Darren Johnson and his staff wanted anything but an emotional letdown after Campbell’s stunning win over Kahuku last week.
The fourth-ranked Sabers showed their coaches they are fully focused with a 28-0 win over Kapolei on Saturday night at the Hurricanes’ field.
Campbell improved to 3-1 in OIA Open play (6-3 overall), sealing second place with one more week left in regular-season play.
“Our kids had a real good week of practice. It’s real easy to have a letdown, but they did a good job,” Johnson said.
The only negative: 17 penalties for 154 yards. Other than that, the Sabers let their best athletes play both offense and defense, and that paid dividends.
Titus Mokiao-Atimalala finished with 10 receptions for 164 yards and two touchdowns.
The sophomore and quarterback Krenston Kaipo picked up where they left off. The last time they connected, Kaipo found his leading receiver for a 29-yard TD pass with 19 seconds left to beat Kahuku.
Kapolei (3-6, 1-3) is still in the playoff hunt for the fourth and final berth.
On Campbell’s first play from scrimmage on Saturday, Mokiao-Atimalala took a screen pass 69 yards to the house. He also played in the secondary along with ironmen Poki‘i Adkins-Kupukaa (three catches, 57 yards, one TD) and older brother Tamatoa Mokiao-Atimalala.
“They played a lot of defense tonight. They do good things when they’re on the field and we need them to keep doing that,” Johnson said. “This was good team victory.”
Kapolei was committed to its ground game, eating up clock and keeping Campbell’s explosive offense on the sideline. However, Kaipo found Jalen Henderson for a key 28-yard pass to the Kapolei 2-yard line, and running back Sky Lactaoen blasted up the middle on the next play for a 14-0 lead with 4:47 left in the first half.
Kaipo found Titus Mokiao-Atimalala on a 12-yard touchdown pass for a 21-0 Sabers lead with 8:19 to go in the third. That came one play after an interception by Landan Shove was nullified by a roughing-the-passer penalty.
Campbell’s final TD came on a 34-yard pass from Kaipo to Adkins-Kupukaa on a post route. That opened the lead to 28-0 with 5:15 to go in the third.
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GAME SUMMARY
No. 4 Campbell 28, Kapolei 0
At Kapolei
>> Campbell (6-3, 3-1) 7 7 14 0 — 28
>> Kapolei (3-6, 1-3) 0 0 0 0 — 0
Campbell — Titus Mokiao-Atimalala 69 pass from Krenston Kaipo (Jadon Arola kick)
Campbell — Sky Lactaoen 2 run (Arola kick)
Campbell — Mokiao-Atimalala 12 pass from Kaipo (Arola kick)
Campbell — Poki‘i Adkins-Kupukaa 34 pass from Kaipo (Arola kick)
RUSHING — Campbell: Lactaoen 16-61, Kaniala Kalaola 4-24, Kaipo 3-5, Cameron Sloan 2-(minus-1). Chasen Torres 2-(minus-2), Kapolei: Ezekiel Waiolama 15-39, Peni Naulu 2-3, Mason Gomez 3-(minus-1), Noa Bailey 1-(minus-2), Christian Rapis 2-(minus-7).
PASSING — Campbell: Kaipo 19-26-0-301, Kaniela Kalaola 4-9-0-25. Kapolei: Rapis 5-11-1-73, Bailey 3-12-1-17, Gomez 4-10-0-36.
RECEIVING — Campbell: Titus Mokiao-Atimalala 10-164, Tamatoa Mokiao-Atimalala 5-40, Jalen Henderson 4-64, Poki‘i Adkins-Kupukaa 3-57, Christian Quiambao 1-1. Kapolei: De’Zhaun Stribling 5-67, Keoki Kaluhiwa 4-33, Elijah Badoyen 2-22, Ikari Stokes 1-4.
* JV — Campbell 21, Kapolei 13
