Since donning white helmets and a new, more wide-open offensive strategy, Na Ali'i are 2-0 after their 55-14 rout of the Trojans last night at War Memorial Stadium.

"We didn't come out and start this season like I knew we could,'' King Kekaulike coach J.W. Kenton said to The Maui News. "The new plan is working and we are 2-0 in our new plan. I am proud of these boys and most of all I am proud of these coaches because a lot of times it is tough to put in a new offense the way we have done.''

The new offense rolled up 27 first downs and 421 yards from scrimmage in a game that took 2 hours, 52 minutes to complete on the Trojans' homecoming night in front of about 800 fans.

King Kekaulike, which has outscored its last two opponents 77-20, improved to 3-5 overall (3-3 Maui Interscholastic League). The Trojans fell to 2-6 (1-5 MIL).

The game had 42 first downs, more than 650 yards of offense and 19 penalties combined. There were also three sets of offsetting penalties, eight fumbles and three interceptions.

Mikey Douglas, the league's leading rusher, finished with 152 yards on 14 carries, but Na Ali'i had two other rushers — tailback Roland Iniba and quarterback Corry Roy — who finished with more than 65 yards.

"The kids bought into the new offense, but so did the coaches,'' Kenton said. "I would really like to tip my hat to my coaches. Schematically we can still do our old stuff, but we are being more versatile and throwing more of a vertical game.''

King Kekaulike entered the game with just 270 passing yards, but its new spread offense clicked from the beginning last night.

Roy was solid passing the ball except for a string of five straight incompletions early in the second half. He finished 8-for-17 for 92 yards and two touchdowns in the air, and also ran for a 5-yard score in the first half.

After leading by 20 at halftime, King Kekaulike put the game out of reach with an 80-yard, 11-play drive to start the third quarter. Na Ali'i pushed the lead to 41-14 when Von Sparks caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Kawika Purdy with 7 minutes, 5 seconds left in the quarter.

Taylor Rodrigues intercepted Trojans quarterback Aronne Santos and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown with 5:10 to play to make the score 48-14. Na Ali'i started the mercy-rule running clock with 4:24 left when Jesse Henderson caught a 3-yard scoring pass from Purdy.

Purdy was 2-for-2 for 8 yards passing, but both tosses went for scores.

King Kekaulike took a 34-14 lead to the locker rooms after a wild finish to the second quarter — four touchdowns in the final 5 1/2 minutes, including three in the final three minutes.

After a 27-yard punt put the Trojans in business at midfield, Garrett Gonsalves pulled in a 34-yard touchdown pass from Santos four plays later to bring the Trojans within 19-7 with 5:35 left in the first half.

Na Ali'i answered with a nine-play, 46-yard drive that was capped by a 6-yard touchdown run by Douglas with 2:59 to go before halftime. Daniel McKeague caught the two-point conversion pass from Purdy to make the score 27-7.

The Trojans came right back with an 81-yard, six-play scoring drive of their own and closed within 27-14 when Billy Pacheco pulled in a 49-yard touchdown pass from Santos with 1:35 to go.

The scoring flurry continued as Kekaulike went 80 yards in seven plays and scored with 1 second left before the halftime gun when Maury Sagawinit caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Roy.

Na Ali'i took a 19-0 lead in the first quarter when Sagawinit caught a 32-yard scoring pass on the first drive, Roy ran 5 yards for a score, and Makoa Aikala returned an interception 40 yards for a score.

Both quarterbacks finished the first half 6-for-10 passing with two touchdowns. Roy accounted for 94 yards and Santos for 133.