Sometimes you need to hit a low in order to reach a new high.
The Kamehameha Schools – Hawaii football team learned this, as it won its rematch against Hawaii Prep 36-0 on Friday night at home — winning the Central Pacific Bank/BIIF DII championship.
This victory came less than a week after KSH’s 10-game winning streak was ended by Ka Makani in an emotional, double-overtime bout.
“It was amazing,” KSH head coach Kealoha Wengler said. “There were tears of joy from our players and their families because of the journey that these boys have come on.
“It took that loss to build our team’s character. We’re actually very appreciative of that part of the journey.”
After both teams went scoreless during the first quarter, the Warriors exploded with 17-point second quarter — which started with a 12-yard field goal kicked by Lucas Kay-Wong.
“The game strategy was to be conservative,” Wengler said. “Kick the field goals, play the field position game with them — and when we get inside the 40 (yard line), and hit a fourth down, either punt the ball or try a field goal.”
KSH’s momentum snowballed, as Xaden Kama scored on a 51-yard pick six and Xander Hoopai scored a touchdown on a short carry.
A major factor in HPA’s offensive woes was Alaka‘i Aipia suffering an injury early in the game. The elusive halfback was a keystone of Ka Makani’s offense all season — and even managed to rush for 86 yards on 14 carries before his injury.
“Offensively, we couldn’t get our rhythm back after we lost (Aipia),” HPA head coach Lincoln Kalama said. “We gave up a lot of turnovers, we just couldn’t recover.”
The Warriors started off the second half with even more defensive points, as defensive end Teva Sanchez intercepted a pass and returned it 22 yards for a touchdown.
“Our defense really studied HPA,” Wengler said. “Everybody took it upon themselves to make sure they knew how they would cover each play.”
KSH’s final two touchdowns came from a 27-yard pass from Adam Perry to Andrew Boshard during the third quarter, and a four-yard carry by Keanu Gebin in the fourth quarter.
Perry completed 11 of 17 pass attempts for 147 yards. Shiloh Santos led on the ground with 78 yards on 20 carries. Clay Ching led in receiving yards with 46.
Friday’s victory was KSH’s first BIIF DII title since 2019, which was before many of its players were in high school.
“What we all decided was that we weren’t gonna blame each other for anything that happened,” Wengler said. “We wanted to elevate each other up when we’re having a tough time. Those were the ‘ohana values we tried to practice this week.”
Though it was a tough loss for HPA, Ka Makani was grateful to be there. HPA overcame plenty of adversity, going on a five-win streak after starting the season 3-2 — which included a 49-0 loss to KSH.
“Nobody expected us to be (in the BIIF championship),” Kalama said. “At the start of the season, it was definitely between Honokaa and (KSH) — but we battled through adversity and did whatever we could to get back in the championship round.”
KSH will now advance to the state championship. Seedings and entries have not been fully determined, as the Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) playoffs are still going on.
It is possible that KSH may host one or more of its state playoff games.
