It’s not always only about the winners.
Compelling, dramatic stories sometimes come from the losing side.
Such was the case for the No. 5 Campbell Sabers in a 49-23 loss to No. 1 Kahuku on Saturday in Ewa Beach.
Jonah Tavui (right) made a big impact in Campbell’s comeback bid on Saturday night in a 49-23 loss to Kahuku. In the third quarter, Diego Betancourt (left) got the Sabers on the board for first time with a 16-yard fumble recovery return for a touchdown.
The real, top story of the night, of course, was the Red Raiders (6-0) clinching the OIA Open regular-season title.
But the undercurrent, sidebar story was the appearance of a make-it-happen kind of guy, a freshman, at quarterback for the Sabers (4-2)
Before you hear about Jonah Tavui’s night, let’s first take a look at the Campbell roster. There he is, jersey No. 10, listed as a 6-foot-1, 185 pound player. His position? These three letters: ATH.
For anyone unfamiliar with the terminology, it’s short for athlete, and it is used by coaches to show that a player can play multiple positions.
But Tavui, indeed, showed he’s an “athlete” in the traditional sense, when he subbed in at QB for banged-up sophomore starter Chayne Kuboyama-Hayashi.
And even though — with the Sabers trailing 49-6 — Tavui was going up against many Kahuku second-stringers, he made his presence felt immediately.
After two complete passes and a short QB keeper, on his fourth play, Tavui was off the races for a 33-yard touchdown and the Campbell fans went wild.
Later, Tavui added a 1-yard TD run and led a drive that got the Sabers in range for Shace Maka-Mailei’s 43-yard field goal. The freshman finished with 72 yards rushing and 76 yards passing after previously catching five passes for 43 yards from his regular slotback position.
“Coach (Darren Johnson) gave us some inspiring words at halftime,” Tavui told Bedrock Sports Hawaii after the game. “When I found out I was going in to play QB when Cheyne got injured, I was like, ‘It’s time for me to step up and become a leader.’ Sometimes we have a rough start, but we always finish strong.”
And as far as playing QB again, Tavui is not sure what will happen. Kuboyama-Hayashi, who was patient and composed and threw for 116 yards against a tenacious Red Raiders defense, is likely to be ready to play this weekend in the OIA Open semifinals against Mililani (site to be determined), but maybe the Sabers can get mileage from Tavui at that position, too.
A video of Tavui’s first series at QB is below. You see the play in which Kuboyama-Hayashi gets hurt at about the 6-second mark. After a pause, Tavui is in at the 8-second mark and scores the 33-yard touchdown 42 seconds in.
“Cheyne is my brother,” said Tavui, affectionately before adding, “We made a lost of mistakes against Mililani (a 48-14 loss two weeks ago), but we will pick it up and (try to) beat them next week.”
After the game, the Sabers seniors were honored on the field after playing their final regular-season home game. One of the seniors, Diego Betancourt, had a 16-yard, third-quarter fumble return to put Campbell on the board for the first time
“I don’t think we can hold back with our upcoming games,” Betancourt said. “We’ve got to go all out. We’ve got to come up with the right game plan. With the wake-up calls we got tonight and last week, I think we should be stepping up soon.”
And what did Betancourt think of the freshman athlete?
“He knows how to step up for sure,” Betancourt said about Tavui. “He’s got that switch in his head that when he has to step up, he will. So I think he’s going to lead us to greatness over the next few years.”
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ALSO AT BedrockSportsHawaii.com:
>> No. 1 Kahuku Overpowers No. 5 Campbell 49-23 To Clinch OIA Regular-Season Football Title
>> SATURDAY SCOREBOARD: Kapaa Sews Up KIF Championship, State D-II Berth
>> Four From The Junior Class Are Reminders That Kahuku’s Ascendancy Is An Offshoot Of The Red Raiders’ Generational Descendancy
>> WATCH: 11 Videos From No. 1 Kahuku’s 49-23 OIA Title-Clinching Win Over No. 5 Campbell
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