Eventually, Awe Parangao was everywhere Kauai High needed him to be on Friday night.
After a rough start at quarterback that included interceptions on the Red Raiders’ first two possessions, the senior ably shifted over to receiver and caught the only score of the game in Kauai’s season-opening 7-0 interleague win over Kalaheo at Kailua.
The thrower? Sophomore Andrew Passi, who came on late in the first quarter and engineered the game-deciding 60-yard drive of the scoring-starved affair. Passi found Parangao on a 7-yard strike to begin the second period and the backup finished cleanly — 11-for-18 for 136 yards and no picks. Parangao wrapped up the last few plays when Passi had the wind knocked out of him on a keeper.
“It was all the way around. Wide receiver was my No. 1 position (previously), and then (the coaches) gave trust into my backup, and he did a hell of a job out there,” Parangao said. “I just had to watch his back when he went down, too.”
Parangao made a difference on defense, too, picking off Kalaheo quarterback Isaiah Akiu in the third quarter immediately after the Red Raiders lost a fumble near midfield.
“It was weird, we came up flying thinking we could come here and pummel what we could, but we had a rough start,” said Parangao, whose team beat Kalaheo 40-6 on the Garden Isle to open the 2018 season. “But we finished how we wanted to.”
Factoring a 100-yard effort from running back Kamu Peahu on 15 carries, it was just enough for the visitors to tame the numbers-challenged Mustangs.
“Definitely we have a lot to work on,” Kauai coach Jason Apilado said. “We just got out of a weekend-long camp in preparation for this. These boys have been preparing and working hard since February. Obviously when you hit the game field and see certain things unfold, we still have a bunch of things we’ll have to clean up. When we get back to Kauai, we’re going right back to work and sharpen up.”
Kalaheo, which was hurting up front with multiple linemen sidelined academically, had minus-21 yards rushing at halftime and finished at plus-1.
Akiu, a 5-foot-6 sophomore, was dropped for a loss 10 times.
“I believe so, that was a big factor for us,” Kalaheo coach Darrell Poole said of the patchwork line. “Our key players were out. I believe if we had them all playing tonight the outcome would’ve been different, but hat’s off to Kauai, because they’re in the same boat too and they came here to play.”
The hosts’ best chance of the game came on a keeper by Akiu on the possession following Kauai’s score. He took it in 15 yards for a would-be touchdown, but it was wiped off by a holding call in the backfield. Akiu was then sacked on the ensuing play and the Mustangs got nothing out of it.
The Mustangs’ brightest spot was 6-foot-3 tight end/defensive end Jordan Neufeldt. He had the first pick of Parangao and snagged three balls offensively for 89 yards.
Kalaheo dropped its eighth straight season opener.
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KAUAI 7, KALAHEO 0
At Kailua High
>> Kauai (1-0) 0 7 0 0 – 7
>> Kalaheo (0-1) 0 0 0 0 – 0
Kauai — Awe Parangao 7 pass from Andrew Passi (Tai Panit kick)
RUSHING — Kauai: Kamu Peahu 15- 100, Chris Silva 8-13, Passi 5-11, Cade Raposas-Carvalho 1-7, Parangao 1-(minus 3). Kalaheo: Payton Barber 12-62, TEAM 2-(minus 2), Arie Eaton 1-(minus 2), Isaiah Akiu 11-(minus 57).
PASSING — Kauai: Passi 11-18-0-136, Parangao 1-5-2-1. Kalaheo: Akiu 7-18- 2-129, Jack Lemmon 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING — Kauai: Easton Luis 5-50, Parangao 3-34, Peahu 2-41, Erwin Motilla 2-12. Kalaheo: Jordan Neufeldt 3-89, Riis Webber 2-10, Jackson Aber 1-16, Jonah Lene 1-14.
* Junior varsity: Kauai 28, Kalani 8
