KEA‘AU — After a neck-and-neck, rain-soaked first half — Hawaii Preparatory Academy’s football team outlasted Pahoa HS to win 28-12 on Thursday night at Kea‘au HS.
The downpour turned the game into a muddy ground battle, as both teams stuck to running the ball.
After receiving the kickoff, Pahoa drove into the redzone — then, Kukui Ahin-Ganir scored a touchdown for the Daggers on a 13-yard carry. The two-point conversion attempt failed, giving PHS a 6-0 lead.
Shortly after the touchdown, the rain intensified. HPA struggled to move the ball, and suffered a three-and-out at the hands of the Daggers’ defense.
After taking possession, Pahoa’s offense also struggled to make headway and was forced to punt just before the second quarter began.
During its next drive, Ka Makani evened the score. After keeping things on the ground and pushing into the redzone, Alaka‘i Aipia scored on a five-yard carry — his first of four touchdowns on the outing. HPA received a penalty during the PAT kick, and was forced to repeat it further back. Pahoa’s players then blocked the kick to keep the score tied at 6-6.
Despite a 40-yard kickoff return by Cash Cohen, the Daggers again struggled to move upfield and had to punt.
However, Pahoa got a shot at redemption shortly after when Johnny Chavez recovered a fumble around midfield with less than a minute left in the half — but, with no timeouts left, the Daggers ran out of time to score before halftime.
Ka Makani received the kickoff at the start of the quarter, but went three-and-out. Pahoa’s Dwight Enriquez then returned the punt 60 yards for a touchdown — giving the Daggers a 12-6 lead after another failed two-point conversion attempt.
Unwilling to suffer a second straight loss, Ka Makani rallied and began its second half surge. HPA quickly drove into the redzone, then Alaka‘i Aipia capped off the drive with a five-yard rushing touchdown and a successful two-point dive — giving Ka Makani the lead at 14-12.
HPA got a handle on Pahoa’s offense and continually held the Daggers away from the redzone throughout the rest of the game.
Aipia scored his next two touchdowns on a 13-yard carry at the end of the third quarter and a 17-yard carry halfway through the fourth quarter, respectively.
Though Ka Makani again came away with the win, this matchup was much closer than HPA and Pahoa’s first encounter of the season — when Ka Makani won 33-0.
“The kids played hard, that’s all I can ask for,” PHS head coach Kai Ako said. “I think they played their hearts out. I can’t be any more proud of them.
“We kept it a lot closer. We just kind of gassed out, we have a lot of two-way players.” Both the Daggers and Ka Makani will play their next games on Saturday (Sept. 30).
HPA (4-2) will look to use its home field advantage to defeat Honoka‘a HS — which it narrowly lost to, 13-12, in its season opener in August. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.
Pahoa (2-4) will be on the road at Ka‘u HS, kicking off at 1 p.m. During their last encounter, the Daggers defeated the Trojans 26-6.