Kahuku crushes Kaua'i, 41-3, to reach semifinals
By Kyle Sakamoto
Advertiser Staff Writer
What began as a competitive game against a scrappy Kaua'i team last night turned into a rout once Kahuku got through the "feeling out" process.
Kahuku scored 34 unanswered points in the second half, including 27 in the third quarter, to beat Kaua'i, 41-3, in the quarterfinals of the First Hawaiian Bank State Football Championships at Aloha Stadium.
Kahuku, the O'ahu Interscholastic Association champion, got three rushing touchdowns from Paea Vaimoui, and its defense intercepted four passes to help the Red Raiders advance to Friday's 5 p.m. semifinal against Farrington at Aloha Stadium.
Kahuku (12-0) didn't look like the state's top-ranked and only unbeaten team after it took a 7-3 lead at halftime.
"We didn't see them enough (through scouting) to know what to expect," Kahuku coach Siuaki Livai said. "We were feeling them out."
Kahuku struggled in the first half without starting quarterback Waika Carvalho, who injured his right foot in a dirt bike accident in Hau'ula last Saturday and didn't play last night.
"I parked it, the ground was unlevel and the wind was strong," Carvalho said. "It tipped over my dirt bike and (a jagged-edged clutch) poked a puka right through my foot."
Carvalho, who had four stitches on the top of his foot and six on the bottom, said he expects to play next week.
Bronson Ponciano-Ahue started at quarterback and Kurtney Silva took over late in the second quarter during Kahuku's sixth drive.
Kahuku took the second-half kickoff and drove 61 yards on six plays, with Vaimoui scoring from 8 yards out to put Kahuku up, 14-3, with 9:22 left in the third.
Kaua'i, the Kaua'i Interscholastic Federation champion, went three-and-out on its next possession and Kahuku's Torian Taulogo caught Kaulana Lemke's 27-yard line-drive punt and returned it 60 yards down the right side to make it 20-3 with 8:10 left.
Vaimoui later scored on a 1-yard plunge, which was set up by Afa Garrigan's interception, and Ponciano-Ahue scored on a 4-yard option keeper to make it 34-3 with 1:35 remaining in the third. Kahuku completed the scoring with a 42-yard run by Dustin Huddy early in the fourth quarter.
The Kahuku defense allowed just five first downs and 109 total yards. After allowing a 28-yard completion midway through the second quarter, Kahuku's defense forced 13 incompletions and had four interceptions the rest of the game.
"We started to fall apart and made some mistakes and that was unfortunate," Kaua'i coach Christian Keli'i Morgado said.
Defensive back Al Afalava had two interceptions.
"Usually the ball comes in my hands and I drop it," he said. "This time I came through. Our coaches say when the ball is in the air either make the pick or the hit."
In the third quarter, Kahuku gained 88 yards and Kaua'i (5-4) had just two.
Kaua'i, using a version of the run-and-shoot, finished the game with just 12 yards on 16 rushes. It gained just six yards in the second half.
"Our team defense, we made some adjustments here and there and our defense always rises to the occasion," Livai said.
Added Morgado: "They kept mixing up their blitzes in the second half. They confused us and they're physically superior to us."
Ponciano-Ahue and Silva only completed 3 of 14 passes for 41 yards, but Kahuku amassed 245 yards on the ground. Vaimoui, who finished with 55 yards rushing, also scored on a 3-yard run in the second quarter.
Kaua'i quarterback Kekoa Crowell struggled after a decent start and left the game with a sprained right thumb while trying to make a tackle after an interception in the third quarter. He was replaced by Lemke.
"They have depth and everything, but we felt we could play with them," Crowell said. "But we couldn't fight the whole way."
Reach Kyle Sakamoto at ksakamoto@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8041.
