Konawaena earns shot at D-I repeat

KEALAKEKUA, Hawaii island >> The champs are back for a repeat.

Two-way playmaker Keawe Navas Loa rushed for three touchdowns and recovered two fumbles as defending champion Konawaena routed Kapaa 37-19 to advance to the Division I final of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships.

Konawaena (10-1) will meet OIA champion Waipahu in a rematch of last year’s title game — won by the BIIF champions 38-28.

“I feel great. Coming off this win, we’ll come back next week Monday for practice. We might practice tomorrow (Saturday). I’m not sure yet, but I can’t wait to get back and play for a state title,” Navas Loa said.

Navas Loa, a dynamic 5-foot-9, 172-pound senior, forced both fumbles, part of an uncharacteristic five turnovers by previously unbeaten Kapaa (9-1). Konawaena did the job defensively against one of the most difficult of offensive schemes to stop.

“We had some sloppy series offensively. Defensively, we knew we weren’t going to give up big runs. It was just a matter of slowing them down and winning specific series, limit them on first and second down,” Konawaena coach Brad Uemoto said.

A full house at Julian Yates Field had a slight game-time delay. Kapaa’s travel itinerary was tight from the start with an arrival time of 4:18 p.m. in Kona — after a connecting flight from Honolulu. After landing, the Warriors’ bus broke down en route to the field.

“We came here. We hopped on the bus. The bus broke down. We didn’t make it out of the airport. We got here and we played,” Kapaa quarterback Kapono Na-O said.

“There’s no excuses. It’s part of the deal. We did OK last time when we traveled. You can’t turn over the ball that many times against a good team and that’s the bottom line. They played better than we did,” Kapaa coach Mike Tresler said. “Credit to Konawaena making plays and getting the balls out.”

Muddy terrain between the hash marks from wet weather during the week may have been a detriment for the run-heavy Warriors.

“Playing on this field is really hard. They definitely have a good home-field advantage. We could’ve worked through it, but we obviously didn’t. No excuses,” Kapaa quarterback KaponoNa-O said.

Konawaena’s sound tackling also played a key role, even though Uemoto compared Na-O, a wrecking-ball yardage machine on the ground, to Farrington’s 238-pound running back, Sitani Mikaele.

“Too much turnovers,” said Na-O, who took dozens of hits while gaining 152 yards on 28 carries.

“Once he gets going, he’s hard to bring down,” Uemoto said.

Na-O fumbled three times. One came on an RPO read, and two came in the second half as the battering by Konawaena’s relentless defense added up.

“It’s my last time playing high school football. I did all I could,” the 6-foot, 215-pound senior said.

The Warriors were marching downfield on their opening series when running back Waikahekili Makepa fumbled and Navas Loa recovered. Navas Loa, a two-way contributor, scored moments later on a 20-yard run, following two of his linemen to paydirt for a 7-0 Konawaena lead.

On Kapaa’s next snap, Na-O fumbled the exchange with his running back and Navas Loa again recovered the loose pigskin. Three plays later, Keoki Alani delivered a play-action pass to Austin Takaki on a post pattern for a 7-yard TD. The Wildcats led 14-0 with 5:38 left in the first quarter.

Kapaa then surprised Konawaena with its first pass attempt of the game. Na-O rocketed a 49-yard bomb to Evan Daligdig, a 6-foot-2 wide receiver, to bring the Warriors within 14-7 with 2 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.

Na-O and Kapaa’s offensive line took over momentum, smash-mouthing down the field between the tackles. Na-O’s 1-yard blast over the goal line brought the Warriors within 14-13 at 6:12 to go in the first half. Their 2-point attempt, a run by Daligdig, was stopped short

Then came an absurd exchange of turnovers in the span of three minutes. Konawaena needed just pass plays to get to the Kapaa 1-yard line, but the Wildcats were stonewalled on a run up the gut and Nash Burkart recovered for Waimea.

Three plays later, punter Eli Keoho lost the ball and Konawaena recovered at the Waimea 1-yard line. Navas Loa tumbled over a tackler into the end zone for his second TD. His 3-yard score gave Konawaena leda21-13 lead with 3:07 to go in the half

After a Waimea punt, a quick pass from Alani to Zedekiah Anahu-Ambrosio turned into a scintillating 54-yard gain to the Waimea 23-yard line. Alani then scrambled and found Abraham Ogata open in the middle of the end zone for a 23-yard TD for a 28-13 lead with 1:19 left in the first half.

Ige added an 18-yard field goal with 10:41 remaining to make it a 31-13 cushion.

For good measure, Navas Loa added a 27-yard TD, his third of the game, with 9:36 remaining for a 37-13 Wildcats lead.

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At Konawaena

Kapaa (9-1) 7 6 0 6 — 19

Konawaena (11-1) 14 14 0 9 — 37

KONA—Keawe Navas Loa 21 run (Nakoa Ige kick)

KONA—Austin Takaki 7 pass from Keoki Alani (Ige kick)

KAPA—Evan Daligdig 48 pass from Kapono Na-O (Kamalei Gonsalves kick)

KAPA—Kapono Na-O 1 run (run failed)

KONA—Navas Loa 3 run (Ige kick)

KONA—Abraham Ogata 23 pass from Alani (Ige kick)

KONA—FG Ige 18

KONA—Navas Loa 21 run (kick failed)

KAPA—Waikahekili Makepa 6 run (run failed)

RUSHING—Kapaa: Na-O 28-152, Makepa 23-92, Gonsalves 2-16, Kamalei Dasalia-Mundon 2-2, Eli Keoho 1-(minus 8), Team 1-(minus 17). Konawaena: Navas Loa 10-67, Keau Higashi 7-47, Akea Cariaga 5-19, Alani 5-17, Armenio Blanco 1-(minus 3), Zed Anahu-Ambrosio 2-(minus 7).

PASSING—Kapaa: Na-O 7-14-2-111, Daligdig 0-1-0-0. Konawaena: Alani 16-25-0-234.

RECEIVING—Kapaa: Daligdig 1-48, Dasalia-Mundon 4-40, Gonsalves 1-21, Kaimana Chong 1-2. Konawaena: Anahu-Ambrosio 6-86, Takaki 7-77, Ogata 3-71.