HILO — Sophomore quarterback Micah Kanehailua threw three touchdown passes, and junior Faaolaina Teofilo rushed for a game-high 129 yards to spark Kamehameha-Hawaii to a 20-7 win over Waiakea on Saturday afternoon at Wong Stadium. HILO — Sophomore quarterback Micah
HILO — Sophomore quarterback Micah Kanehailua threw three touchdown passes, and junior Faaolaina Teofilo rushed for a game-high 129 yards to spark Kamehameha-Hawaii to a 20-7 win over Waiakea on Saturday afternoon at Wong Stadium.
Kanehailua, a 5-foot-8, 145-pound right-hander, showed outstanding composure in the pocket against Waiakea’s strong rush while completing 9 of 10 passes for 93 yards and the three TDs in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation game.
Kanehailua fired a 9-yard TD pass to senior Adri Castro with 4:10 remaining in the first quarter to rally the visiting Warriors (1-0). The point-after-touchdown kick failed, leaving the hosts on top 7-6.
Waiakea (0-1) opened the game with a bang. Senior Lono Leasure-Lucas grabbed the opening kickoff and raced through the Kamehameha defense all the way to the Warrior 5 before being pulled down. Then, after junior Devin Preston carried the football to the 1-yard line, he scored on a 1-yard run at the 11:12 mark.
Kamehameha marched down the field once it got the ball, led by the power running of Teofilo and crafty passing of Kanehailua. The visitors drove 65 yards in 15 plays with Kanehailua hitting Castro on the 9-yard TD pass.
The private-school Warriors struck again late in the second quarter to take the lead for good. Kanehailua spotted senior David Lopez down the left side of the field and rifled a long pass to the wide receiver, who outjumped two Warrior defenders to make the catch and then sprinted into the endzone to complete the 34-yard TD connection at the 26-second mark. Sophomore Logan Uyetake kicked the PAT to make it 13-7.
The teams battled through a scoreless third quarter.
The Kamehameah capped the scoring after taking over at the Waiakea 17-yard line with 2:58 left in the game. Kamehameha stopped Waiakea on a fourth down play to set up the short field position.
The visiting Warriors went 17 yards in four plays to score, with a Kanehailua to Kamuela Kawamoto 11-yard scoring pass capping the short drive. Uyetake’s kick stretched the lead to 20-7 at the 1:47 mark.
Kanehailua completed his first six passes, including a 35-yard strike to Kawamoto that started Kamehameha’s second TD drive and ended with Lopez’s athletic 34-yard catch that led to the TD.
Teofilo anchored Kamehameha’s offense with his punishing runs that kept the pressure off the young Kanehailua and forced Waiakea to dig deep on the line. Teofilo carried the ball 25 times for his 129 yards.
The visiting Warriors finished with 178 yards rushing and 93 passing for 271 total yards. The visitors also didn’t turn the ball over.
Waiakea had 127 yards rushing and 60 passing for 187 total yards. The hosts turned the ball over once, on a fumble.
Preston led Waiakea with 63 yards on 13 carries, while Leasure-Lucas had 37 yards on six attempts.
Junior quarterback Kayed Rodrigues was harassed by the Kamehameha defense all afternoon and completed 3 of 14 passes for the 60 yards. His 34-yard spiral to Kiko was a beauty, splitting two Warrior defenders and pulling in the tough catch.
And while Kanehailua and Teofilo highlighted a productive offense, the visiting Warriors’ defense played well and contained the dangerous hosts throughout the preseason contest.
KS-Hawaii 6 7 0 7 — 20
Waiakea 7 0 0 0 — 7
