Kapolei did not play well in the beginning nor the end in a victory over Downey (Calif.) on Friday.
It was what happened in the middle that carried the Hurricanes to victory.
Kapolei overcame turnovers on their first three possessions, then had to hold on late to topple Downey 31-28 in a nonleague game.
The Hurricanes lost a pair of fumbles and threw an interception to start the game. They finished with six turnovers and allowed the Vikings to recover a pair of onside kicks in the fourth quarter.
“I don’t know how many turnovers we had. I lost count,” Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said.
>> Click here to see photos of the game between Kapolei and Downey.
Jayven Reyes scored on a 12-yard run, and Noah Bailey’s 14-yard pass to Bula White gave the Hurricanes a commanding 31-12 lead with 5:12 left in the third quarter.
The Hurricanes had short fields on both scoring drives because the Vikings failed on a fourth-and-3 from their 35 and on a fake punt at their 26. The two scores put Kapolei ahead 24-6 with 24 seconds left in the third.
“Our kickers weren’t able to travel with us. Our punter wasn’t there. We scratched punting in the third quarter,” said Downey coach Jack Williams.
Hurricanes receiver De’Zhaun Stribling caught 10 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown for Kapolei.
“It was a good game. It was mainly the whole offense clicking, which really helped me. We all played as one,” Stribling said.
Downey recovered two onside kicks in the fourth, but Kapolei intercepted passes on the drives, including a 55-yard pick-6 by Kalahoolewa Emmsley to make it a 19-point game midway through the fourth.
Downey scored on Pedro De Anda’s 14-yard pass to Mateo Rico and a 59-yarder to JoJo Robinson to get close late.
Kapolei recovered an onside kick with 20 seconds remaining to seal it.
After the rough start, Kapolei finally got things going with a four-play, 40-yard scoring drive, which was capped by an 11-yard pass from Bailey to Stribling with 10:06 left in the second quarter. Micah Fonoti made the PAT kick.
Kapolei made it 10-0 on Fonoti’s 33-yard field goal with 1:30 remaining before halftime. Stribling had receptions of 30 and 25 yards on the drive.
Downey replaced quarterback Christopher Hernandez with De Anda on its final drive of the first half.
De Anda led the Vikings quickly down field and he found Xander Orozco for a 10-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 7.1 seconds on the clock. The drive covered 78 yards on eight plays, including a 43-yard run by Rico. The conversion run failed, so Kapolei took a 10-6 lead into halftime.
De Anda played the entire second half for the Vikings and finished with 305 passing yards.
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Kapolei 31, Downey (Calif.) 28
At Kapolei
>> Downey (0-2) 0 6 0 22 — 28
>> Kapolei (3-2) 0 10 14 7 — 31
Kapolei – De’zhaun Stribling 11 pass from Noa Bailey (Micah Fonoti kick)
Kapolei – FG Fonoti 33
Downey — Xander Orozco 10 pass from Pedro De Anda (run failed)
Kapolei – Jayven Reyes 12 run (Fonoti kick)
Kapolei – Bula White 14 pass from Bailey (Fonoti kick)
Downey — Jeremy Castro 9 pass from Jeremy Castro (pass failed)
Kapolei – Kalahoolewa Emmsley 55 interception return (Fonoti kick)
Downey — Mateo Rico 14 pass from De Anda (Lawrence Joseph from De Anda)
Downey — JoJo Robinson 59 pass from De Anda (Rico run)
RUSHING — Downey: Rico 10-58, Jayden Hollis 3-33, Jaden Allen 8-4, Christopher Hernandez 2-(minus 5), De Anda 1-(minus (9). Kapolei: Reyes 9-50, Dustin Lino-Adkins 2-22, Dycen Coyaso 1-14, Stribling 1-8, Ezra Sidotti 1-5, Bailey 5-4, Josh Nahulu 4-3, TEAM 2-(minus 3), Freddie Gregorio 1-(minus 6).
PASSING — Downey: De Anda 22-39-3-305, Hernandez 8-15-0-35. Kapolei: Bailey 16-29-3-224.
RECEIVING — Downey: Jojo Robinson 6-91, Kevin Caldwell 4-48, Orozco 4-38, Joseph 4-28, Hollis 3-33, Allen 2-26, Castro 2-22, Issiah Apodaca 2-11, Dillon Laurer 1-32, Rico 1-6, Johnny Fernandez 1-5. Kapolei: Stribling 10-178, White 4-53, Coyaso 2-(minus 7).
