Kailua did all it could to contain Kapolei’s dynamic playmaker, Tama Amisone.
Sixth-ranked Kapolei didn’t blink, turning to a horde of Hurricane contributors en route to a 51-7 runaway win over Kailua at sunny, soggy Alex Kane Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Kapolei improved to 6-1 overall (2-0 OIA) after rushing for 363 yards (33 attempts) with 240 passing yards.
“Our O-line is really coming into their own. We have only one senior there so we’re really proud of those guys. We’re able to run and pass,” Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said. “The goal is to be able to do both equally well.”
Kapolei will have its first bye week of the season, then play at Mililani in a key showdown on Oct. 7.
Division I Kailua dropped to 3-3 (2-2 OIA), fighting tooth and nail to the end. Amisone finished with 162 rushing yards and one TD on just seven carries, along with 15-for-31 passing for 212 yards and three more TDs without a turnover against a very attentive Surfrider defense.
“Tama is who Tama is if you’re not disciplined on what they’re doing with him,” Kailua coach Joe Wong said of the 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior. “We got him third down, fourth down, and he escapes. He does that to everybody, but you have to be able to tackle him. He’s everything to them. We took away a lot. I was so happy. But our defense has to get off the field.”
Including Amisone, three Kapolei ballcarriers had nearly 100 yards each by intermission. Chase Camarillo had 86 yards, Reeno Te‘o had 88 and Amisone had just one carry in the first 17 minutes before scoring on his first TD. He finished the first half with 87 rushing yards.
Camarillo (5-10, 185) finished with 110 yards and a TD on 13 attempts, and Te‘o (6-0, 225) tallied 91 yards and a TD on 13 carries.
Celebrating senior night, host Kailua got within 13-7 on a 6-yard scoring run by quarterback Romeo Ortiz with 7:20 left in the first half. The 14-play drive actually began before the end of the first quarter, propelled by a Kapolei personal foul on a missed field-goal attempt by the Surfriders. The 8-minute, 23-second series could have taken some momentum out of Kapolei’s sails.
Instead, Amisone took command. Patiently deferring to his teammates, he went on a 35-yard scramble, rolling down the right sideline, cutting back against the grain and scoring easily to open Kapolei’s lead to 20-7 with 5:50 to go in the first half.
Hurley Kennedy added his third field goal of the game on the next possession, and after Amisone found Tristen Inay for a 9-yard TD strike with 41 seconds left in the first half, the ‘Canes had a commanding 30-7 lead.
Kailua showed promise in spurts against the Open Division powerhouse. Wong is highly optimistic about his team’s growth heading into the OIA D-I playoffs.
“We’re OK for what we did in the first half, but we’ve just got to follow through with that. We’re near the end zone, trying to make plays, but against a team like Kapolei, you have to make those plays. You can’t not make those plays,” Wong said. “We stop ourselves. A couple penalties. Drop a couple passes in the end zone. You can’t win like that, but there’s a lot in there. Hat’s off to Kapolei, but we just have to capitalize.”
Kailua will play at Radford on Friday, followed by a game at Waipahu on Oct. 7 to close the regular season.
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At Alex Kane Stadium
Kapolei (6-1, 2-0) 13 17 7 14 — 51
Kailua (3-3, 2-2) 0 7 0 0 — 7
KAPO—FG Hurley Kennedy 28
KAPO—Zayne Pasion 18 pass from Tama Amisone (Kennedy kick)
KAPO—FG Kennedy 28
KAIL—Romeo Ortiz 6 run (Matthew Mashiba kick)
KAPO—Tama Amisone 35 run (Kennedy kick)
KAPO—FG Kennedy 22
KAPO—Tristen Inay 9 pass from Amisone (Kennedy kick)
KAPO—Kaina Kamohali‘i 55 pass from Amisone (Kennedy kick)
KAPO—Reeno Te‘o 9 run (Kennedy kick)
KAPO—Chase Camarillo 7 run (Kennedy kick)
RUSHING—Kapolei: Amisone 7-162, Camarillo 13-110, Te‘o 13-91. Kailua: Kristian Yamamoto 8-47, Ortiz 9-26, Caysen Samson 1-(minus 2).
PASSING—Kapolei: Amisone 15-31-0-212, Noah Gould 2-4-0-19. Kailua: Ortiz 12-26-2-116, BJ Rezentes 1-1-0-8.
RECEIVING—Kapolei: Kamohali‘i 4-89, Te‘o 3-33, Inay 3-28, La‘akea Tapaoan 2-27, Izaea Lino 2-22, Pasion 1-18, Chasyn Amano 1-15, Noah Gould 1-4, Taylor Chuck 1-4. Kailua: Ezekiel-Allan Valdez 4-46, Aizek Ka‘anoi 4-34, Collin Friel 1-24, Doogie Kalama 2-17, Stoney Pocock 2-3.
Junior Varsity—Kailua 19, Kapolei 13.
