This was not how Kamehameha-Hawaii coach Dan Lyons would have drawn it up.
This was not how Kamehameha-Hawaii coach Dan Lyons would have drawn it up.
Playing two preseason games on the road is never ideal, Lyons said, and no coach wants to lose his starting quarterback.
But thanks to a reliable running back Saturday and a defense that proved reliable as well, the Warriors made the most of it. Kaeo Batacan rushed for three touchdowns, and Kamehameha thwarted Kalaheo for the most part after losing Kamakana Pagan, earning a 21-6 victory in a preseason football opener in Kailua, Oahu.
With Pagan under center, Kamehameha’s offense hummed along much like it did last season as Micah Kanehailua led the way to a BIIF Division II title. The Warriors scored on two long drives, both capped by Batacan runs.
When Pagan went down with an injury, DallasJ Duarte was inserted for his first stint at competitive football.
“He was going to get some time,” Lyons said, “and I like what he did, and the coaches were prepared. I might not have liked the reason he was in there so much.”
“Kamakana was playing very well and the offense was moving every series.”
He said Pagan was to undergo X-rays.
Duarte previously focused most of his time on baseball. He started on a Hilo PONY team the won the ages 13-14 World Series last year, and was catcher for Kamehameha in the spring.
Duarte was intercepted twice, but a new-look defense that returns just three players who saw significant time last season held firm against the Mustangs, who were 2-6 in OIA Division II in 2014.
“We have athletes and a new defensive coordinator,” Lyons said. “Just good play from all over.”
That’s become expected from Batacan, an all-BIIF performer. The senior rushed for 102 yards in part-time duty.
The game was originally scheduled for last August but was postponed by Tropical Storm Iselle. The Warriors didn’t back out, despite a trip on tap to Maui this weekend to play King Kekaulike.
“No, we would never normally do that,” Lyons said of playing two preseason road games. “That’s ($15,000) a trip. It’s just how it worked out”.
Two other BIIF teams’ trips off island didn’t go as smoothly.
Waiakea was missing 19 players because of academic probation, and the result was a 62-7 loss to Moanalua on Oahu.
“The starters never made it,” coach Moku Pita said. “It was a good experience for the younger players. They really enjoyed it.”
Na Menehune scored eight touchdowns in the first quarter and collected all 62 by halftime.
Quarterback Gehrig Octavio accounted for the Warriors’ touchdown on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter.
“We wanted to score, but whatever could go wrong did go wrong,” Pita said. “I wanted to play an OIA team in the preseason, but I thought we’d be missing three of four players, not 19. They’ll be back.”
“We committed to the game. We weren’t going to back out.”