Hurd, Himan lead Campbell to win

Isaac Hurd spends most of his time on the gridiron running past defenders.

This time, he was on his knees, and it was his arm, plus opportunistic teammates, that made the difference as No. 8 Campbell rallied for a stunning 32-24 win over No. 6 Waianae on Friday night at the Sabers’ field.

Campbell improved to 2-1 in the OIA Red West (4-1 overall) and dropped Waianae to 2-2 in conference play (4-2).

"Our defense was giving us opportunities. We just had to execute and help them out," Hurd said. "We could’ve got down on ourselves, but we didn’t. I was on my knees asking God to come through for us, and he did."

Hurd was cornered for most of the night, but launched a bomb to Keola Himan to bring the Sabers within 24-19 late in the third quarter.

"He ran the corner route and the corner sat down. He’s one of our fastest receivers, so I knew if I aired it out for him, he’d get under it," said Hurd, who has one of the strongest arms in the state.

Waianae, which had problems with a punt snap earlier, then sent its next one far over the head of punter Stanton Spencer. He got control of the ball in the end zone as a Saber wrapped around him for an apparent safety, but Spencer heaved the ball away in desperation.

The bouncing pigskin was scooped up by Unity Kea Cambra for the go-ahead touchdown. Campbell led 25-24 with 9:38 to play and never trailed again.

"I was running as fast as I could, hoping the ball would bounce our way," said Cambra, who plays linebacker. "The ball came out and I just rallied on it."

Waianae had a chance to regain the lead, but Spencer’s 43-yard field-goal try was short and wide left. Campbell then scored on a 26-yard screen pass from Hurd to Himan, but the touchdown almost came too quickly. There were still 54 seconds left in the game when the Seariders got the ball back at their 46-yard line.

Campbell safety Solomon Matautia put the game away, however, with an interception of a deep pass from Kekoa Kaluhiokalani with 24 ticks remaining.

Hurd was limited to 13 rushing yards, but finished with 276 yards through the air. He also scored two touchdowns on the ground, both 11-yard runs.

The Seariders stuck to a ground-and-pound game in the first half, going hurry-up the whole way and keeping Campbell’s defense on its heels. They led 17-7 as Mahvan Tau, a 5-foot-9, 210-pound fullback, had nine carries for 46 yards. The Seariders gained 110 rushing yards by the break, including 54 by Kaluhiokalani, and limited Hurd, Campbell’s leading rusher, to just 1 yard by intermission.

But that option attack sputtered in the second half.

"We knew for sure that they were trying to lull us to sleep with that option and then make big plays over the top. We talked to our guys about making sure you stay with your man," Campbell coach Amosa Amosa said. "It was man coverage all the way. Couple times our defense got caught, but I told them not to panic."

The Seariders lost some momentum after last week’s win at Leilehua.

"Campbell’s a great team. They outplayed us tonight in every aspect," Waianae coach Daniel Matsumoto said. "They did a helluva job scouting us last week."