Krenston Kaipo passed for 191 yards and two touchdowns, both to Poki‘i Adkins-Kupukaa, as No. 7 Campbell ran away for a 48-13 win over Aiea on Saturday night at the Sabers’ field.
Campbell improved to 2-0 in OIA Division I play. Aiea dropped to 0-2.
Adkins-Kupukaa, a sophomore, also returned an interception 87 yards for a score. In all, Campbell came up with three picks against Aiea quarterback Ty Matsunami, all in the red zone.
“We played through the penalties. We went from four penalties to 20,” Campbell coach Darren Johnson said.
The Sabers had 160 penalty yards on those 20 yellow flags. They made up for it with consistent production and balance on offense and stubborn defense. Adkins-Kupukaa had four receptions for 100 yards during the first series and seemed en route to another school-record performance.
“We’re not trying to break records. We’re just trying to win football games. If we can give Ki‘i a rest, we’ll do that,” Johnson said of his two-way starter.
“The kids’ attitudes are good. Playing a good team like Campbell, they were keeping up with them. Turnovers hurt and we had some injuries,” Aiea coach Wendell Say said.
Campbell scored on all three of its first-half possessions. The Sabers opened the game with a strange drive, reaching the Aiea 10-yard line before committing four infractions in a row. Kaipo then launched a 40-yard bomb to Adkins-Kupukaa, who had a highly unusual 100 receiving yards during the drive.
Aiea answered with a meticulous 15-play, 70-yard drive aided by a Campbell personal foul. Matsunami’s short passes worked effectively, and when Na Alii reached the 10-yard line, big Ferenisi Lualemana took over at quarterback. He executed a perfect jump pass, a 6-yard touchdown to Teron Kitashima, and Aiea tied the game at 7 with two minutes left in the first quarter.
The Sabers scored on their next series, getting an 11-yard scoring run by Viliami Vaimoui to regain the lead for good. They controlled the line of scrimmage most of the night and got a 1-yard TD run by Tyrese Tafai for a 21-7 lead with 3:32 left in the first half.
With 45 seconds before intermission, Adkins-Kupukaa snatched a deep pass by Matsunami and turned it into a pick-6 for a 27-7 advantage.
After an interception by Leandro Lainez, Campbell needed just three plays to score again. Kaipo looked left, then right, launching a 48-yard TD strike to Adkins-Kupukaa in stride. The home team led 33-7 with 6:50 left in the third stanza.
Aiea drove and scored on a 10-yard, fourth-down pass from Matsunami to Romance Maae-Liupaono with 2:09 to go in the third.
Sky Lactaoen’s 6-yard TD run extended the lead to 27 points just before the end of the third.
A bobbled snap led to a safety for Campbell as backup quarterback Christian Rapis was tackled in the end zone. Campbell’s final TD came on Joshua Salvido’s 25-yard run.
Click here to see more photos of the game between Campbell and Aiea.
