Hurd helps Sabers thunder past Waipahu

Campbell quarterback Isaac Hurd could have had it all on Friday night.

He helped the Sabers defend the Cane Knife Trophy from the invaders from Waipahu, kicked off a long homecoming and senior night celebration and nearly broke a school record in a 35-14 beating of the Marauders at Campbell.

Hurd was 21-for-31 for 341 yards and five touchdowns. He fell 1 yard shy of Vince Lemau’s school record for passing yards set in 2000 against Kalaheo. But the near-miss rolled right off his back. When told how close he was, he stepped back a little bit and gave a simple shrug.

"That’s OK, it’s senior night," Hurd said. "The main thing was winning and taking care of the seniors."

The senior quarterback didn’t limit his generosity to the seniors; he got everyone in on the act, with both Keola Himan and Galuega Castro getting more than 100 yards receiving.

Hurd targeted eight different receivers in the first half, and three of them rewarded him with touchdowns as Campbell kept the perpetual trophy. The machete has not left the campus since 2005.

Hurd, who is also one of the OIA’s more effective rushers, was under orders to try to stay in the pocket and use his arm more.

Did he ever.

"After last week’s game, we really didn’t want him running it 18 times," Campbell coach Amosa Amosa said.

"That’s a little bit too much for a quarterback, especially a quarterback with an arm like he has."

Jayce Bantolina was the first to cross the stripe in front of Campbell’s large homecoming crowd, hauling in a pass from Hurd that Waipahu cornerback Dominick Marshall gambled on and lost. Bantolina calmly reeled in the pass and ran 25 yards to the end zone to complete a 33-yard play. Tyler Subia added the extra point.

Hurd’s next touchdown toss was a simple shovel pass that Kainoa Perry took 25 yards to the end zone. Hurd extended the drive one play before by taking in a halfback pass from Perry and moving the sticks on fourth and 10.

Hurd capped Campbell’s next drive with a 35-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Keola Himan.

The Sabers scored on three of their seven drives and never punted in the first half.

Waipahu moved the ball fine when it got a play off, but its offense was whistled for penalties 12 times in the first half. Add in two infractions by the defense, and the officials sent Waipahu backwards 95 yards in the first 24 minutes and its offense gained only 88 yards, 82 of them on the ground. Waipahu quarterbacks were 1-for-8 for 6 yards in the first half.

Waipahu rallied in the second half to gain 219 total yards.

Campbell closes with another rival when it hosts Kapolei on Friday, while Waipahu hosts Leilehua the same day. Waipahu is playing for seeding, while Campbell has a shot at a first-round bye but has to beat Kapolei.

Hurd and his coaches had no idea they were close to the school record, so the QB didn’t play in the fourth quarter, making way for Perry, who went 5-for-7 with an interception.

"I wish I would have known," Amosa said. "I might have snuck in a simple 5-yard out, but probably not. I have too much love for (Waipahu coach Eric) Keola and his staff, I wanted to see the backups play."