Leilehua starts fast, then holds on to top Kapolei

In a battle of new blood, the team with just a bit more experience pulled through.

Kenan Sadanaga passed for 288 yards and all four of his touchdown strikes in the first half as No. 4-ranked Leilehua fought off Kapolei 27-19 at the Hurricanes’ field Friday night.

“I like the way our kids battled,” Leilehua interim head coach Mark Kurisu said. “Kapolei played well; we played well but had a bad third quarter. That’s what happens when you have good coaching on the other side.”

Leilehua opened its season last week with a 34-all nonconference tie with Service (Alaska). Kapolei won its nonconference game last week against Pearl City 54-0.

It was the regular-season opener for both squads before a crowd of about 2,000. The Mules jumped to a 27-0 lead, but Kapolei made a game of it in the second half with its triple-option attack, scoring 19 unanswered points.

“Their style of option changed (in the second half),” Kurisu said. “It was a base block, but they couldn’t get the edge, so they started doing more of a zone read. It’s a little more complex, but that’s what happens when they run the pistol.

“They made their changes, and we made our changes and got some stops.”

With both teams running no-huddle offenses for nearly every play, it was Leilehua’s defense that suffered from leg cramps and exhaustion in the second half. The ’Canes, led by quarterback Trey Kamachi-Allen (121 yards on 22 carries), pounded away, coming within 27-19 on his 10-yard keeper with 11:14 remaining.

From there, it was the visiting Mules who changed the tempo and ate up the clock. Their 12-play drive came to a halt on an interception by Mason Alfaro at midfield. On the next snap, however, Leilehua lineman Jeremy Taua recovered a fumble at the 49-yard line.

Kapolei got the ball back on its 19-yard line with 4:36 to go, but the drive ended at the Leilehua 41-yard line when Kamachi-Allen’s fourth-down pass to Mitchell Moses fell incomplete.

Kapolei finished with 218 rushing yards on 55 carries. Kamachi-Allen completed 10 of his 25 pass attempts for 129 yards. Running back Darrius Lopez, a 5-foot-11, 225-pound senior, had 80 yards on 16 attempts.

Kapolei defensive backs Kaeo Kanoa and Alfaro each had two interceptions and limited Sadanaga to 40 passing yards in the second half.

The Mules went to their screen passes constantly in the first half and eventually went downfield for a 37-yard touchdown pass from Sadanaga to Mikal Peyton. The Mules led 6-0 with 2:02 left in the opening quarter.

Running back Cole DeCorte scored on a 20-yard screen play to give Leilehua a 13-0 lead with 8:02 remaining in the second quarter.

Allen Racette swerved and juked his way to a 53-yard touchdown on yet another screen pass, and the Mules led 20-0 with 5:14 left in the first half.

A 37-yard scoring pass from Sadanaga to Peyton made it 27-0 with 1:37 to go in the half.