Twice is nice.
Waimea followed its first state football title with a second crown in two years, hanging on for a 31-28 win over MIL champion Kamehameha-Maui on Saturday night. Senior Kameron Apilado was there to enjoy every second of the two championship wins.
“This one is harder right here. We came in hot. Kamehameha-Maui wasn’t expecting that. Our boys played to the last whistle and played hard,” Apilado said. “I was kind of dying, but the boys, their motivation kept me going.”
Apilado started at quarterback and cornerback, delivering an ironman performance with his teammates. He rushed for 75 yards on eight carries, engineering a smashmouth offense that amassed 273 yards on 46 rushing attempts.
Waimea (3-5, 2-4 KIF) is the first team to win a football state title game without completing a single forward pass. It completed two in three games last year.
“Yes! That’s all my linemen, that. Hoolu (Akeo), Christopher (Alicante), Konner (Raposas-Nacnac), Dylan (Bugayong) and Zack (Vigilia),” Apilado said of his core offensive linemen. “I knew they had it in them. They just had to give it their all. We never had any film to study. They all got taken down (from the internet).”
Last year, Waimea won its first title with a 45-6 victory over King Kekaulike.
“(KS-Maui) has some size. King Kekaulike had size, too,” Apilado noted. “These guys were big and smart.”
A boisterous crowd, including hundreds cheering for KS-Maui, saw Waimea bounce back from a 7-0 deficit for a 31-21 second-half edge. KS-Maui scored on a fumble return with 2:59 left, but Waimea (4-5) ran out the clock.
Coach Kyle Linoz acknowledged the Waimea fans who didn’t make the trip to Oahu.
“They have some watch parties. One of our moms works at Chicken in a Barrel. They have a big party out there on the west side. Might be 300 guys in there,” he said.
Linoz noted a backward pass by his team that led to a turnover. That was enough to convince him to stay the straight-and-narrow path, Waimea style.
“Does a backward pass count as a pass? No? That’s why we don’t try to throw the ball,” he said. “We knew we had our hands full. We watched them (live) during the season and again going down to the wire against Lahainaluna. The difference was that we kind of controlled their run game early. They’re an excellent team.”
KS-Maui (7-2) was the lone MIL school to give D-I champion Lahainaluna a close battle. Nineteen of the Warriors played in the 2021 state title game, a lopsided loss to Kapaa.
“It was a game of changing momentum. We got off first and then they caught up. It got a little bit away from us in the second half,” Warriors coach Ulima Afoa said.
A 40-yard field-goal try that barely missed in the fourth quarter proved to be pivotal.
“If that thing would have hit the crossbar and bounced the other way, we’d have a tied game and be in overtime. A lot of what-ifs,” Afoa said.
The Warriors asserted control from the opening drive, marching 74 yards in 11 plays. Quarterback Makana Kamaka-Brayce snuck in from the 1-yard line for a 7-0 lead with 7:42 to go in the first quarter.
Waimea, which went three-and-out on its first series, struck quickly on the second. Operating out of their patented double-tight end, full-house backfield set, the Menehune covered 59 yards in just four plays. Kamu Santiago raced around right end for a 28-yard TD to tie it at 7 with 2:35 to go in the opening quarter.
It was a critical stage for Waimea, which began its next two possessions in KS-Maui territory, yet came up empty.
On KS-Maui’s next play from scrimmage, Kamaka-Brayce’s slant pass was deflected and Brennen Fernandez dove for the interception. Waimea took over at the KS-Maui 25-yard line. With two offensive linemen lining up in the backfield, the Warriors drove to the 5-yard line. On fourth and 1, Apilado was stopped short on a keeper.
Waimea had the edge in field position again after a KS-Maui punt, starting the next series at the Warriors’ 40-yard line, but a backward pass by Apilado grazed off the hands of his running back, and was recovered by Paani Yap at the Waimea 41-yard line.
The Warriors marched toward the goal line, scoring on a 32-yard floating spiral to the back of the end zone, where Shane Ueki hauled in Kamaka-Brayce’s pass. KS-Maui led 14-7 with 4:41 to go in the first half.
A moment later, Waimea regained momentum on Keona Tam’s 92-yard kickoff return. Tam, wearing No. 52 and listed as a QB and CB, tied the game at 14 with 4:26 left in the first half.
“I played JV all year and came up for states. I played corner last week against Roosevelt,” Tam said. “My JV number was 2.”
Apilado, starting at cornerback, had just two official rushing attempts until the final minutes, and one was on the botched lateral. He ran the RPO for gains for 14 and 35 yards on Waimea’s next drive, scoring on a 19-yard keeper to the right pylon. Waimea led 21-14 with 42 seconds remaining in the first half.
KS-Maui’s Kaiwahawanawana Ho blocked a punt and recovered it at the Waimea 15-yard line. However, Kamaka-Brayce faced a big pass rush and threw an interception in the end zone. Waimea DB Kulea Kauwe leaped for the takeaway.
On the next play, RB Kaili Arakaki burst off tackle and raced to the right pylon for an 80-yard TD. Waimea led 28-14 with 5:22 left in the third quarter.
KS-Maui drove 73 yards in eight plays, scoring on another 1-yard sneak by Kamaka-Brayce, cutting the lead to seven points with 3:18 to go in the third stanza.
With 2:40 left and Waimea at its 37-yard line, the stadium lights on one sideline went dark, causing a delay. The lights returned in a few minutes, and so did Waimea’s methodical smashmouth attack. After three quarters without throwing one pass, the Menehunes continued on and drove to the KS-Maui 23-yard line.
On fourth and 3, RB Shayden Ranis-Alameda Dela Cruz lined up for a 40-yard field-goal attempt and split the uprights with plenty to spare. Waimea led 31-21 with 7:35 to play.
KS-Maui’s drive stalled at the Waimea 25-yard line, and Kayden Yap’s 42-yard field-goal dry bounced off the cross bar and landed in the end zone for a touchback with 4:25 remaining.
Waimea milked the clock, but on a third-down run, KS-Maui linebacker Ramzak Freuan forced a fumble and lineman Joshua Kerr returned the ball 21 yards to the end zone. The Warriors were within 31-28 with 2:52 left, but out of opportunities.
