KEAAU – Pahoa coach Chris Midel certainly wasn’t looking to make excuses, and even if he did he’d have no one to blame.
He was why everyone was here.
The Daggers had a few moments Friday night, but in the end they fell prey to a barrage of big plays by Kamehameha, losing 62-0 in their worst defeat since they moved up to BIIF Division II football, taking their former eight-man brethren with them.
“We wanted to be here,” Midel said from the far sideline at Paiea Stadium. “We’re building.”
The loss was uglier on the scoreboard than the teams’ first meeting, which the Warriors (5-0) won 60-6, but the Daggers (0-5) were far more competitive this time. However, after finding success in the passing game, Kamehameha zeroed in and returned four interceptions for touchdowns within a seven-minute juncture spanning the second and third quarters.
Kamehameha got touchdowns from nine different players, needing just 14 plays to roll up 388 yards of offense.
The teams combined for 23 penalties, 14 by Pahoa. After establishing a first-and-10 at Kamehameha’s 24 in the first half, one Daggers’ drive stalled after a humorous if not laborious sequence that included seven plays, four flags and three timeouts.
“We talked about competing,” Midel said. “A lot of mistakes, and they need to be corrected.”
Kamehameha’s Michael Perry was 6 of 8 for 223 yards, including long touchdown strikes to Izayah Chartrand-Penera (71 yards) and Isaiah Villanueva (90), and the freshman quarterback also ran for a score. Chartrand-Penera tossed a 47-yard touchdown pass to Makai Snyder and starting running back Apu Alfiche only had one carry into the fourth quarter when he raced for an 80-yard score.
The Daggers found offense in the first half thanks to the combination of quarterback Jaydan Broad-Melander and Duke Palma, who hooked up six times and drew a pair of pass interference penalties.
“They executed better in the beginning, we expected that,” Midel. “What we didn’t expect was the other stuff that came later.”
The other stuff included pick-sixes by Peyton Kajiyama, his late in the second quarter made it 35-0, Wilde Germano, Spencer Yoshizumi and Jake Toci.
Broad-Melander finished 11 of 33 for 158 yards with five interceptions (Kajiyama had two), and Pahoa managed just 16 yards on the ground. Palma had 68 yards receiving and Keanu Muck caught three passes for 63 yards.
“I expected way better from them,” Midel said of the season as a whole. “I expected more from the defense.”
He did, however, know what he was getting into.
Pahoa 0 0 0 0 – 0
KS-Hawaii 14 27 14 0–63
First quarter
KS-Hawaii – Izayah Chartrand-Penera 71 pass from Michael Perry (Elijah Dinkel kick)
KS-Hawaii – Perry 7 run (Dinkel kick)
Second quarter
KS-Hawaii — Isaiah Villanueva 90 pass from Perry (Dinkel kick)
KS-Hawaii — Makai Snyder 47 pass from Chartrand-Penera (Dinkel kick)
KS-Hawaii – Spencer Yoshizumi 25 interception return (Dinkel kick)
KS-Hawaii – Germano 14 interception return (Dinkel kick)
Third quarter
KS-Hawaii – Spencer Yoshizumi 20 interception return (Dinkel kick)
KS-Hawaii — Peyton Kajiyama 30 interception return (Dinkel kick)
Fourth quarter
KS-Hawaii — Apu Alfiche 80 run (Dinkel kick)