Pebria helps Kapolei cruise past Kailua

After frittering away its chance at a bye to close the regular season, Kapolei treated its first-round playoff game like a practice.

Triston Pebria scored three touchdowns in the first half and Kapolei ran over Kailua 42-27 to earn the right to meet Farrington in the second round of the OIA playoffs next week.

The Hurricanes were in position for the seeded bye before losing close games at Waianae and at Campbell. There was nothing close about their home playoff game on Friday night until the third string came in and gave up four touchdowns. Practice won’t be too fun after the letdown in the fourth quarter.

“We played well, put two quarters together,” Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said. “We were up 42-0 and we thought we would play everybody; we just didn’t expect the guys we played to play so poorly and make it so exciting. We expect the same level of play from everybody.”

The Hurricanes punted the first time they got the ball, but scored four straight touchdowns after that. Kapolei wanted to establish a passing game early, but abandoned it in favor of Pebria’s running skills.

Pebria scored from 7 yards out for Kapolei’s first score, from 5 yards out for its second and on a 26-yard draw for the Hurricanes’ third tally. Kicker Arielle Stoyanow made the extra point all three times.

Pebria, who was largely untouched on each of his touchdowns, gained 106 yards on 13 carries before halftime and finished with 111 yards on 16 carries. Quarterback Aizon Kahana worked out the passing game after the Hurricanes were up three scores to rack up 191 yards to five different receivers.

“We knew they had a great running game and a great offensive line,” Kailua coach Gary Rosolowich said. “We weren’t exactly at full strength and they took advantage of it.”

Kapolei had receiver Alton Julius (high ankle sprain) and linebacker Micah Paris (bruised tailbone) suited up, but Julius didn’t play and Paris was limited. Kailua was more than limited, with starters Jameson White (broken kneecap), Joseph Byers (bruised knee) and Kamakana Nakamura (concussion) not suited up. White and Byers were starters in the defensive backfield, while Nakamura is an offensive lineman.

The Hurricanes could afford the luxury of taking chances on offense because their defense was nothing short of outstanding. Kapolei held Kailua to 93 yards in the first half and never let it threaten.

The Hurricanes sacked Surfriders’ quarterback Noah Auld six times in the first half by six different players. It could have been worse had Paris not been relegated to punting because of his injury.
Kingston Fernandez, Isaiah Alapai, Dylan White, Masi Tunoa, Sam Naulu and Kalani Vakameilalo all had turns at putting Auld to the ground.

It’s a familiar road for Kapolei, which smashed Castle in the first round last year for its first playoff win in five years. All the Hurricanes got for it was a date, and the loss that came with it, with Farrington.The Hurricanes play Farrington again in the second round next week. They have never beaten the beasts from the East in four tries.