It was a long time coming for the island of Kauai.
Finally, one of the three football-playing high schools from the Garden Isle captured a state title on Thursday night, something that had not happened ever since the inaugural state tourney began in 1999.
And so the Kapaa Warriors are on top of the Hawaii football world right now after a 61-7 upending of Kamehameha-Maui in the Division II final of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships at Farrington’s Skippa Diaz Stadium.
Kapaa running back Jericho Castro ran through a hole created party by 6-foot-5, 420-pound Lono Aki (63). (Image credit: Andrew Lee / Hawaii High School Athletic Association).
Making this victory extra sweet was the fact that in four out of the previous five years, the KIF champion and No. 8-ranked Warriors (8-0) had gotten oh-so-close, finishing runner-up in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019.
“Oh my goodness, this is a dream come true for all of us,” Kapaa coach Mike Tresler said.
It didn’t take long for Kapaa to assert its dominance in this one behind a massive offensive line and during downpours of rain. The Kauai boys wound up rushing for 477 yards while throwing only four passes.
Solomone Malafu got things rolling and kept it rolling. After Kamehemaha-Maui’s first drive stalled, a punt gave Kapaa the ball at its own 2. No problem. On the next play, Malafu quickly hit a big hole and sped all the way for a 98-yard touchdown.
Amazingly, Malafu had only four runs from scrimmage and all of them were TDs, and he was an incredible 6-for-6 on running home 2-point conversions.
A simpler way to put that is he was never tackled on the offensive side of the ball while finishing with 152 rushing yards.
On the defensive side, Malafu had an interception, three tackles for losses among his five stops and a pass breakup.
Kapaa’s Solomone Malafu (9) chased Kamehameha-Maui quarterback Makanalea Kamaka-Brayce. (Image credit: Andrew Lee / Hawaii High School Athletic Association).
“First and foremost, I want to thank God,” Malafu said after the game. “I also want to thank the entire team because they came out and put everything in it. Winning this means a lot to our team, our school, and especially the community because you know they’re always there for us and support us when we’re in need.”
The team’s powerful running game got its mileage behind the plowing of this starting five — tackles Kawika Rogers (6-foot-6, 300 pounds), Santana Hernandez-Martinez (6-1, 220), guards Koa Kanakaole (6-4, 310) and Lono Aki (a mere 6-5, 420), and center Maximus Merseberg (6-0, 300).
“Holy Smokes, man,” coach Tresler said. “They kept working at it. We had some struggles (on the O-line this season) but we always thought that that would be a strength. I’m a D guy. The defense has done really well all year long. We needed to ride their coattails to the playoffs and they stepped up big-time.”
The rain came down super hard at times at Farrington’s Skippa Diaz Stadium. (Image credit: Andrew Lee / Hawaii High School Athletic Association).
Family has been a recurring topic by the Kapaa squad during its postseason run.
“We came to play and we did and we came as a family,” Aki said. “I gotta give thanks to the family and the coaches. Without the coaches, we wouldn’t have made it. And they believed in us.”
Added Rogers: “You can break a team, but you can never break a family and this is what these boys are. They’re my family. My brothers. It means the world to us.”
Kapaa’s starting offensive line: Lono Aki, Kawika Rogers, Maximus Merseberg, Koa Kanakaole and Santana Hernandez-Martinez.
Early in the second half, Kapaa’s passing game got into the act. That’s when quarterback Kapono Na-o tossed a 17-yard TD pass to Nakoa Kimi. Na-o also had a rushing TD and just missed the 100-yard rushing mark with 99.
Kamehameha-Maui (5-3) was making its first appearance at states since 2005 when the MIL D-Ii champions (also nicknamed Warriors) lost a first-round encounter 34-20 against Moanalua.
The Maui boys had been on a roll that included a 48-24 dismantling of OIA champion and then-No. 10 Kaiser last week.
But in this one, there was no running room for Kamehameha-Maui running back McKay Pali and no time for quarterback Makana Kamaka-Brayce to throw. Altogether, the Valley Isle Warriors were held to 164 scrimmage yards.
“The future is definitely bright,” Kamaka-Bryce said after the loss. “We’re not going to forget this feeling and we’ll be back next year.”
Kamehameha-Maui coach Ulima Afoa’s intent is to get his Warriors back to states annually.
“We knew that Kapaa’s running game and size was something we were going to have to contend with,” he said. “They did a great job. Basically, they played rugby tonight. They’re good at it. We’ve got to get better. That doesn’t take away from the type of year we had. I love our kids and we gave great effort. We’re happy with the progress we’re making. Did we want to give up 61 points? No. But we’ll remember it and move on and hopefully get into a situation where that never happens again.”
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