After a 19-year absence from the state tournament, Waimea announced its return with an explosive rushing attack — led by Aukai Emayo — and a 48-7 win over visiting Kaiser in Saturday afternoon’s First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Football Championships Division II first-round game.
“We’re feeling really good right now,” Waimea coach Kyle Linoz said. “We knew we were going to have a really hard game against Kaiser. The final score doesn’t reflect how the game went. Kaiser is a really good football team. We’re just lucky we came out on top today.”
Emayo led a Menehune run game that scored six touchdowns against the Cougars. Emayo was responsible for three of those scores, along with a season-high 230 yards on 26 carries.
“The goal was 100 yards for Aukai, so we definitely love that,” Linoz said of Emayo’s big game. “That was the plan, to get him at least 22 touches. We’re a running team, no ifs, ands or buts about it. We’re not gonna throw the ball much. We’re just going to run the ball, play some defense and see what happens.”
“I feel amazing,” Emayo said about his performance. “Without the offensive line, none of this would have been possible. The O-line came through against a very tough team.”
Kaili Arakaki scored two rushing touchdowns and added 44 yards on four carries. Robbie Correa III had the last scoring run, along with 46 yards on six carries.
“We put a lot of pressure on our offensive line this week,” Linoz said. “We didn’t run the ball well this year. But it was up against Kapaa, a great team. So we put a lot of pressure on them to do their jobs today, and thankfully they did. Our running backs got to run in some big holes.”
Waimea’s defense stepped up to stymie a potent Kaiser passing attack, harassing Cougars quarterback Easton Yoshino into two interceptions.
“We crossed our fingers,” Linoz said about stopping Kaiser. “We went on single man coverage, tried to bring pressure to make (Yoshino) throw the ball quicker. He’s one of the best quarterbacks in the entire state, and thankfully our line got to him and our defensive backs didn’t give up any big plays.”
The opening play of the game was a sign of things to come. Waimea returned the opening kickoff 44 yards to near midfield, setting the Menehune up on Kaiser’s side of the field. The Waimea offense did its part with a nine-play drive, moving 48 yards and finishing on Arakaki’s 9-yard rushing score around left end.
Waimea’s special teams nearly did its thing again later in the second quarter, scoring on a 52-yard punt return. The score was wiped out by an illegal blindside block. Instead, it was the offensive unit that would score again. The Menehune drove 50 yards on five plays. Emayo scored his first touchdown, a 2-yard run.
Kaiser finally got on the scoreboard with 7:25 left in the first half. Yoshino — who made a return to the starting lineup after suffering a knee injury in the OIA Division II Championship two weeks ago — connected with Donovan Reis for two big plays on the six-play scoring drive. Yoshino found Reis for a 47-yard completion to get into the red zone, and the two connected again one play later for a 3-yard score.
The Menehune answered the Cougars’ score with another before halftime. Arakaki helped lead Waimea down the field with a 31-yard run, and he was rewarded with his second touchdown of the game, from 3 yards out.
The second half didn’t get much better for Kaiser. Yoshino’s pass was picked off by Waimea’s Kenny Okeigar, who returned the ball 58 yards for a score. Waimea got the ball back on Kaiser’s turnover on downs, and Emayo ran the ball 38 yards for a touchdown. On the next drive, Yoshino’s pass was tipped at the line and intercepted, setting up yet another Waimea score. Correa scored the Menehune’s fifth rushing touchdown of the game on a 3-yard carry.
Correa’s score made it a 35-point advantage and invoked a running clock.
After another Kaiser turnover on downs, Emayo put a capper on his monster game with a 33-yard carry that pushed him over 200 yards rushing. He finished the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run, his third of the game.
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WAIMEA 48, KAISER 7
At Hanapepe Stadium
Kaiser (6-5) 0 7 0 0 — 7
Waimea (7-2) 7 14 21 6 — 48
WAIM—Kaili Arakaki 9 run (Haweo Akeo kick)
WAIM—Aukai Emayo 2 run (Akeo kick)
KAIS—Donovan Reis 3 pass from Easton Yoshino (Ian Shearer kick)
WAIM—Arakaki 3 run (Akeo kick)
WAIM—Kenny Okeigar 58 interception return (Akeo kick)
WAIM—Emayo 38 run (Akeo kick)
WAIM—Robbie Correa III 3 run (Akeo kick)
WAIM—Emayo 9 run (kick failed)
RUSHING—Kaiser: Kai Blackston 5-25, Yoshino 2-(minus 5), TEAM 1-(minus 25). Waimea: Emayo 26-230, Correa III 6-46, Arakaki 4-44, Rhaziah Tacub-Taniguchi 3-40, Kameron Apilado 2-21, Brennen Fernandez 6-12, Zyden Vea 2-6, TEAM 2-(minus 1).
PASSING—Kaiser: Yoshino 22-39-2-250. Waimea: Vea 1-2-0-12.
RECEIVING—Kaiser: Reis 6-101, Jesse Shinagawa 7-86, Makana Naleieha 4-31, Keegan Lime 3-24, Blackston 2-8, Rayne Sumida 1-(minus 1). Waimea: Tacub-Tanigushi 1-12.
