Running back Va’aimalae Fonoti rushed for 161 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries in the first half as No. 1 Kahuku overpowered No. 2 Campbell 38-7 on Saturday night at a packed Carleton E. Weimer Field.
Fonoti finished with 189 yards on 24 attempts.
“We had great practices this week. We were preparing hard for this game,” Fonoti said. “In the back of my mind I was thinking, yeah, we’re going to run the ball! We were running on all cylinders. It was disciplined blocking by our line, oh my gosh.”
Kahuku finished with 291 rushing yards on 44 carries as backups Damon Lauaki and Sheadon Kanoa combined for 94 yards on 13 carries.
Kahuku took sole possession of first place in OIA Open Pool A at 5-0 (8-1 overall). Campbell dropped to 4-1 (6-2 overall).
Kahuku’s pass rush did not sack Campbell QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele in the first half while opening a 19-7 lead. Sagapolutele finished with 166 passing yards with one TD and one pick.
Meanwhile, Kahuku powered through without starting quarterback Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa, who sat out the homecoming game with an ankle injury. Sitani Suguturaga, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound senior, rose to the challenge at QB.
“Sitani’s a great quarterback. He managed the game really well tonight. I’m really proud of him,” Kahuku coach Sterling Carvalho said. “He’s been with us two years already. Our defense and special teams set the tone tonight.”
“I trusted our offensive line, in everyone to do their jobs. We want to give (Fonoti) the ball as much as we can,” Suguturaga said. “He scored three touchdowns against the second-best team in the state.”
Campbell has been explosive offensively but missed wide receiver Tana Togafau-Tavui, who has missed recent games with a leg injury.
“Sometimes it’s like that. We’re going back to the drawing board and try and get better,” Campbell coach DJ Johnson said. “Everybody makes a difference. Everybody’s got to play better football.”
Kahuku’s defense was up to the task in the showdown.
“We definitely practiced like Tana was going to play. We know he’s a great player. We know he’s the playmaker, as well as Rowen Bucao,” Kahuku defensive back Aiden Manutai said.
A fumble by the visitors on the opening kickoff return, caused by Kahuku’s Chauncey Alo, led to a short drive and a 1-yard TD run by Fonoti with 10 minutes left in the opening quarter.
Campbell drove to the Kahuku 26-yard line, but back-to-back dropped passes stalled the drive out. Kahuku responded with more of the same, a five-play, 74-yard drive with Fonoti carrying the ball on read-option handoffs to pay dirt. His 5-yard TD opened the lead to 13-0 with 3:06 left in the opening quarter.
Kahuku ran Fonoti right in the first two series, then sent him left on the RPO give during a 13-play, 53-yard drive. A roughing-the-punter flag on Campbell kept the march going, and Fonoti scored on a 1-yard run in the elephant formation for a 19-0 lead with 8:03 remaining in the first half.
The Sabers drove to the Kahuku 12-yard line, but that series was marred again by dropped passes. They finally got on the scoreboard on Sagapolutele’s 12-yard TD pass to Rusten Abang-Perez with 17 seconds to go in the first half.
Things got testy after Kaimana Carvalho’s 1-yard TD run with 3:49 to go in the third stanza. On the ensuing 2-point conversion attempt, Carvalho was stopped short of the goal line, and a Kahuku player was flagged for a personal foul and ejected.
Kanoa scored untouched on a 40-yard run off left tackle to propel Kahuku to a 31-7 lead with 10:57 remaining.
Suguturaga’s 28-yard TD pass to Manutai capped the scoring with 2:46 left.
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At Carlton E. Weimer Field
Campbell (6-2, 4-1) 0 7 0 0 — 0
Kahuku (8-1, 5-0) 13 6 6 13 — 38
KAH—Va’aimalae Fonoti 1 run (kick failed)
KAH—Fonoti 5 run (Manoa Kahalepuna kick)
KAH—Fonoti 1 run (run failed)
CAMP—Rusten Abang-Perez 12 pass from Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (Cristian Wyckstandt kick)
KAH—Kaimana Carvalho 1 run (run failed)
KAH—Sheadon Kanoa 39 run (run failed)
KAH—Aiden Manutai 23 pass from Sitani Suguturaga (Zaiden Mariteragi kick)
RUSHING—Campbell: Falaniko Scanlan 8-28, James Steffany-Fiame 5-27, Sagapolutele 3-(minus 33). Kahuku: Fonoti 24-189, Kanoa 4-56, Damon Lauaki 9-38, Suguturaga 2-6, Carvalho 2-6, Beau Pruett 1-(minus 2), Team 1-(minus 2).
PASSING—Campbell: Sagapolutele 14-28-1-166. Kahuku: Suguturaga 6-6-0-55.
RECEIVING—Campbell: Tainoa Lave 4-67, Zayden Alviar-Costa 4-26, Scanlan 1-22, Caysean Melvin 1-18, Brystin Sansano 2-16, Abang-Perez 1-12, Steffany-Fiame 1-5. Kahuku: Manutai 1-23, Carvalho 3-16, Diezel Kamoku 2-16.
