Beware of any MIL team that makes it to the Hawaii high school football state tournament.
For years, Lahainaluna has been giving other teams around the state the business. Now, it’s Kamehameha-Maui’s turn. With the Lunas moving up to D-I after four straight D-II crowns, Kamehameha-Maui made its presence felt in a big way Wednesday night in the D-II semifinals of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships.
The MIL D-II champion Warriors started fast and showed hardly any letup in vanquishing the OIA champions and the state’s ninth-ranked team, the Kaiser Cougars, 48-24, at Farrington’s Skippa Diaz Stadium.
McKay Pali (22) was a driving force in Kamehameha-Maui’s victory Wednesday.
On the running of McKay Pali, the passing of Makana Kamaka-Brayce and a rock-solid defense, Kamehameha-Maui (5-2) took a 21-3 halftime lead, and the differential got as high as 41-3 by the end of the third quarter.
“We know that we have an aerial attack and we have a solid run game,” Makana-Brayce said. “It’s good so we don’t have to rely on just one thing. It’s an unbelievable feeling winning this game. We just gotta get back to work. We have eight days.”
Pali finished with 121 yards and a touchdown rushing, while Makana-Brayce threw for 369 yards and four TDs, including two to Hoohenomauloa Stone-Han.
“I feel really good,” Pali said after the final whistle. “But at the same time, I’m never satisfied. We still have one more game. If we stay locked in and keep our focus, we’ll be fine.”
Kamehameha-Maui’s Hoohenomauloa Stone-Han and McKay Pali had a lot to smile about Wednesday night.
As for the title game against Kapaa, Pali said, “They’re big, but it’s nothing we can’t handle. We’ve handled big before.”
Kaiser’s prolific passing game struggled mightily until the fourth quarter, when quarterback Easton Yoshino got it going with TD passes of 81 yards to Justin Kanekoa and of 72 and 5 yards to Kamakana Mahiko. Yoshino wound up with 313 passing yards, including 167 on nine completions to Mahiko.
Kale Spencer led the Kamehameha-Maui defensive effort with eight tackles, including four for losses and a 51-yard interception return for a touchdown.
Hopoate Aholele of the Cougars (9-1) put on a big-time show despite the loss. He had eight tackles, including six for losses, on defense and rushed for 51 yards on offense.
Kaiser’s Justin Kanekoa picked up some good yardage after a catch in Wednesday’s loss.
“We needed everyone to wake up,” Aholele said about his team’s slow start. “Everybody wasn’t there. Once they saw the score, they got down on themselves. I’m over here trying to wake them up and get them back on their feet. The game wasn’t over.”
Hopoate Aholele and Easton Yoshino were two of Kaiser’s standout performers Wednesday night.
Added Yoshino: “We got it together at the end. I’m proud of our guys. They’re terrific. We did great this season as a team. If someone saw us at the beginning of the year, they wouldn’t think of us as going from there to here.”
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Kapaa Overpowers HPA 51-0 To Reach State D-II Football Championship Game
