Honokaa revs up late, spurts by Keaau

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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.

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