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Whatever adjustments Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez made at halftime worked wonders for his team. The Hurricanes overcame a sloppy first half to score 42 unanswered points — 35 in the second half — for an important 42-17 win over host Moanalua on Saturday night.
“We just made some adjustments, especially on defense,” Hernandez said of the come-from-behind win. “We were able to get the job done. I’m proud of them.”
The Hurricanes were led by quarterback Tama Amisone, who got things done with both his arm and his legs. He completed 17 of 26 passes for 214 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He also carried the ball 19 times for 162 yards, while running in two more touchdowns.
“That was big, that was really big,” Hernandez said about Amisone’s dual-threat ability. “He’s an amazing player.”
Na Menehune, meanwhile, were led by freshman quarterback Tayden-Evan Kaawa, who finished with 269 yards on 21-of-45 passing. He threw two touchdowns, but also two interceptions. Eric Stephens was his top target, finishing with 141 yards on nine catches.
Moanalua came out on top in a mistake-filled first half, during which the two teams combined for 21 penalties. A short kickoff by Kapolei was made worse by a helmet-to-helmet penalty before the game’s first offensive snap, when a Hurricanes defender jumped offsides.
Despite the game’s inaugural drive now starting inside their opponent’s territory, Na Menehune only managed to move the ball 15 yards on seven plays. Moanalua salvaged some points, though, on Andy Nguyen’s 43-yard field goal.
The next two drives ended with a punt by each team, followed by a turnover from each school. Amisone threw an interception to Moanalua’s Josiah Kahue-Antone, while Moanalua turned the ball over on downs on the following drive. Na Menehune capitalized on a Kapolei fumble one drive later to score the first touchdown of the game, a 1-yard touchdown pass from Kaawa to Stephens following an eight-play drive.
Kaawa double-dipped with another touchdown pass on the next Moanalua drive. His 4-yard completion to Cameron Johnson wrapped up a nine-play, 98-yard scoring drive. Kapolei narrowly avoided a first half shutout, as the Hurricanes scored on Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa’s 4-yard touchdown run.
“We were very sloppy. The penalties killed us,” Hernandez said of the first-half mistakes. “I think we had, if I’m not mistaken, like 17 penalties in the first half. That really killed us.”
The Hurricanes fumbled away an extended drive to start the second half, but that proved to be the last mistake they would make. From that point forward, they looked like a team on a mission, scoring on five straight drives to make it 42 unanswered points.
Amisone kicked off the scoring outburst with a 2-yard touchdown run following a four-play drive. Amisone then connected with Malachi Tapaoan on a 4-yard touchdown pass on the next drive. One play later, Kaawa’s pass was intercepted by Kapolei’s Treston Lalau, setting up Tryton Keliikipi’s 13-yard touchdown run on the tail end of a three-play drive.
Moanalua looked to disrupt Kapolei’s momentum with a long 12-play drive following the score, but the drive ended on a fourth-down incompletion. Amisone flipped the field position with a 69-yard scramble, and the Hurricanes were back on the scoreboard just three plays after the Na Menehune fumble with Amisone’s 6-yard touchdown run.
Another extended Moanalua drive ended with a turnover, setting up a quick three-play scoring drive for Kapolei. Amisone completed a pair of passes on the final drive for 44 yards, including the 4-yard touchdown pass to Diezel Kamoku.
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KAPOLEI 42, MOANALUA 17
At Moanalua
Kapolei (5-0, 2-0) 0 7 14 21 — 42
Moanalua (2-3-1, 1-2) 3 14 0 0 — 17
MOA—Andy Nguyen FG 43
MOA—Eric Stephens 1 pass from TaydenEvan Kaawa (Nguyen kick)
MOA—Cameron Johnson 4 pass from Kaawa (Nguyen kick)
KAPO—Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa 4 run (Hurley Kennedy kick)
KAPO—Tama Amisone 2 run (Kennedy kick)
KAPO—Malachi Tapaoan 4 pass from Amisone (Kennedy kick)
KAPO—Tryton Keliikipi 13 run (Kennedy kick)
KAPO—Amisone 6 run (Kennedy kick)
KAPO—Diezel Kamoku 4 pass from Amisone (Kennedy kick)
RUSHING—Kapolei: Amisone 19-162, Keliikipi 9-45, Caleb Dela Pena-Pihana 4-23, Tagovailoa-Amosa 1-4, TEAM 2-(minus 26). Moanalua: Johnson 4-9, Kaawa 8-2, Jordan Paredes 2-0.
PASSING— Kapolei: Amisone 17-26-1-214, Tagovailoa-Amosa 1-1-0-3. Moanalua: Kaawa 21-45-2-269.
RECEIVING— Kapolei: Kamoku 9-138, Riley Camarillo 2-35, Tapaoan 4-32, Halai Kamohalii 1-9, Amisone 1-3, Esaiah Gideon 1-0. Moanalua: Stephens 9-141, Jayce Bareng 6-58, Niko Armstead-Lehti 1-33, Gabe Wells 2-25, Johnson 2-10, Keenan Ulu 1-2.
Junior Varsity: Kapolei 39, Moanalua 0
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