Darren Hernandez figured it wouldn’t be pretty when he stepped on the field at Aiea on Saturday.
"As soon I saw the field conditions, I knew it was going to be fumble right, fumble left, ball on the ground," the Kapolei coach said after the Hurricanes’ 12-0 victory over the host Na Alii. "It was mud puddles everywhere. We had no footing at all."
While an afternoon downpour turned the field into a muddy mess, the Hurricanes managed to maintain their footing well enough to slog to the win and secure a home game to open the OIA Division I playoffs.
Kapolei (3-4) finished fourth in the OIA Blue and will host OIA Red fifth-seed Castle in the first round.
Aiea closed at 2-5 to finish sixth in the division and will travel to OIA Red third seed Waianae to open the postseason.
Kapolei secured a host role with sophomore quarterback Leonard Lee making his first start under adverse conditions. With Alton Julius limited by a hip pointer, Lee passed for 246 yards and a touchdown and overcame three interceptions in his debut. Naliko Kea caught six passes for 158 yards and scored Kapolei’s first touchdown on a 43-yard completion.
Keoni Taylor came down with two of the Hurricanes’ three interceptions, the first setting up Kapolei’s opening score, and the defense turned in its second straight shutout.
"We just try to shut it down and do our assignments and alignments," Taylor said.
Although the rain lightened at the start of the game, neither offense could find much traction and combined for eight punts in the first half. The Kapolei defense forced three turnovers, recovering a fumble on Aiea’s first possession and intercepting two passes in the second quarter.
A 76-yard completion from Lee to Kea didn’t lead to points, as the drive stalled and the Hurricanes gave the ball back on downs. But the longest play of the half flipped field position and Kapolei reclaimed possession one play later on Taylor’s first interception.
This time the Hurricanes offense converted, with Lee hitting Kea on a 43-yard touchdown pass with 1:04 left in the first half.
"I was happy with (Lee’s) performance overall," Hernandez said. "He’s only a sophomore; he was game, he made some nice throws and he’s only going to get better."
The Kapolei defense forced a fumble on Aiea’s first possession of the second half and Bryson Hughes recovered for the Hurricanes. Ronald Young extended the lead to 12-0 with a 4-yard touchdown run to cap an eight-play drive.
Taylor came down with his second interception on Aiea’s next drive and the Hurricanes allowed just one first down over the remainder of the game.
At Aiea
| KAPOLEI (3-4, 3-4) |
0 |
6 |
6 |
0 |
— |
12 |
| AIEA (2-5, 2-5) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
— |
0 |
Kapo—Naliko Kea 43 pass from Leonard Lee (kick failed)
Kapo—Ronald Young 4 run (pass failed)
RUSHING—Kapolei: Tristan Centeio 9-38, Young 8-22, Lee 2-16, Ronald Matautia 3-3, L.J. Esperas 1-2. Aiea: Kodi Ongory-Mathias 8-22, Kobe Kato 4-10, Jordan Liilii 5-4, Gabe Igafo 2-3, Ferenisi Lualemana 2-1.
PASSING—Kapolei: Lee 14-26-3-246. Aiea: Kato 8-22-3-77, Liilii 1-5-0-2.
RECEIVING—Kapolei: Kea 6-158, Jaymin Sarono 3-50, Ty-Noah Williams 2-33, Alton Julius 2-(minus 1), Esperas 1-6. Aiea: Ramian Lorak 3-35, Rahmod Johnson 3-16, Austin Hartbarger 2-12, Tappe 1-16.
Junior Varsity—Kapolei 33, Aiea 19
