Darren Hernandez admitted it was time to bring his Kapolei football program into the 21st century.
Known for his run-first, physical approach to offense, Hernandez has opened the door this season to a brand new passing attack that was lethal Friday night.
Quarterbacks Ezra Savea and Taulia Tagovailoa combined to throw for 356 yards and five touchdowns as the Hurricanes opened the year with a 49-28 win over visiting Kaiser.
Senior receiver Ty-Noah Williams is one of the biggest beneficiaries of Kapolei’s new offensive attack, hauling in seven passes for 123 yards and three touchdowns, including two in a 21-second span late in the second quarter that swung the entire game.
“We didn’t have the talent we have this year and we’re blessed to have Ezra transfer to Kapolei because he’s the leader of our offense and he makes it happen,” Williams said. “It’s kind of the same offense as last year but it’s more upbeat and we have better quarterbacks and I trust both of them.”
Savea played the first half and hit Williams for touchdown passes of 19 and 39 yards in consecutive offensive plays.
The game was tied 7-7 when Savea hooked up with Williams for the first score. Kapolei then forced Kaiser quarterback Nic Tom to fumble on the ensuing kickoff and Savea stepped up in the pocket and hit Williams deep down the middle for a second TD to make it 21-7 at the half.
“We’ve been a power-oriented team my 15 years here … and we’ve made the move and said we’ve got to get it into the 21st century,” Hernandez said. “Forty-nine points. What can you say? Both quarterbacks have a lot of strengths.”
Tagovailoa, a freshman and brother of Saint Louis quarterback Tua, entered in the second half and hit on his first four passes, including two for touchdowns.
He finished 8-for-11 for 160 yards with three TDs.
“Taulia is just a freshman and he threw three touchdowns,” Hernandez said. “I’m comfortable with two guys.”
Kaiser is just hoping to have one guy at quarterback after Justin Uahinui, who groomed to be the starter all offseason, transferred to Farrington two weeks before the season opener.
Tom converted to quarterback and was 14-for-20 for 132 yards. He also ran for 200 of Kaiser’s 433 rushing yards.
“Honestly, the scoreboard doesn’t reflect the effort that our guys put in,” Kaiser coach Cameron Higgins said. “They played both sides of the ball and Kapolei was an up-tempo team and I’m very proud and looking forward to this year.”
Senior Jensen McDaniel, the Cougars’ leading rusher from last year, added 167 rushing yards on 33 carries.
The two teams combined for 1,062 total yards. Kapolei improved to 3-0 all-time against Kaiser, winning the first meeting between the two schools since 2003.
| At Kapolei H.S. field |
| Kaiser |
7 |
0 |
14 |
7 |
— |
28 |
| Kapolei |
7 |
14 |
14 |
14 |
— |
49 |
Kapo—Ezra Savea 10 run (Beau Meyer kick)
Kais—Jensen McDaniel 8 run (Andrew Kaufusi kick)
Kapo—Ty-Noah Williams 19 pass from Savea (Meyer kick)
Kapo—Williams 39 pass from Savea (Meyer kick)
Kais—Nic Tom 46 run (Kaufusi kick)
Kapo—Jaymin Sarono 15 pass from Taulia Tagovailoa (Meyer kick)
Kais—Tom 42 run (Kaufusi kick)
Kapo—Williams 12 pass from Tagovailoa (Meyer kick)
Kapo—Sarono 26 pass from Tagovailoa (Meyer kick)
Kais—Parker Higgins 2 run (Kaufusi kick)
Kapo—Savea 39 run (Meyer kick)
RUSHING—Kaiser: Tom 21-200, McDaniel 33-167, Higgins 8-39, Emmett Garcia 7-26. Kapolei: E. Savea 11-69, L.J. Esperas 4-45, Kainoa Bardon 3-10, Sarono 1-9, Rocky Savea 1-7, Mykah Kuratani 1-1.
PASSING—Kaiser: Tom 14-20-1-132, Higgins 0-2-0-0. Kapolei: Tagovailoa 8-11-0-160, E. Savea 11-15-1-196.
RECEIVING—Kaiser: Kaufusi 10-53, Jonny Hanawahine 3-54, McDaniel 1-23, Higgins 1-2. Kapolei: Williams 7-123, Sarono 4-91, Esperas 3-66, Jenesus Tago-Sue 3-65, Bardon 2-11.
