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Early arriving Luna fans gather outside the Mayor Bryan Baptiste Sports Complex
waiting for the ticket box to open before going into the stadium |
After a 65-6 win over Keaau in their home stadium, the ScoringLive Division 2 #4-ranked Lahainaluna football team traveled to Kauai to take on #1-ranked Warriors of Kapa'a. The Lunas, having lost 20 of 22 starters to graduation from last year, listed 46 players on their roster - 5 of whom were freshmen, 13 sophomores, 14 juniors and 14 seniors. The Lunas' offense featured a freshman quarterback, Etuati Storer, and a freshman at center, Ikaika Viela. Unfortunately, they were facing a very experienced upperclassmen-laden team from Kapa'a. Still, the Lunas managed to take a 10-7 lead into the third quarter and had numerous chances to score points. Unfortunately, the youth and inexperience contributed to turnovers and unfortunate bewildering penalties that kept Kapa'a in the ball game. They utilized their size to control the ball and possession, pounding away to score a touchdown to make it 14-10 entering the fourth quarter.
With any loss, you look to learn from mistakes and to build on the positive. Other than that, it's best to wipe it away and move on to the next game. If anything, this game showed the coaches, and the Lahainaluna faithful, that this young team has great potential. They handled the pressure of a big game in hostile territory and ALMOST pulled it off. Obviously a lot of things to work on, but nothing that this team cannot overcome.
Next game: Kamehameha Schools Maui travels to Lahainaluna on Saturday, August 22, 2015 at Sue D. Cooley Stadium at 7:00 p.m. KSM is not fielding a JV team this year, so there is no JV game.
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| Lunas warm-up as the crowd files in |
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| Presentation of colors and Flags during the National Anthem and Hawaii Ponoi. They started this with 6 minutes left on the halftime clock. Unfortunately, no one informed the Lunas' football team, who were still in the locker room. |
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The Lunas Captains Chris Kaniho, Sosaia Tupola and Jabe Oliver were escorted by Kauai Resident and
former Lahainaluna Boarder (Class of 1953) Joseph Gatiuan to mid-field for the ceremonial coin toss. |
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| Donovan DeFang looking for daylight |
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| Lunas barely missed the FG attempt which would have given them a 3-0 lead |
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| Lunas #4 Nau Filiai and #32 Josiah Sombelon-McEwen tackle Kapaa's #25 Justin LeForge. |
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| Lunas #34 Radon Sinenci waits for the kickoff . . . then takes it to the house for a TD to tie the game 7-7 |
For more photos, click
here.
