D-I: Kahuku vs. Saint Louis • Friday, 7:30 • Aloha Stadium
There was a time when the Kapaa football team had no idea what a postseason road trip felt like.
The Warriors are becoming masters of it now. Thanks to its 24-0 shutout of Lahainaluna in the Division II semifinals of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships, Kapaa (9-0) is taking a trip to Oahu for the second year in a row and third time in the past five seasons.
“We’re doing our homework and we feel good about our chances. Everyone is excited that they get to play in the stadium. We’re thankful and we’re blessed.”
Phillip Rapozo
Kapaa coach
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This is the f irst time, however, that there is an added bonus for the Kauai Interscholastic Federation champions from the east side of the Garden Isle. This year, they’ll be playing at Aloha Stadium for the first time, and a state crown will be on the line.
“Everyone is very focused,” Warriors coach Phillip Rapozo said during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon. “We’re doing our homework and we feel good about our chances. Everyone is excited that they get to play in the stadium. We’re thankful and we’re blessed.”
Prior to its KIF title in 2011, Kapaa’s previous postseason game was in 1989, a home loss to Maui in the now-defunct Neighbor Islands Football Championship.
The opponent on Friday is OIA Division II titlist Radford (12-0). Chances are high that it will be a defensive slugfest. The Warriors have not allowed an opponent to score an offensive touchdown this season, and the Rams allowed an average 8.2 points per game in all games, 4.3 points per game in their rugged league.
“Radford is very physical and very big,” Rapozo said. “They’ll probably have the best offense we’ll face this season, and they bring it on defense. It’s a balanced offense with good athletes who are very well coached. That’s the challenge we have ahead of us and we’re excited for it.”
Rapozo talked to his team on Monday about some late-game miscues against the Lunas. There were a few muffed punt returns and turnovers when the game was well in hand, and no extra-point or 2-point conversions were made throughout.
“We’ve made some changes,” he said. “That was the first time we’ve struggled with our field-goal/extra-point team. We feel good about it now. There were a lot of different things we didn’t do right that we normally don’t have a problem with. It’s all been addressed.”
Rapozo knows they won’t get away with those kinds of mistakes Friday.
“We’ll pretty much have to play mistake-free football against a team like Radford,” he said.
Two offensive starters — quarterback Kurt Napoleon (wrist) and running back Kekoa Kaluahine-Cacal (stinger) — were hurt against Lahainaluna, but will be ready to go Friday. Backups Telii Fonua at quarterback and Kalena Harder (three touchdowns) at running back filled in without a hitch against the Lunas.
The Warriors did film work and practiced with helmets and no pads Monday. No place on Kauai can simulate the Aloha Stadium atmosphere, though. After arriving at the 50,000-seat stadium Friday, they won’t have long to savor the place before getting down to business against the Rams.
