second touchdown of the day, this time a 6-yard pass from Jaylen Uyemura-Lee to close the half.

After clinging to a slim 24-21 lead after three quarters, the Hurricanes scored the game’s final 16 points to pad its lead.

“Hat’s off to Castle,” Hernandez said. “They played hard for four quarters and we woke up after three. They came to play, it’s their home field.”

The last two times Kapolei and Castle met, the Hurricanes held the Knights scoreless in 2014 and ended their season in 2015. Friday’s matchup was the fourth all-time meeting between the teams and the first at Castle.

“I think there was some good things tonight which we can build upon for our bye week next week and Farrington down the road,” Castle coach Nelson Maeda said. “We just have to learn how to play hard for four quarters. But Kapolei, I tell you, is a talented team.”