—–
Led by Liatama Amisone’s dual-threat quarterback skills, No. 7 Kapolei showed it was not going to play second fiddle to No. 8 Waipahu on Friday.
A game that was expected by many to be close, turned out to be a runaway in the end, with the visiting Hurricanes (2-1) pulling away for a 63-28 victory.
And it was close for a while. Waipahu led 8-7 at one point and pulled into ties at 14-14, 21-21 and 28-28.
But the second half was all Kapolei.
Amisone finished with 258 yards and five TDs passing and added 158 yards and three TDs rushing. In the second half, he threw TD passes of 19 and 15 yards to Kaina Kamohalii and also scored on game-breaking runs of 35 and 83 yards.
—–
—–
Chase Camarillo rushed for 95 yards and a TD in the Hurricanes’ balanced attack, and he also had an interception on the defensive side of the ball. Kamolahii finished with nine catches for 122 yards and three TDs, and Zayne Pasion also went over the 100-yard receiving mark with seven catches for 105 yards and a TD.
The win was an important one for Kapolei, which is classified in the (top-tier) Open Division. A year ago, the Hurricanes barely got past (middle-tier) Division I Aiea 27-24 in a regular season game. This time against a D-I foe, the Hurricanes were at another level and showed they belong in the middle of the pack of the various Top 10 media rankings.
For Waipahu (0-2), which got a 95-yard kickoff return TD from Eric Stephens, it was a second loss to an Open Division team. The Marauders are returning OIA D-I champions and state runners-up and are expected to be right in the thick of things in that middle tier. Staying in the Top 10 will be harder to do at this point.
Among the defensive standouts were Kapolei’s Kose Luani, who had two tackles for losses among his three altogether, and Waipahu’s Isaiah Iosefa with five tackles that included two sacks among his three for losses.
Damien Wins Second Game In A Row
Damien is now 2-1 after an opening season loss after putting up plenty of offense in a 61-24 win over Kauai at Vidinha Stadium on the Garden Isle.
The Monarchs will go for a third straight win in a second game against a mainland foe (the opening loss was to Villa Park of California) next Saturday at the Farrington High field against another school named Damien (from La Verne, California).
Our Kauai correspondent sent in the photo below from the Monarchs’ victory.
Among the other notworthy games (see scoreboard graphic for final scores):
>> Kailua doubled up on Castle in this longtime rivalry game.
>> Pearl City and Kalani both improved to 3-0 overall.
>> Konawaena had little trouble against its usual main competitor in the chase for the BIIF championship, rolling past Hilo.
>> Farrington blanked Nanakuli and did it with a big ground weapon — Sitani Mikaele, who rushed for 209 yards and three TDs.
—–
ALSO AT BedrockSportsHawaii.com:
>> CONSENSUS TOP 10: Media Outlets Agree On Top 6 Football Teams In The State
