For almost a full half, unranked Kapolei had No. 3-ranked Mililani against the ropes.
Then, with one bizarre play, Shane Kady turned the momentum around. The lanky sophomore intercepted a pass in the end zone — a ball that got away from Kapolei quarterback Lonenoa Faoa — to give the visiting Trojans the lead for good en route to a 42-21 win on Friday night.
Kady’s clutch play surprised him as much as anyone.
“Me and Mykah Tuiolemotu rushed in. I didn’t expect him to flop the ball. He lost control of the ball. I didn’t even know what happened. The ball was in the air and I jumped for it,” the 6-foot-2, 180-pound sophomore said. “Time slowed down. I saw the ref put his hands up (to signal a touchdown).”
That play gave the Trojans a 26-21 lead with just 28 seconds left in the first half, and neutralized what had been an exuberant rally by the Hurricanes. The home team trailed 20-7, but scored on a 64-yard touchdown pass from Faoa to Tamatoa Mokiao-Atimalala, and then got a 55-yard fumble return to the end zone by defensive tackle Junior Tuia to take the lead.
FOLLOW ALONG
A game of interest not on the radio or TV? Then follow our live blogs on HawaiiPrepWorld.com. Here are the blogs for today’s games:
>> ‘Iolani vs. Pac-Five, 3 p.m., Aloha Stadium
>> Saint Louis vs. Punahou, 6 p.m., Aloha Stadium
>> Pearl City vs. Kaimuki, 6:30 p.m., Skippa Diaz
>> Waipahu vs. Kalani, 6:30 p.m., at Kaiser
* Hawaii high school football scoreboard, Sept. 15
After Mililani took the lead before the half, the Hurricanes failed to score in the second half.
With the win, Mililani remained atop the OIA Red standings at 5-0 (6-0 overall), while Kapolei slipped to 2-4 (3-4).
Dillon Gabriel passed for 376 yards (28-for-44), but wasn’t happy.
“We didn’t play as good as we wanted to. Our offense didn’t produce enough. Kapolei’s defense was strong,” said Gabriel, who passed for three touchdowns but was intercepted twice in the first half on long throws.
Damien Santiago’s 28-yard field goal opened the Trojans’ lead to 29-21 early in the third quarter.
The Hurricanes offense, which got 173 passing yards from the sharp-throwing Faoa in the first half, mustered just one first down in the second half.
Gabriel’s scrambling — he picked his spots and avoided direct hits most of the night — and his wide distribution of targets kept the Hurricanes off balance. His 5-yard TD run opened the lead to 35-21 with 4:48 to go in the third quarter.
He found Nayyir Muhammed (five catches, 64 yards, one TD) for a couple of first downs and Reichel Vegas for another key completion to set up a 13-yard strike to Ryan Chang (four receptions, 98 yards, two TDs) with 10:03 left in the fourth quarter. That pushed Mililani’s lead to 42-21.
More photos of the game between Kapolei and Mililani.
