Campbell’s Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele wasn’t about to let Kapolei ruin his team’s perfect season and his becoming the state’s all-time passing yardage leader.
There was a huge comeback, late-game drama and remarkable plays in this back-and-forth battle, which is a sure-fire pick for game of the year.
Sagapolutele completed 32 of 47 passes for 473 yards and six touchdowns as No. 1 Campbell beat No. 5 Kapolei 49-43 in an OIA Open Division semifinal game at Mililani.
“We took the little stuff. We didn’t have to go deep every play like how we came out,” Sagapolutele said. “Once you start taking what they’re giving us, that’s all we needed.”
The Sabers trailed 19-0 after the first quarter, 33-7 midway through the second quarter and 36-14 at halftime.
Campbell coach Darren Johnson said he told his team: “Shake out the jitters. They were so uptight and trying to play mistake-free football. We needed them to have some fun and they came out in the second half and had some fun.”
Sagapolutele directed five touchdown drives in the second half, including the go-ahead 13-yard scoring pass to Shaison Kupukaa with 2:08 remaining. Sagapolutele’s 2-point conversion pass to Tainoa Lave put the Sabers up six.
“Every time someone presses me, I have that confidence, Jaron has the confidence in me I’m going to catch it. We just have that good connection,” said Kupukaa, who had eight receptions for 174 yards and four touchdowns.”
The Hurricanes’ final drive started at their 20. An incomplete pass on fourth-and-11 with 1:38 remaining gave the ball to the Sabers. Tama Amisone, Kapolei’s versatile playmaker, wasn’t available for the drive because of an injury.
“We just didn’t get it done when it counted,” Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said. “I’m proud of the kids. I love these boys. It’s disappointing because this would have been an amazing feat to beat No. 1. It just didn’t happen.”
Campbell (9-0) will face Kahuku for the title next week. Kahuku trounced Mililani 35-6 in a game that ended Saturday morning.
The Sabers will be seeking their third OIA championship, with the previous crowns coming at the Division II level in 2004 and 2008.
The finalists will receive berths in the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Championships, which start Nov. 15. Kapolei (5-4) and Mililani will meet for the OIA’s third and final berth in the four-team tournament.
Sagapolutele set the passing yardage record on a 14-yard pass to Kupukaa with 1:30 left in the third quarter, which gave him 10,061 for his career. The previous record was held by Mililani’s Dillion Gabriel, who amassed 10,048 yards from 2015 to 2018. Sagapolutele now has 10,246 for his career.
Sagapolutele was playing in his 33rd game with Campbell, while fellow left-hander Gabriel, now with Oregon, played in 40.
“My teammates, they do all the work. I just get them the ball and they make the hard-fought-for yards just for me,” Sagapolutele said.
The Hurricanes threw a changeup at the Sabers early in the game and it worked.
Leysen Rodrigues took over at quarterback for Amisone on the Hurricanes’ first possession. Amisone shifted to slot receiver, where he contributed two touchdown catches. His first scoring reception, a spinning one-handed grab over the middle, will be among the top plays this season.
Entering the game, Amisone threw 80% of Kapolei’s passes for 1,468 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also averaged 7.5 yards on 93 rushes.
“Tama Amisone is such an amazing athlete and player, every defense is scheming against him and trying hard to stop him. So we decided since we can’t clone him, we’ll put him everywhere,” Hernandez said.
Rodrigues completed 19 of 33 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns. Amisone was 2-for-5 for 6 yards, rushed eight times for 93 yards and caught three passes for 70 yards.
Kapolei scored on the third play from scrimmage on Amisone’s spectacular 59-yard reception from Rodrigues. Larry McCarley’s PAT kick made it 7-0 with 10:57 left in the opening quarter.
The Hurricanes went up 13-0 on Kaina Kamohalii’s 7-yard end-around run to the right side with 6:26 left in the quarter. The big play of the drive was a 39-yard completion from Rodriguez to Maui Remigio, which placed the ball at the 5.
Kapolei extended the lead to 19-0 on Amisone’s 2-yard keeper off the right side. The drive was set up by Makana Taylor’s interception and return to the Hurricanes’ 42.
The Sabers got within 19-7 on Sagapolutele’s 44-yard pass to Zayden Alviar-Costa on the first play of the second quarter. Jadyn Parker made the PAT kick.
The Hurricanes responded quickly on Rodrigues’ 78-yard pass to Nikko Smith, which made it 26-7 with 9:56 left in the second quarter.
Kapolei went ahead 33-7 on Rodrigues’ 9-yard pass to Amisone with 5:25 remaining before halftime.
The Sabers got within 33-14 on Sagapolutele’s 4-yard pass to Alviar-Costa with 2:04 to go before halftime.
Kapolei went ahead 36-14 on McCarley’s 37-yard field goal with 6.4 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Hurricanes gained 352 yards of total offense before halftime, while the Sabers had 170.
Rodrigues completed 14 of 20 passes for 293 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. Smith had five receptions for 137 yards.
“The first-half struggles. It was a sloppy week of practice. Of course, we respected them, but we weren’t playing to our full potential,” Sagapolutele said.
Campbell scored on the first possession of the second half on Sagapolutele’s 2-yard run, which made it 36-21 with 9:00 left in the third.
The Sabers scored on their next drive on Sagapolutele’s 1-yard pass to Rusten Abang-Perez, which made it 36-28 with 3:38 to go in the third.
Campbell got within 36-34 on Sagapolutele’s 7-yard pass to Alviar-Costa on the first play of the fourth quarter. The 2-point conversion pass failed.
The Hurricanes extended their lead to 43-34 on Amisone’s 6-yard scramble to the left side on fourth down with 6:53 remaining. On the previous play, Kapolei was called for a false start.
The Sabers got within 43-41 on Sagapolutele’s 25-yard pass to Alviar-Costa with 5:21 remaining.
On Sept. 21, host Campbell beat Kapolei 40-23.
HAWAII’S ALL-TIME PASSING LEADERS
Name, School Years Yards GP Comp. Att. Pct. TD INT
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, Campbell 2022-current 10,246 33 679 1,049 64.7 113 29
Dillon Gabriel, Mililani 2015-18 10,048 40 745 1,281 58.2 105 36
Keoki Alani, Konawaena 2021-23 9,310 32 684 1,008 67.9 127 39
Tua Tagovailoa, Saint Louis 2014-16 8,158 31 540 817 66.1 84 17
Timmy Chang, Saint Louis 1997-99 8,001 41 464 771 60.2 113 23
Andrew Manley, Leilehua 2007-09 7,637 32 640 1,077 59.4 67 34
Tai-John Mizutani, ‘Iolani 2015-17 7,592 31 660 1,135 58.1 55 37
Easton Yoshino, Kaiser 2019-22 7,309 29 511 872 58.6 84 31
McKenzie Milton, Mililani 2013-15 7,303 34 512 782 65.5 81 21
Brett Kan, Punahou 2004-06 7,188 33 569 1,000 56.9 58 49
Source: hawaiiprepworld.com
PREP FOOTBALL SUMMARIES
OIA OPEN DIVISION
NO. 1 CAMPBELL 49,
NO. 5 KAPOLEI 43
At John Kauinana Stadium
Kapolei (5-4) 19 17 0 7 — 43
Campbell (9-0) 0 14 14 21 — 49
KAP—Liatama Amisone 59 pass from Ley-
sen Rodrigues (Larry McCarley kick)
KAP—Kaina Kamohalii 7 run (kick failed)
KAP—Amisone 2 run (run failed)
CAMP—Zayden Alviar-Costa 44 pass from
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (Jadyn Parker
kick)
KAP—Nikko Smith 78 pass from Rodrigues
(McCarley kick)
KAP—Amisone 9 pass from Rodrigues
(McCauley kick)
CAMP—Alviar-Costa 4 pass from Sagapo-
lutele (Parker kick)
KAP—FG McCarley 37
CAMP—Sagapolutele 2 run (Parker kick)
CAMP—Rusten Abang-Perez 1 pass from
Sagapolutele (Parker kick)
CAMP—Alviar-Costa 7 pass from Sagapo-
lutele (pass failed)
KAP—Amisone 6 run (McCarley kick)
CAMP—Alviar-Costa 25 pass from Saga-
polutele (Parker kick)
CAMP—Shaison Kupukaa 13 pass from
Sagapolutele (Sagapolutele pass to Tainoa
Lave)
RUSHING—Kapolei: Amisone 8-93,
Chazz-Michael Kapahu 5-15, Chase Ca-
marillo 4-8, Kaina Kamohalii 1-7, Noah
Papu-Muaava 1-2, Rodrigues 3-(minus 8),
Team 2-(minus 11). Campbell: Xyler Jarra
9-17, Brystin Sansano 1-5, Team 3-(minus
16), Sagapolutele 4-(minus 24).
PASSING—Kapolei: Rodrigues 19-33-2-
321, Amisone 2-5-0-6. Campbell: Saga-
polutele 32-47-1-473.
RECEIVING—Kapolei: Smith 6-143, Ami-
sone 3-70, Kamohalii 5-41, Maui Remigio
1-39, Kapahu 5-30, Zayne Pasion 1-4.
Campbell: Alviar-Costa 8-174, Abang-Pe-
rez 13-121, Sansano 4-86, Lave 3-52, Ku-
pukaa 4-40.
OIA DIVISION I
Leilehua 30, Waianae 0
OIA DIVISION II
Roosevelt 38, Castle 0
