MILILANI — It all came down to a field goal.
After Konawaena’s crucial 23-yard loss that led to a missed Nakoa Ige field goal in the opening drive of overtime during Saturday’s First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Division I Football Championship, Kapa‘a kicker Micah Rapozo had an opportunity to deliver the Warriors’ first-ever DI state title.
All he had to do was make the 33-yard field goal.
With ice in his veins, the senior made the biggest kick of his life — hitting the field goal right down the middle and sending John Kauinana Stadium into a frenzy as the Kapa‘a won the 10-7 thriller to be crowned champions.
“I was beyond ready,” Rapozo said. “I was ready to just take over the game and just come out successful for my team and for my boys. We’ve worked very hard over this year and we won it.”
“Oh, man — that was amazing,” Warriors coach Mike Tresler added.
While Kapa‘a snatched the title from the Wildcats, the outcome could have gone either way. For a good portion of the evening, Kona looked like the superior team — posting 324 yards of net offense to the Warriors’ 132, while also converting 17 first downs to the winning team’s seven.
But the Wildcats missed several key scoring opportunities in enemy territory that kept the Warriors in the contest — Takazee Thomas forcing an Austin Takaki fumble at Kapa‘a’s 33 in the first quarter, a missed 31-yard field goal attempt in the beginning of the third, back-to-back interceptions thrown by quarterback Keenan Alani to Nash Burkart and Sami Kauvaka at the Warriors’ 12 and 44-yard line and failing to convert on fourth down at the Kapa‘a 5-yard line with under four minutes remaining in regulation.
But perhaps the most controversial offensive possession came during the BIIF DI champions’ last drive of the season in overtime. In a third-and-goal situation at the Kapa‘a 5, Alani was hit and lost the ball to Warriors defensive lineman Masias Merseburgh, who returned it for a few yards before getting stripped by Konawaena. The Wildcats fell on the ball, but the play was ruled a fumble with no change of possession. If called differently, Kona’s offense could have been given a fresh set of downs. Instead, the green and white were left at fourth-and-goal at Kapa‘a’s 28, setting up the long missed field goal attempt.
Wildcats coach Brad Uemoto said postgame that he thought the play should have been ruled an incomplete pass.
While the game was scoreless in the first three quarters, the tides began to turn once Burkart returned a 50-yard punt return touchdown in the first play of the fourth quarter to lead 7-0, giving the Warriors their only touchdown of the night.
“They didn’t kick to me all game, so I finally got one,” Burkart said of the play. “It was kind of dead on the right side, and all these guys were coming on the right side and they all started to take their angles on the right, so right when he did that, I made a move to the right, broke it to the left and it was just green grass.”
Kona countered with under five minutes to play, as running back Hercules Nahale rushed the ball up the middle for two yards to tie the game 7-7. After a critical defensive stop during Kapa‘a’s next drive, the Wildcats had the opportunity to win the game with less than 2:30 to play.
After a handful of Alani scrambles to advance Kona downfield, Ige found himself staring at a 44-yard field goal opportunity to seal the state title with three seconds remaining. Ige’s attempt was short, giving the Warriors the opportunity to win the game in the extra period.
“I wanted it so bad for this group because they truly deserved it,” Uemoto, who was named Cover2 Coach of the Year last week, added. “This was the first loss that I ever felt sad. As I told them, in life, some things won’t go our way. We need to figure out how to move forward and persevere.
“Both defenses played great. We couldn’t get anything moving offensively. We had spurts and then we just couldn’t finish drives.”
Despite the heartbreaking loss, Kona has much to be proud of. The team finished 10-3 overall, winning its fourth straight Big Island Interscholastic Federation (BIIF) DI title and reaching a third consecutive state championship.
“I told the boys that one game doesn’t define our season,” Uemoto continued. “We’ve come so far in this journey. Although we wish the outcome was different, we had an incredible time together that will last forever.”
Alani finished the night with 243 passing yards and two interceptions, while receiver Malu Tan notched 134 receiving yards. Teammate Austin Takaki had 80. Defensively, the Wildcats were led by Takaki, Tan and Trent Wong-Yuen, who each grabbed an interception off Kapa‘a quarterback Evan Daligdig. Lineman Elias Malapit led Kona in tackles with seven. The team held the Warriors to just 93 rushing yards, as they entered the night averaging 252.
“Defensively, man, our defense played well all year,” Uemoto added. “Sometimes we’re noted as Konawaena for our offense, but the underlying character to our team is our defense, and they showed it tonight.”
The winners were led by star running back Nainoa Simmons, who rushed for 66 yards. Defensive back Ryan Peters notched a game-high 11 tackles.
“That’s my kind of game, right?,” Tresler said. “Special teams and defense. We didn’t score an offensive touchdown and we won a championship.”
Kapa‘a has come a long way since moving up to DI after winning the 2021 DII title. Improving each season, the Warriors lost in the opening round in 2022 and fell to the Wildcats in the semifinals a year ago — setting up vengeance for this season. They ended 2024 with nine straight wins.
Around the state
• DI Open Championship: Saint Louis 17, Kahuku 10
• DII Championship: Kamehameha Schools-Maui 37, Kaiser 14