Damien relied on its ground attack Friday to earn a flight to Kauai next week.

Running backs Justice White, Deacon Kapea and Domenic Arecchi combined for 236 yards rushing and three touchdowns to power the Monarchs to a 40-0 win over Waialua in the first round of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Division II Football Championship at Campbell.

Damien quarterback Marcus Faufata-Pedrina completed eight of nine passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns and the Monarchs advanced to a semifinal matchup with top-seeded Kapaa on Nov. 12 at Vidinha Stadium on Kauai.

“We just wanted to do our best and ground and pound as much as we can,” Damien coach Eddie Klaneski said. “Justice played a real good game. Deacon, Akila (Arecchi), everybody on the ground just pounded it and we were very happy with the rushing attack.”

The state tournament matchup marked Damien’s first game action since holding off St. Francis 20-12 on Oct. 21 in the ILH Division II title game and only its second since Sept. 30.

“We haven’t hit anybody else in a long time, so they were just excited to play somebody else,” Klaneski said.

Waialua was a week removed from a dramatic 36-35 win over Waipahu in the OIA D-II final to earn the the Bulldogs’ first league title in 61 years and ended its season at 7-3 following the program’s first state tournament appearance.

“I really wanted to move on, but it happens,” Waialua coach Lincoln Barit said. “But the (OIA) D-II championship, nobody can take that away from the boys and I told them that, you guys earned that and worked hard for it.”

Damien’s defense fed the Monarchs’ attack with four interceptions and a fumble recovery in the Monarchs’ second shutout of the season.

The Monarchs kept Tevesi Toia — who threw for 256 yards and ran for 80 against Waipahu — in the pocket most of the afternoon and held him to 3 yards on five carries, while intercepting him three times.

“That was our whole thing, to not let (Toia) scramble,” Klaneski said. “We let him out a couple times, but for the most part we kept him under wraps.”

After Damien punted on its first possession, Faufata-Pedrina sparked the Monarchs with a 33-yard completion to James Kapilioha Livingston-Lopez. White then opened the scoring by turning a short throw into a 22-yard touchdown reception.

“I was just waiting for the ball,” said White, who rushed for 104 yards on nine carries. “I didn’t think he was going to throw it to me, but last minute he did and I just did the rest from there.”