Given an unprecedented opportunity to play one more game at home, Hawaii’s representatives on Pacific University’s football roster will return to Oregon with the souvenir they wanted most.
With 16 local high school graduates on the Boxers’ 66-player travel roster, Pacific celebrated its island connection with a 45-22 win over Occidental on Saturday at Kamehameha’s Kunuiakea Stadium in the first NCAA Division III game held in the state.
“I am really excited and the excitement is from seeing the faces of our guys,” Pacific coach Keith Buckley said. “They put aside a lot of having fun on this trip to try to come out here and try and win a football game.
“They came with a very business-like mentality and they wanted to make a statement tonight that this wasn’t just a trip to Hawaii. This was to win a football game in Hawaii.”
Saint Louis graduate Kamana Pimental scored the game’s first touchdown on a 16-yard run in the first quarter and finished with a game-high 87 yards on 16 carries in the Boxers’ first win of the season.
An offensive line with three local starters — guards Kit Taura (Moanalua) and Kennon Quiocho (Kamehameha-Hawaii) and center Michael Fanning (Saint Louis) — powered a ground game that racked up 285 of Pacific’s 536 total yards and gave quarterback Campbell Summerfield time to complete 21 of 28 passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns. Summerfield’s second touchdown went to Kauai graduate Camren Henry, and Paki Iaea (Kamehameha-Hawaii) caught three passes for 31 yards.
“We were focused. The coaches did a great job of telling us what the distractions were and how to prepare ourselves,” Pimental said. “I felt we were mentally clocked in from the day we got in until now. All the preparation was really worth it. Now we can relax and enjoy our time here.”
Linebacker Wyatt Ma’a (‘Iolani) helped spearhead the Pacific defense with eight tackles to complement Jack Perez’s 11 stops, including three for loss, and the Boxers held off Occidental’s comeback bid in the second half.
“It’s an amazing feeling to get that one opportunity to play in front of your family again. It’s a blessing,” Ma’a said. “To look in the stands and see all your family coming to support you, and to see the mainland boys just in awe of just how special Hawaii is, it’s an amazing experience.”
Pacific (1-2) opened up a 20-0 lead on Henry’s 20-yard touchdown reception early in the second quarter. Occidental (0-2), led by former Kahuku coach Doug Semones and offensive coordinator Darnell Arceneaux (a Saint Louis alum), closed the gap on two touchdown passes from Bryan Scott to Dan Gittelman-Egan in the second half, the first covering 68 yards and the second going for 43 to cut the deficit to 38-22 with 14:25 left.
But Pacific answered with Brandon Boyd’s second touchdown run of the game on the Boxers’ next possession to stifle the comeback. The score was set up by Kobe Williams’ one-handed diving catch for a 41-yard gain. Williams finished with 10 catches for a game-high 160 yards.
“It’s not how we wanted to start, but we kept fighting,” said Semones, now in his fourth season as Occidental’s head coach. “It was nice to be back and this is great setting for game. … I think this was a real positive thing.”
At Kunuiakea Stadium
| Occidental (0-2) |
0 |
7 |
7 |
8 |
— |
22 |
| Pacific (1-2) |
14 |
13 |
11 |
7 |
— |
45 |
Pac—Kamana Pimental 16 run (Alex Beekman kick)
Pac—Kobe Williams 26 pass from Campbell Summerfield (Beekman kick)
Pac—Camren Henry 20 pass from Summerfield (kick blocked)
Oxy—Bryan Scott 1 run (Garrett Bronken kick)
Pac—Brandon Boyd 17 run (Beekman kick)
Pac—FG Beekman 27
Oxy—Dan Gittelman-Egan 68 pass from Bryan Scott (Bronken kick)
Pac—Austin Cardoza 14 run (Boyd run)
Oxy—Gittelman-Egan 43 pass from Scott (Bronken kick)
Pac—Boyd 2 run (Beekman kick)
RUSHING—Occidental: Max Gruber 10-74, Chris Rom-Toribio 11-20, Scott 8-12, Carlton O’Neal 2-2. Pacific: Pimental 16-87, Boyd 9-70, Cardoza 5-54, Raekwon Turner 6-37, Kevin McGee 7-28, Summerfield 5-6, Williams 1-3.
PASSING—Occidental: Scott 19-35-0-299. Pacific: Summerfield 21-28-0-251.
RECEIVING—Occidental: Cordell Harris 5-46, Gittelman-Egan 4-122, Ian Bonde 4-68, Kazim Apaydin 2-31, Isaiah Amaechi 2-22, Rom-Toribio 1-5, Gruber 1-5. Pacific: Williams 10-160, Henry 3-33, Paki Iaea 3-31, Pimental 1-12, Sean Visperas 1-11, T. Smith 1-11, Chad Aragon 1-0, Tyler Nakama 1-0.
