By JOE FERRARO
Stephens Media
Kealakehe coach Sam Papalii estimated Jordan Cristobal was about 90 percent healthy before the Waveriders hosted California’s El Capitan on Friday.
Papalii said the senior was still limping before the contest, but any discomfort wasn’t evident on the field, where Crisobal passed for 213 yards and ran for 97 more in Kealakehe’s 35-13 preseason football victory.
“He was phenomenal tonight,’’ Papalii said.
Cristobal ran for 96 yards in the first half alone, when he orchestrated the team’s triple-option attack. Then the Waveriders (2-1) went to the spread offense against the Vaqueros (0-1), and Cristobal played efficiently, completing 13 of 19 passes.
Senior Lennox Jones, primarily a threat in the Waveriders’ running attack in the team’s two games, caught seven passes for 117 yards.
Junior Keoni Yates, who also kicked two field goals, capped the win with a 40-yard touchdown reception.
Some hard running by Kainoa Kipapa set up Cristobal’s best runs in the first half, when the Waveriders took a 17-6 advantage.
Kealakehe gained 4 yards on its first play from scrimmage when Kipapa plunged through the middle of the line. Then after faking an inside handoff to Kipapa, Cristobal burst through a hole on the left side of the line and streaked to the end zone for a 67-yard touchdown run.
On the Waveriders’ second drive, Cristobal followed Kipapa’s 3-yard run between the tackles with a 22-yard jaunt that gave the Kealakehe a first down on El Capitan’s 28-yard line.
Kealakehe’s drive stalled, with the Vaqueros stopping Cristobal for no gain from their own 1. But the Waveriders defense forced a three-and-out from El Capitan, and Keoni Yates’ 17-yard punt return gave Kealakeke possesson at the Vaqueros’ 25.
Six plays later, Cristobal probed through the line for a 1-yard touchdown run and a 14-0 Kealakehe lead with 9 minutes, 19 seconds remaining.
El Capitan had some success through the air on rollouts by sophomore quarterback Brad Cagle, who completed 9 of 24 passes for 93 yards.
But Kealakehe’s pass rush stopped the Vaqueros from establishing any consistency on offense, with the Waveriders collecting seven sacks — senior linebackers Kyler O’Halloran and Keoni Schweitzer had 2 ½ and 1 ½ respectively, while senior linebacker Jacob Mareko, junior lineman Travis Lualemaga and junior defensive back Jeffrey Lewi had one apiece.
El Capitan finished with just 142 yards of total offense, while Kealakehe had 301.
El Capitan 0 6 7 0 — 13
Kealakehe 8 9 10 8 — 35
First quarter
Keal — Jordan Cristobal 67 run (Giuseppi Zapataoliva pass from Lennox Jones), 9:19
Second quarter
Keal — Cristobal 1 run (kick failed)
EC — Austin Watson 4 run (kick blocked)
Keal — FG Keoni Yates 28, 0:03
Third quarter
Keal — FG Yates 37, 9:10
EC — Brad Holley 1 fumble recovery (Travis Hulsey kick), 5:13
Keal — Kainoa Kipapa 4 run (Yates kick), 1:44
Fourth quarter
Keal — Yates 40 pass from Cristobal (Kipapa run), 1:06
