Welcome to the great unknown that is the HHSAA Division II football tournament.
Hawaii Prep and Kapaa each took care of business in their respective leagues, but during this pandemic-shortened campaign they travel off their islands for the first time this season to tangle in the state semifinals, set for 3 p.m. today at Farrington High School in Honolulu. The game will be broadcast on Spectrum16.
If the regular season is a harbinger of things to come, defense could be the name of the game. Each team enters allowing just four points a game.
BIIF champion Ka Makani (7-0) were given the fourth seed despite earning their fourth shutout of the season in a 3-0 victory against Kamehameha in the league title game Dec. 11 in Waimea. HPA has scored more defensive touchdowns, 5-3, than it’s allowed
Playing a round-robin schedule against Kauai and Waimea in the Kauai Interscholastic Federation, Kapaa (6-0) started the season with three shutouts and outscored it competition 189-24.
Perhaps based in part on their pedigree, the Warriors were awarded the top seed. Kapaa is no stranger to HHSAA semifinals and was probably as happy as anyone to see Lahainaluna make the jump to Division I. From 2015-19, the Warriors lost four times in D-II title game, with three of those losses coming to the Lunas.
HPA, which has outscored its foes 227-30, makes its first appearance at the state tournament since 2009, when Ka Makani earned a first-round win at Moanalua before losing against Kauai High in the semifinals.
One of HPA coach Kaluka Maiava’s favorite sayings is “you have to meet force with force.”
That approach worked when it counted against Kamehameha in the BIIF title game as Ka Makani turned to the direct ground game to set up a game-winning field goal by Mason Hunt.
HPA will try to force the issue against Kapaa with a group of running backs that includes Jakob Honda (479 yards, six touchdowns), Kamuela Gaughen (319, 5) and Braden Samura, who averages 11.1 yards on his 14 carries and has scored four times.
Quarterback Tre Walker appeared to pick up confidence late in the season and has completed 56 of 96 for 739 yards and eight touchdowns with three interceptions. Luke Hendricks, Ekolu Kainoa and Tain Lawson each have 10 or more catches.
Lawson also is the team’s leading tackler at linebacker, but Samura is one of the prime playmakers of the unit, coming up with four sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss.
One key for HPA this season is that it’s won the turnover battle, 21-11.
The second semifinal features No. 2 Kaiser and No. 3 Kamehameha-Maui at 7 p.m. The title game is Dec. 30 at Farrington. Kaiser is the only semifinalist to have won a state crown.
