LAHAINALUNA FOOTBALL V. KING KEKAULIKE W42-3 - October 3, 2014

 

The Lunas had this game out of reach early in the second quarter. Lunas were up 42-3 with 9:16 left in the second quarter. The reserves came in and played the rest of the night.

Looks like the Lunas’ offense is focusing on passing the ball a bit more and having Sione Filikitonga running the ball less. The result was 8-11 passing for 98 yards, but 3 touchdown passes to Scott-Isaac Medeiros-Tangatailoa.

 

Filikitonga did throw his first interception of the season, but it was a tough play. On a deep pass to Isaiah Biga-Rogers, Rogers leaped up over two defenders to snag the ball. The ball came loose on his way down. He reached out with one hand to try to secure it, but it was taken away by Na Alii’s Darryl Higashi for an interception. It was part of a bizarre 4 turnovers on 4 consecutive possessions stretch in the second quarter. With the Lunas up 21-0, Na Alii’s QB Homalon connected on a long bomb to Corry Brown. Brown was then able to convert a 37 yard field goal with 42 seconds left in the first quarter. The Lunas’ Jared Rocha then fumbled the ball on a rushing attempt and Na Alii recovered. The very next play, Homalon attempted a long pass to Corry Brown but the pass was picked off by safety Sione Filikitonga.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the change over at the end of the first quarter, Filikitonga attempted that long pass to Biga-Rogers that was picked off by Na Alii. On the very next play, the Lunas’ defensive end Nau Filiai penetrated the line and got to the ball just as Homalon was handing it off to his running back. Filiai essentially tackled both players. The ball came loose and linebacker Brandon Kaina scooped it up and sprinted 20 yards for the touchdown to make it 28-3. On the next possession,  the Lunas’ Ansen Cabanilla stepped in front of the Na Ali’i receiver and intercepted a pass from Homalon. Cabanilla sprinted 45 yards for  a touchdown to make it 35-3. On the ensuing kickoff, the squib kick hit a Na Alii lineman in the back and the Lunas recovered. Shortly thereafter, Filikitonga connected with Medeiros-Tangatailoa for another touchdown (what a great catch on a high lob pass to the back corner of the end zone) to make it 42-3 with 9:16 left in the first half.

 Playing most of their reserves for the remainder of the game, the Lunas  rolled up 311 yards in total offense, including 213 on the ground as well as 176 return yards. The Lunas  still have difficulty holding on to the ball, with 3 fumbles lost and 4 overall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On defense, the Lunas were again outstanding. They forced 5 turnovers with 2 interceptions and 3 fumbles. The Lunas held Na Ali’I to 84 total yards. Homalon, who was clearly nursing an injury, was 3-15 passing. It appears the Na Ali’i suited up barely 30 players. Fortunately, both teams were able to end the night with no significant injuries.

 

For more photos, click here.

 

LAHAINALUNA JV FOOTBALL V. KING KEKAULIKE W43-0 - October 3, 2014

On County Fair weekend, Lahainaluna’s JV returned to action with a resounding 43-0 win over King Kekaulike. Kahiau Yap was “thunder” - unstoppable on runs up the middle, scoring 3 rushing touchdowns while Elijah Ragudo was “lightning” – using his blazing speed to score 2 touchdowns of his own. Laakea Shim scored on a nice run with time running out in the first half to make it 41-0. A blocked punt by Dean “Aki” Miyamoto in the end zone resulted in a safety in the second half, making it 43-0.

 

King Kekaulike came out in a hurry-up/no huddle offense for most of the game. Fortunately, the defense held stout and was able to hold them down. Na Ali’I’s Devon Crivello intercepted a pass as the Lunas were threatening, but Elijah Ragudo laid a hard hit on Crivello, causing the ball to come loose. The Lunas recovered, which led to a touchdown by Kahiau Yap.

 

NOTE: With all the bipolar weather happening lately and the long walk from the parking lot to the field, I had to bring out the Gorilla Ape Case out of storage for this game. Being a Friday night game, I had to take off a couple hours early from work to make it up to Pukalani. Even with the wheeled-backpack, the bag was heavy to carry due to all my gear being in there: Nikon D7000 x 2, Nikon D600, Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 and the Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 for Ariana. Not to mention the  umbrella, rain sleeves, Gatorade, jacket, and rubbish bags for the rain. Fortunately,  it did not rain but it was warm and muggy as heck.

 

For more photos, click here.