Campbell battles its way past Hilo

KEAAU, Hawaii >> After two key fumbles midway through the battle, Isaac Hurd was ready to clutch up.

The senior quarterback rebounded with three second-half touchdown passes and ran for another as No. 5 Campbell rallied past Hilo 42-27 on Friday in the opening round of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Football Championships. It was a historic first-ever win in the D-I tourney for Campbell (9-3), but coach Amosa Amosa tipped his hat to Hilo, which was also seeking its first D-I tourney victory. 

“They’re 10-1 for a reason. Coach (David) Baldwin and his staff have done a tremendous job with their program. We had to work for four quarters to give ourselves a chance to win,” Amosa said. “We came in earlier (Thursday). Keaau’s principal and AD were nice enough to let us stay in the gym.” 

The alternative would have been a flight to Kona and a long two-hour-plus drive to Hilo. Still, the final score didn’t quite indicate how Hurd and the Sabers struggled against a tough Hilo defense. Hurd had to play his finest game, completing 28 of 36 attempts for a school-record 388 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown in the second half as the Sabers rallied from a 17-14 deficit. 

“They were pretty aggressive. They put more pressure than we thought they would,” Hurd said. “Coaches said things are open, just get the ball to our receivers.”

The midgame fumbles didn’t rattle Hurd.

“I have to do a better job of protecting the ball. I put my faith in God. Coach said don’t let that bother us,” he said. “Our receivers, they always got my back. Any time I put it out there, they get it. The majority of the game, my line gave me plenty of time. I love them.” 

Campbell will meet OIA Red West nemesis Mililani, the second seed, at 4:30 p.m.  Friday at Aloha Stadium. 

“We have to recoup and bring our ‘A’ game,” Hurd said. “That’s what it’s going to take. They’re a tough team, but we’ve got hearts, too.” 

Campbell’s defense did enough against Hilo and running back Tristan Spikes, who finished with 83 yards on 16 carries. Quarterback-receiver Donovan Faoa-Kelly was a sparkplug, passing for 99 yards and a touchdown, and catching a 70-yard scoring toss.

“It was a rough game. Campbell really fought their hardest and we fought our hardest, but in the end the better team won. Gotta give it to Campbell,” Faoa-Kelly said. 

Hilo’s big, physical front seven had control of the line of scrimmage early on. After the Vikings drove on their opening possession to score on an 11-yard keeper by Faoa-Kelly, they struggled offensively. 

The Vikings fumbled five times in the first half, possibly because of slick mud between the hashmarks, and the visiting Sabers recovered twice. Campbell’s Toese Tia recovered one at the Hilo 38, and on the next play, Hurd found Amosa Amosa Jr. for a score to tie the game at 7 with 4:46 to go in the second quarter. 

Later, Hurd found Keola Himan for a 49-yard bomb to the Hilo 11 and called time out. Then he hooked up with Amosa on a post route in the back of the end zone with 2.5 seconds to go for a 14-7 halftime lead. 

Campbell’s momentum carried into the second half as Hurd marched the Sabers into the red zone, but he got blasted by linebacker Suwaiter Poch. Jon Salzman recovered the fumble for Hilo. On the next play, Sione Atuekaho launched a 70-yard touchdown pass to Faoa-Kelly, who had moved to wide receiver, and the score was tied at 14. 

The Vikings took a 17-14 lead on Rayce Takayesu’s 30-yard field goal with 3:35 left in the third. 

But the Sabers would score the next 28 points as Hurd hit Kainoa Perry on a 23-yarder and Jayce Bantolina on a 40-yarder and scored on an 11-yard keeper.

Solomon Matautia later returned a punt 59 yards for a touchdown to cap Campbell’s big second-half run.  

Hilo—Donovan Faoa-Kelly 11 run (Rayce Takayesu kick)
Cam—Amosa Amosa Jr. 38 pass from Isaac Hurd (Bryson Maximo kick)
Cam—Amosa 11 pass from Hurd (Maximo kick)
Hilo—Faoa-Kelly 70 pass from Sione Atuekaho (Takayesu kick)
Hilo—Takayesu FG 30
Cam—Kainoa Perry 23 pass from Hurd (Maximo kick)
Cam—Jayce Bantolina 40 pass from Hurd (Maximo kick)
Cam—Hurd 11 run (Maximo kick)
Cam—Solomon Matautia 59 punt return (Maximo kick)
Hilo—Safety, intentional grounding from end zone
Hilo—Shelton Lerma 25 pass from Faoa-Kelly (Faoa-Kelly run)

RUSHING—Campbell: Austin May 12-53, Hurd 11-35, Kona Reiny-Alo 1-0, team 1-(-24), Vic-Matthew Pasaylo 2-9, Perry 1-2. Hilo: Tristan Spikes 16-83, Faoa-Kelly 11-22, Aven Kualii 1-0, team 1-(-17), Ofa Fahiua 1-1. 

PASSING—Campbell: Hurd 28-36-0-388. Hilo: Faoa-Kelly 5-12-0-99, Kualii 0-1-0-0, Atuekaho 2-11-0-79. 

RECEIVING—Campbell: Jayce Bantolina 6-107, Amosa 7-96, Galuega Castro 4-28, Kainoa Perry 6-85, Keola Himan 2-56, Reiny-Alo 2-12, Tyler Subia 1-4. Hilo: Jeffrey Kono 2-54, Spikes 3-29, Faoa-Kelly 1-70, Brock Sherlock 1-25.