HONOKAA — Senior quarterback Nainoa Falk accounted for four touchdowns, and the Honokaa offense found a fourth-quarter scoring groove to turn a close football game against Keaau into a blowout. ADVERTISING HONOKAA — Senior quarterback Nainoa Falk accounted for four
HONOKAA — Senior quarterback Nainoa Falk accounted for four touchdowns, and the Honokaa offense found a fourth-quarter scoring groove to turn a close football game against Keaau into a blowout.
The Dragons opened the second half with a full-house backfield, but their three-running back set didn’t kick into high gear until the final 12 minutes.
That’s when the Dragons scored four touchdowns, and defeated the Cougars 45-18 in a Big Island Interscholastic Federation game Saturday night that featured over three hours of punishing tackles by both teams.
Honokaa (2-2 BIIF Division II, 2-2) leveled its record while Keaau (0-4 Division I, 0-5) came up empty despite trailing just 16-12 heading into the fourth quarter.
In the third quarter, Keaau quarterback Richard Hatori-Kanakaole threw a 16-yard touchdown to Maurice Smith on a broken play. A bad snap went off the QB’s hands, but Hatori-Kanakaole scooped up the ball, and fired his second scoring strike.
Honokaa started the fourth quarter with prime field position after a 30-yard Keaau punt. From the Cougars’ 45-yard line, it took the Dragons only three plays to score, capped by a Paul Purdy 28-yard run.
Then Keaau marched 70 yards on 10 plays to get within 23-18, after Justin Quesada’s 1-yard touchdown plunge.
On the next series, the Dragons started near midfield after the kickoff, ran four plays, and scored when Sione Epenesa ran in from 22 yards out for a 30-18 lead.
Epenesa got the ball back with an interception, and three plays later Falk scored on a 40-yard run for a 37-18 cushion with 1:56 remaining in the game.
On the following series, Honokaa’s Isaiah Paiva got the ball back again with another interception, and three plays later Josh Perry caught a 7-yard scoring strike from Falk. The Dragons went for two points, and scored on a trick play: Falk threw to kicker Preston Branco. There was 52.7 seconds showing on the clock.
In the junior varsity, it was Honokaa 21, Keaau 6.
Keaau 6066—18
Honokaa 7 9 0 29 — 45
First quarter
Hon — Paul Purdy 5 pass from Nainoa Falk (Preston Branco kick), 8:24
Kea — Byron Cachola 10 pass from Richard Hatori-Kanakaole (run failed), 2:00
Second quarter
Hon — Safety (Quarterback slip in end zone), 7:02
Hon — Sione Epenesa 33 run (Branco kick), 2:25
Third quarter
Kea — Maurice Smith 16 pass from Hatori-Kanakaole (kick failed), 4:28
Fourth quarter
Hon — Purdy 28 pass from Falk (Branco kick), 10:56
Kea — Justin Quesada 1 run (pass failed), 4:30
Hon — Sion Epenesa 22 run (Branco kick), 3:15
Hon — Falk 40 run (Branco kick), 1:56
Hon — Josh Perry 7 pass from Falk (Falk pass to Branco), 52.7
