Despite an offense that sputtered for most of the first half, No. 2 Kahuku rallied from a nine-point deficit for a 33-15 win over No. 1 Campbell to capture the OIA Open Division championship on a blustery Friday nighty at Skippa Diaz Stadium.

Kahuku (8-4 overall) has won four of the past five OIA Open titles. This may have been the most difficult, facing the state’s all-time passing yardage leader, Campbell quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. Kahuku limited the senior to 239 passing yards and one touchdown while sacking him four times. Three of those sacks came in the second half as Kahuku rallied.

“We just had to keep that mindset that we’re the best. We prepared all week,” Kahuku defensive lineman LeBron Williams said.

Williams, Maximum Fonoimoana, Faleali‘i Atuaia and Malaki Soliai-Tui each had one sack.

Campbell came into the game 9-0, averaging nearly 47 points per game. Kahuku held the Sabers to a season-low scoring output. Campbell beat Kahuku 21-13 at Carleton E. Weimer Field on Oct. 19. Against all other opposition, Campbell scored at least 40 points.

“Even though we’re down, we have to keep bringing that energy. The offense isn’t performing, but we’ve got to hold ourselves to a certain standard,” said Williams, a 6-foot-2, 255-pound senior. “Definitely, it was different from that first game. They had different lineups, but we had to capitalize. We watched film, preparing as much as we can as a team.”

Aiden Manutai, Kahuku’s standout defensive back/wide receiver, came through with a 65-yard touchdown pass from Matai Fuiava. He played full time on defense and select snaps on offense.

“We executed (on defense). We did the same thing as last game (against Campbell). We just executed,” Manutai said.

The pass from Fuiava was difficult on both ends, as Fuiava rolled right and Manutai went on a deep post.

“Ever since he got here, we’ve just been working on that chemistry,” Manutai said. “Three weeks back everyone was at their peak already and we’re still climbing. That’s the main thing. We’ve got to keep going though. We can’t stop here. We’ve got Mililani or Kapolei next (at the state tournament). We’ve got to practice hard every week.”

Fuiava finished 8-for-15 for 162 yards and two TDs.

“We felt like we needed to help our defense a lot more. We were getting a lot of three-and-outs and we had to fix that,” Fuiava said. “You can see what our defense can do when they’re not tired, holding the best offense to 15 points. Once we were able to run the ball, that’s when we started to open a lot of things up.”

Campbell looked the part of an unbeaten, top-ranked team, stifling Kahuku’s offense. Kahuku did not have a first down in the entire first half, but a 78-yard kick return by Mana Carvalho sparked the two-time defending state champions. The offensive line took control against a rugged Campbell front seven in the second half.

“We didn’t do anything different. We dug deep. It’s no secret. It’s all heart, and that’s why I’m grateful just to coach them,” Kahuku coach Sterling Carvalho said.

Kahuku stunned Campbell on the opening kickoff with a spectacular 93-yard return to pay dirt by Manutai, but the play was called back due to an illegal block.

That pinned Kahuku back to its 10-yard line, and after their three-and-out punt, Campbell started its first series at the Kahuku 36-yard line.

Campbell’s drive stalled and Jayden Parker’s 40-yard field goal split the uprights with at least 10 yards to spare. The Sabers led 3-0 with 7:47 left in the opening quarter.

Sagapolutele’s sideline pass to Zayden Alviar-Costa picked up 28 yards after the defender, Madden Soliai, dove and missed on an interception attempt. Alviar-Costa stiff-armed another defender en route to the end zone, but was ruled out of bounds at the Kahuku 13-yard line.

Campbell eventually settled for a 33-yard field goal by Parker for a 6-0 lead with 18 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Carvalho returned the ensuing kickoff 78 yards to the Campbell 10-yard line as the quarter expired. That was a huge help for a Kahuku offense that managed 8 yards of total offense in the first quarter.

Manoa Kahalepuna’s 28-yard field goal cut Campbell’s lead in half to 6-3 with 10:27 to go in the second quarter.

Sagapolutele launched a 37-yard bomb to Tainoa Lave on third-and-7, setting up the Sabers at the Kahuku 18. Two plays later, Lave beat his man on a deep in pattern and Sagapolutele found him just past the goal line for an 18-yard TD. After a missed PAT, Campbell’s lead was 12-3 with 7:21 to go in the first half.

After going 18 minutes without a first down, Fuiava took advantage of a coverage bust in the Campbell secondary and launched a bomb to a wide-open Bodhi Kaanga for an easy 62-yard TD. After an encroachment penalty on Campbell during the PAT, Kahuku lined up for the kick and the holder, Carvalho, barreled up the middle for a 2-point conversion.

That brought Kahuku within 12-11 with 5:49 left in the first half.

Sagapolutele’s mastery showed on the ensuing series. With fourth-and-1 at the Campbell 48-yard line, he lined up in the shotgun, and during his cadence, rushed up to the line under center, drawing a Kahuku defender offsides. However, that drive stalled and the teams went to halftime with Campbell ahead by one point. At intermission, Kahuku still had just 8 yards of total offense.

Kahuku had a golden opportunity after a short punt by Campbell set up first down at the Sabers’ 45-yard line. However, a holding penalty on a run play to start the drive was followed by another three-and-out punt. Kahuku did not have a first down in its first six possessions.

Rain began to fall early in the third quarter. Without pressure from Kahuku’s pass rush, Sagapolutele found Brystin Sansano for 12 yards, Alviar-Costa for 33 and Lave for 12 more. That string of completions set up Parker’s third field goal, a 36-yarder, to give Campbell a 15-11 lead with 3:47 left in the third quarter.

Campbell avoided another big Kahuku kick return by getting a touchback from Parker. Carvalho left the game briefly after a collision on an incompletion, but Fuiava found Kea Lerner for a 14-yard completion — Kahuku’s first first down of the game — late in the third quarter.

After a personal foul on Kahuku, it was third-and-19 when Fiatoa rolled right and threw back against his body to Aiden Manutai on a deep post. The two-way playmaker galloped out of a potential tackle and raced home for a 65-yard TD. Kahuku led for the firs time, 18-15, with 12 seconds to go in the third stanza.

On the ensuing series, Campbell’s offense had its first three-and-out of the contest. Kahuku seized all momentum, taking control of the line of scrimmage. A six-play, 43-yard drive, all on the ground, was finished off by Malosi Fiatoa. He met a linebacker at the second level, and with both players low on impact, Fiatoa bounced off and raced to the end zone for an 18-yard TD.

That opened Kahuku’s lead to 25-15 with 9:03 left in regulation. After struggling for much of the game, Kahuku had the Sabers on the ropes. Campbell’s kick return was pushed back by a holding penalty, and two more flags were thrown before the Sabers could punt on fourth down.

With the ball at their 2-yard line, Campbell coach Darren Johnson burned a time out to settle his team down.

Aisiah Paogofie’s fake-punt pass was incomplete — the receiver was wide open — and would have been wiped out by an illegal procedure penalty. Kahuku took over at the Campbell 2-yard line.

Fuiava’s 8-yard TD pass to Carvalho stretched the lead to 31-15, all but sealing the win with 5:41 remaining.

Kahuku’s final points came on a safety with 2:07 left. Campbell’s punt snap sailed out the back of the end zone, making it 33-15.

—

At Skippa Diaz Stadium

Kahuku (8-4) 0 11 7 15 — 33

Campbell (9-1) 6 6 3 0 — 15

CAMP—FG Jadyn Parker 40

CAMP—FG Parker 33

KAH—FG Manoa Kahalepuna 28

CAMP—Tainoa Lave 18 pass from Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (kick failed)

KAH—Bodhi Kaanga 62 pass from Matai Fuiava (Kaimana Carvalho run)

CAMP—FG Parker 36

KAH—Aiden Manutai 65 pass from Fuiava (Kahalepuna kick)

KAH—Malosi Fiatoa 18 run (Kahalepuna kick)

KAH—Carvalho 8 pass from Fuiava (run failed)

KAH—Safety, Campbell punt snap out of end zone

RUSHING—Kahuku: Malosi Fiatoa 11-51, Blake Alo 5-28, Isaiah Joaquin 5-(minus 6), Fuiava 2-(minus 9). Campbell: Valoia Amitoelau 8-11, Brystin Sansano 6-0, Sagapolutele 6-(minus 41).

PASSING—Kahuku: Fuiava 8-15-0-162. Campbell: Sagapolutele 19-33-0-239, Aisiah Paogofie 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING—Kahuku: Manutai 2-66, Kaanga 1-62, Carvalho 2-17, Kea Lerner 1-14, Noah Ah You 1-(minus 1). Campbell: Lave 3-69, Zayden Alviar-Costa 2-61, Sansano 7-61, Rusten Abang-Perez 6-39, Shaison Kupukaa 1-9.