No. 7 Kamehameha delivered quite the message to anyone quick to write the Warriors off after last week’s loss to Punahou.
Kamehameha’s rotating quarterback duo of Cid Camanse-Stevens and Nephi Stevens combined to throw for 328 yards and two touchdowns and rush for three more scores as the Warriors demolished No. 8 ‘Iolani 55-14 on Saturday in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu game at Eddie Hamada Field.
Kamehameha (4-1, 5-3) stayed in the thick of the ILH Division I race, scoring 48 unanswered points to beat ‘Iolani for the first time in three years.
"We came out here with a chip on our shoulder because the last two years we lost to ‘Iolani," said senior safety Taylor Taliulu, who had one of Kamehameha’s five interceptions. "We wanted to make sure we got the job done."
The defense did exactly that, showing a knack for the football on the very first play. Senior defensive tackle Kory Rasmussen forced a fumble on ‘Iolani’s first offensive play from scrimmage that was recovered by Zen Ikehara, one of six Raiders turnovers.
Eight plays later, Bronson Barretto ran for a 20-yard score, the first of eight for Kamehameha in the game.
"Everyone came out firing," said Camanse-Stevens, who ran for two scores and tossed a 75-yard touchdown to Raymond Pedrina. "We had this stronger drive than any other game because we’d lost to these guys two years in a row."
It wasn’t an easy week following last Saturday’s 17-14 loss to the Buffanblu. Head coach David Stant said his team was in full pads for Monday’s practice and got back to "banging each other all week long."
"I told the kids we can’t look back on that loss; we have to move forward. So we strapped up on Monday and got to hitting," Stant said. "If we (didn’t) turn up our level, we’re going to lose."
When ‘Iolani didn’t turn the ball over, it moved the ball efficiently down the field. Reece Foy completed 10 of his first 12 passes for 88 yards, throwing a 30-yard touchdown to Sheldon Gallarde to put the Raiders up 14-7 late in the first quarter.
From then on, ‘Iolani self-destructed, throwing interceptions on five of its next seven drives, including two in the end zone.
It was more than enough help for an offense that rolled up 573 total yards.
Stevens finished 11-for-16 for 168 yards and Barretto rushed for 74 yards and two scores as Kamehameha used multiple running backs to fill in for an injured Tyler Meditz.
Pedrina, who had six catches for 158 yards, turned a short pass over the middle into a 75-yard touchdown, helping the Warriors take a 27-14 halftime lead.
The Raiders, who erased a 35-14 second-half deficit against Saint Louis just two weeks ago, had nothing for the Warriors on offense.
After starting 10-for-12, Foy went
8-for-20 with five picks, throwing for only 12 yards in the second half.
"When they played Saint Louis, they came back and made Saint Louis have to win in the last 10 or 15 seconds or something like that," Stant said. "I thought it was going to be that kind of game, but our defensive coaches saw some things and the boys just went out there and played."
Saturday marked the final meetings between Division I and II teams in the ILH. Kamehameha has rematches of games against Punahou and Saint Louis left as it tries to unseat the Buffanblu atop the ILH.
"We’ve gotten some things straightened out in practice and executed them today," Taliulu said. "It’s a good feeling (beating ‘Iolani) for all the boys our senior year, but we’ve still got a lot of things we want to do."
Eddie Hamada Field
Kamehameha (4-1, 5-3) 14 13 7 21 — 55
‘Iolani (2-3, 4-4) 14 0 0 0 — 14
Kam–Bronson Barretto 20 run (Kanekoa Pawn-White kick)
Iol–Kody Mento 6 run (Jordan Lee kick)
Iol–Sheldon Gallarde 30 pass from Reece Foy (Lee kick)
Kam–Cid Camanse-Stevens 2 run (Pawn-White kick)
Kam–Raymond Pedrina 75 pass from Camanse-Stevens (kick failed)
Kam–Camanse-Stevens 1 run (Braydon Prothero kick)
Kam–Nephi Stevens 10 run (Pawn-White kick)
Kam–Barretto 4 run (Prothero kick)
Kam–Kameron Perez 11 pass from Stevens (Prothero kick)
Kam–Jonah-Kalani Wengler 2 run (Prothero kick)
RUSHING–Kamehameha: Barretto 15-74, Brandon Kahookele 10-69, Cheyne Holt 3-58, Stevens 4-35, Wengler 3-9, Camanse-Stevens 4-6, Tristan Peterson 1-3, Noah Mataele 1-2, Micah Clemens 1-0, Pedrina 1-(minus 1). ‘Iolani: Mento 15-45, Lee 3-23, Gallarde 2-11, Easton Tsubata 1-2, Max Maneafaiga 1-(minus 1), Tanner Nishioka 1-(minus 2).
PASSING–Kamehameha: Stevens 11-16-0-178, Camanse-Stevens 6-12-0-150, Clemens 1-1-0-14. ‘Iolani: Foy 18-32-5-185, Tsubata 1-2-0-7.
RECEIVING–Kamehameha: Pedrina 6-158, Peterson 3-77, Alika McGuire 2-41, Perez 2-21, Micah Chow 1-14, Keoni Bush-Loo 1-13, Mataele 1-9, Makualii Perry 1-5, Barretto 1-4. ‘Iolani: Dane Arakawa 7-38, Lee 4-14, Nishioka 3-67, Gallarde 3-55, Kasey Takahashi 2-18.
No. 7 Saint Louis 63, Damien 0
Kawai Mook-Garcia fired three touchdown passes as the Crusaders rolled to a 43-0 halftime lead and coasted by the Monarchs.
Eight Saint Louis players scored touchdowns in the game with receiver Kainoa Abreu scoring twice.
At Roosevelt
Saint Louis (3-2, 6-2) 21 22 7 13 — 63
Damien (0-5, 0-7) 0 0 0 0 — 0
StL–Kamana Pimental 4 run (Andrew Baltazar kick)
StL–Kainoa Abreu 8 pass from Kawai Mook-Garcia (Baltazar kick)
StL–Ricky Ahlo-Pinera 11 pass from Mook-Garcia (Baltazar kick)
StL–Abreu 5 pass from Mook-Garcia (Zeke Wallace run)
StL–Adam Noga 47 run (Baltazar kick)
StL–Kaimi Umebayashi 24 run (Baltazar kick)
StL–Jordan Maganis 6 pass from Robert Faleafine (Baltazar kick)
StL–Wallace 89 pass from Noah Brum (Baltazar kick)
StL–Jonah Reyes 49 run (kick failed)
RUSHING–Saint Louis: Reyes 8-88, Pimental 5-76, Umebayashi 2-59, Noga 3-60, Justin Rodriguez 2-12, Jordan Manalo 2-6, Ahlo-Pinera 1-27, Faleafine 1-0, Wallace 1-(-12). Damien: Edwin Aumua 6-19, Dylan flores 8-12, Christopher Gonsalves-Chang 9-(-24), Kolton Pugay 1-2, TEAM 2-(-26).
PASSING–Saint Louis: Mook-Garcia 8-9-0-82, Faleafine 5-8-0-68, Brum 2-4-0-39. Damien: Gonzalves-Chang 2-9-0-13, Flores 1-6-1-23.
RECEIVING–Saint Louis: Maganis 3-49, Wallace 2-49, Ahlo-Pinera 2-24, Abreu 2-18, Joel Letoto 2-12, Acen Cabral 2-0, Jeremy Tabulo 1-32, Draven Navarro 1-9. Damien: Bryson Dalmacio 1-11, Edwin Aumua 1-2, Kealii Kaanapu 1-23.
