Damien’s 2017 season opener had a special feel to it.
The Monarchs scored two second-half touchdowns on special teams and third-year starting quarterback Marcus Faufata-Pedrina accounted for three scores in a 42-7 win over host Castle on Saturday afternoon.
Junior Keoua Kauhi rushed for 158 yards and the Monarchs scored 36 unanswered points to spoil John Hao’s coaching debut with the Knights.
“Overall I think our guys played pretty well to our expectations,” said Damien coach Eddie Klaneski, who has led the Monarchs to back-to-back ILH Division II titles. “We only had 32 guys suited up today and a lot of guys had to play two ways, so I’m proud of the way they battled the entire game.”
Castle, which had to sit nine starters due to academic issues, hung tight for a half and came within a few yards of leading at the midway point.
Quarterback Jaylen Uyemura-Lee, who threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Makana Smith earlier in the quarter, found Kawai Naki over the middle for a 35-yard gain. Naki broke a tackle and got inside the 5-yard line, but was tackled as time ran out.
Castle nearly got a timeout called before the clock reached zero, but after a short huddle, the referees ruled the half was over with Damien ahead 12-7.
“Being lucky better than being good is (Las) Vegas rules,” Hao said. “Footballwise we’ve got to be good more than lucky, so we’re going to hit the videos, look at film and make sure our assignment football is taken care of by next week.”
VIDEO REVIEW
Watch Paul Honda’s video of the first game played at Skippa Diaz Stadium between Farrington and Kamehameha here.
The Monarchs scored 16 points in a span of 2 minutes, 5 seconds in the third quarter. A 19-yard touchdown pass from Faufata-Pedrina to Jarvis Natividad was quickly followed by a safety.
Akila Arecchi then returned the ensuing kickoff 71 yards for a score, and the Monarchs added another touchdown in the fourth quarter on a blocked punt that was returned for a TD by Matthew Faufata-Pedrina.
“I think special-teams-wise we won that battle,” Klaneski said.
Damien was dealt a blow on its offensive line when starting center Magnus Fonoti-Faumuina went down with a knee injury in the third quarter.
Klaneski was still awaiting word from the training staff on his condition but feared he could be out for the season.
“We’ve got guys to step up,” Klaneski said. “With all of the two-way guys we had going, we tried not to do that to our line. We only had one or two guys playing both ways (on the line), so we have some depth.”
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