LIHUE » With a rollicking, rock-solid defense, Kapaa knocked off Pearl City 30-22 in the first round of the Division II portion of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football Championships on Saturday at Vidinha Stadium.
The Warriors (7-1) clawed back from a 22-14 halftime deficit and shut down the Chargers’ offense in the second half. They move on to meet second-seeded ‘Iolani next week in the semifinals.
"The defense dug deep in the end, when it counted," Kapaa coach Phillip Rapozo said. "We came out with some nerves and jitters and for the first time all year, we were on our heels against a really good passing team. That experience will help us next week against ‘Iolani, another good, disciplined passing team."
Pearl City quarterback Jordan Taamu showed his top-notch passing and running skills, especially in the first half, when he guided the Chargers to that 22-14 lead.
Taamu finished with 100 yards rushing and 256 yards through the air, but he couldn’t get Pearl City (8-3) into the end zone in the second half despite plenty of opportunities.
"We were falling apart (in the second half)," Taamu said. "They made some changes and were blitzing and containing me and they also had nice coverage on our receivers. Kapaa is a good team and I hope they win the states. We wanted to be the team moving on."
Defensively, the Warriors proved to be a menacing, hard-hitting bunch, and they got big-time performances from linebackers Austyne Carvalho-Toloai, Mosese Fifita and Brooks Bethel.
"We played as a team and stayed with our assignments (in the second half). He (Taamu) was fast, but we started to contain him," Fifita said. "This win means a lot. We showed what we can do. We can (beat ‘Iolani) as long as the team plays together."
A holding penalty on Pearl City and a huge hit by Fifita on Chargers receiver Keelan Domingo-Ishikawa were the beginning of the end in the third quarter for Pearl City. Carvalho-Toloai blocked a punt and it led to his own touchdown, an 11-yard pass from quarterback Rudy Agoot. Shain Davis added a 2-point conversion run for a 22-all tie with 3:53 left in the third.
Just before the end of the quarter, after a Pearl City punt, Kapaa struck again on Davis’ 36-yard TD sweep around left end on a direct snap. He went around the right side for the 2 points and a 30-22 lead.
The Chargers had three fourth-quarter possessions and marched as far as the Warriors’ 21, 31 and 38, but lost the ball on downs each time.
"That’s what our defense does," Rapozo said. "It was not a surprise to me."
In the first half, Taamu threw touchdown passes to Dominic Maneafaiga, Israel Kaleo and Domingo-Ishikawa as the Chargers went into the break with an eight-point lead.
Losing to a KIF team on Kauai in the first round of states is becoming a habit for Pearl City. The Chargers lost to Kauai 13-7 a year ago.
Despite the loss, the Chargers were in good spirits and stayed together long after the final whistle for words of praise from the coaches and team leaders.
"We win with pride and we lose with pride," coach Robin Kami told the team.
"We kept on fighting," he said to the media later. "We just came up short. We stuck to our game plan and they were containing our offense in the second half. We had our second and third chances. It was a good, hard football game."
At Vidinha Stadium
| PEARL CITY (8-3) |
8 |
14 |
0 |
0 |
— |
22 |
| KAPAA (7-1) |
7 |
7 |
16 |
0 |
— |
30 |
PC-Israel Kaleo 9 pass from Jordan Taamu (Taamu run)
Kap-Shain Davis 12 run (Noah Lamadrid kick)
Kap-Rudy Agoot 19 run (Lamadrid kick)
PC-Dominic Maneafaiga 54 pass from Taamu (Garrett Kanamu pass from Taamu)
PC-Keelan Domingo-Ishikawa 5 pass from Taamu (kick failed)
Kap-Austyne Carvalho-Toloai 11 pass from Agoot (Davis run)
Kap-Davis 36 run (Davis run)
RUSHING-Pearl City: Taamu 16-100, Jarrett Sanchez 3-8, Isaiah Moeone 3-1, Maneafaiga 1-0, MJ Keopuhiwa 2-(minus-1). Kapaa: Davis 9-67, Kekoa Kaluahine-Cacal 8-50, Agoot 11-34, Elijah Gouveia-McCarthy 6-16, Carvalho Toloai 1-11, TEAM 2-(minus-2).
PASSING-Pearl City: Taamu 29-48-1-256. Kapaa: Agoot 3-6-1-45, Kurt Napoleon 2-2-0-15.
RECEIVING-Pearl City: Kaleo 8-54, Maneafaiga 6-117, Garrett Kanamu 5-49, Domingo-Ishikawa 5-10, Sanchez 3-15, Moeone 1-11, Keopuhiwa 1-0. Kapaa: Davis 2-28, Dazmon Sasil 1-15, Carvalho-Toloai 1-11, Gouveia-McCarthy 1-6.
