No. 7 Leilehua bounces back to squash Kapolei

Leilehua’s football program has been one of the most successful in the state over the past decade.

Part of the reason is its ability to bounce back from a loss.

The seventh-ranked Mules haven’t dropped two games in a row since early in the 2009 season after throttling host Kapolei 47-0 on Friday night in an OIA Red West game.

Leilehua (2-1, 4-1), which was stunned by Aiea, 18-16, last week, improved to 6-0 after a defeat since 2009 in a big way, handing Kapolei (1-2, 3-2) its worst loss in school history.

“We have a great coaching staff that I’ve put together where we’re not just coaches, we’re friends,” Nolan Tokuda said. “After that loss, we ourselves as coaches said that’s our fault and we had two meetings (on Monday and Tuesday) … basically to make sure we have the kids play fast and have fun.”

Leilehua played fast and efficiently in the first half, scoring on all five possession to take a 32-0 lead into the break.

Junior Justin Jenks, who has split time at quarterback with Levi Castanares, played all but four snaps with Castanares out with a back injury.

Jenks more than doubled his previous career high in passing, finishing 27-for-36 for 275 yards and three touchdowns.

“I just hope we can continue this and keep improving on our season,” Jenks said. “Levi is a really great QB and does really well with this offense and I know both of us can do really well and perform at a high level.”

Tokuda said he expects Castanares back for next week’s showdown at Campbell and has no issues with playing both guys all season.

“Iron sharpens iron, and these two juniors need to keep competing every week,” Tokuda said. “When you’re fortunate to have two quarterbacks that are pretty comfortable with the system and move the offense, it helps.”

Keoni Piceno had nine catches for 87 yards and was one of three receivers to find the end zone in the game.

Leilehua held a comfortable 38-0 lead in the fourth quarter when Jenks hit Kristian Wong-Ventura for a 25-yard touchdown on a play that Tokuda wishes he could have back.

“We made a mistake on that play, where when we say, ‘stretch,’ they thought it was ‘switch,” and they ran the switch, where we throw for a touchdown,” Tokuda said. “We want to make sure we’re a class program and I want to apologize to Coach Darren (Hernandez) and the Kapolei program because we weren’t trying to run it up there.”

Kapolei was held to 34 total yards in the game and self-destructed at the end of the first half, giving up 13 points in the final 43 seconds.

After Piceno caught a touchdown pass from Jenks with 43 seconds left, Kapolei got the ball back on its own 25-yard line. Quarterback Aizon Kahana dropped back to pass twice and was sacked both times, fumbling on his 2-yard line.

Junior Torenzo Vereen, one of four captains for the game, scooped up the loose ball and ran it into the end zone as time expired to give Leilehua a 32-0 lead.

“The (defensive backs) had good coverage and I credit them and the other guys on the (defensive) line,” Vereen said. “I just saw the ball and picked it up and I was in the end zone.”