Kamehameha dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball to dismantle Hawaii Prep 45-0 in a BIIF football game that doubled as a take-your-pick: confidence builder, scouting report or meaningless Division II tuneup.
Kamehameha dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball to dismantle Hawaii Prep 45-0 in a BIIF football game that doubled as a take-your-pick: confidence builder, scouting report or meaningless Division II tuneup.
Behind offensive line anchor Keli’i Montibon, the Warriors rushed for 221 yards on 39 attempts, a healthy 5.7-yard average. His linemates, Kanaiela Decoito, Joyden Madriaga, Joseph Hooper, and Chris Eblacas also had productive games, both run and pass blocking.
Kaeo Batacan, one of 22 seniors, had a Saturday night to remember. He rushed for 142 yards on 17 carries, including 127 yards on 15 attempts in the first half, on Senior night at Paiea Stadium.
The Warriors (5-2 BIIF, 8-2 overall) will host HPA (2-5, 2-6) in the BIIF semifinals at 3 p.m. Saturday at Paiea Stadium.
The home-field advantage was already set. That’s why Kamehameha could look at the game as a confidence builder or meaningless tuneup.
If HPA took it as a scouting report, then it’s back to the drawing board for a lot of things, especially the nuts and bolts of football: blocking and tackling.
Batacan had seven runs of 10 yards or more: 32, 20, 20, 13, 11, and 10 yards. Most of those gallops he wasn’t touched until he was tackled.
When the Warriors zone-blocked, the O-line was able to clean out two levels: the defensive line and linebackers, allowing Batacan to pick a big hole and run down an open green field.
On one play in the second quarter, Montibon, the left tackle, blocked his defensive end, then sealed the perimeter when he walled off a linebacker.
Batacan zipped for eight yards down to the HPA 7-yard line. Alas, DallasJ Duarte threw his only pick, one of Kamehameha’s three turnovers; Ka Makani also had three giveaways.
Under the comforts of a clean pocket, Kamehameha sophomore quarterback Duarte went 19 of 31 for 307 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.
He had long throws of 47, 41, 26, 22, 20, 20, 15 and 10 yards for two main reasons: his receivers frequently outraced their covers, and his line pass-blocked so well, in particular, picking up blitzes. Duarte didn’t really need to turn his head and run through his progressions; he just fired to his first wide open target.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, the Warriors have not allowed a touchdown to a league Division II foe. They have pitched three straight shutouts. And it helps to have big-time playmakers.
Montibon also pulls double duty on defense, providing depth on a line that is highlighted by Wayne Dacalio, who was a linebacker last year.
Dacalio is a forceful right end and he helped smother HPA’s ground attack to negative 45 yards on 19 carries. No Ka Makani rusher had positive yardage.
Ka Makani quarterback Kekoa LeBlanc was a constant target of a big, blue avalanche and went 3 of 14 for 28 yards with two picks.
Kamehameha’s dominance in the trenches was most apparent in the second quarter when HPA was tackled twice in the end zone for a pair of safeties.
On the second one, Trenton Kuamoo blew up his blocker, and sacked LeBlanc in the end zone.
Then a few other Ka Makani breakdowns opened a door for the Warriors to score two quick touchdowns.
On fourth-and-6 with 51 seconds until halftime from the HPA 26, it was a fairly obvious passing down. Still, Makana Manoa beat one-on-one coverage for a touchdown.
Then the Warriors recovered an onside kick, and Manoa caught a 22-yard pass when the HPA corner lost track of the ball. That set up the ball at the 16.
Kamehameha capitalized on the red-zone opportunity, and scored four plays later when Manoa reeled in a 3-yard scoring strike for a 31-0 cushion with just 15 seconds on the clock.
In the eight-man game, it was Pahoa over the Kamehameha junior varsity 32-9.
Hawaii Prep 0 0 0 0 — 0
Kamehameha 7 24 14 0 — 45