KEAAU — Hawaii Prep isn’t the power-running football team from a year ago, but Koa Ellis still finds a way to produce yards with his passing and running skills. ADVERTISING KEAAU — Hawaii Prep isn’t the power-running football team from
KEAAU — Hawaii Prep isn’t the power-running football team from a year ago, but Koa Ellis still finds a way to produce yards with his passing and running skills.
The senior Ka Makani quarterback accounted for four touchdowns in a 37-0 win over Keaau in a Big Island Interscholastic Federation game on Saturday at the Cougars Stadium.
Ellis went 15 of 26 for 305 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. He also ran for 34 yards on eight carries, and scored on a 2-yard run to spark the Division II Ka Makani (1-2 BIIF, 2-3).
Nicky Palleschi had six catches for 102 yards and a TD. Justin Perry caught three balls for 90 yards and a score. He also had two interceptions.
Alex Brost led HPA’s ground attack with 48 yards on six carries. He also had three receptions for 54 yards and a touchdown.
The backups entered the ballgame in the third quarter when the 35-point mercy rule clock was running.
The Division I Cougars (0-3, 0-4) just couldn’t generate any type of offense and finished with 88 yards. They also had three turnovers; HPA had a pair of giveaways. Keaau’s offense didn’t reach the red zone (20 yards and in).
Justin Quesada rushed for 64 yards on 11 carries. Richard Hatori-Kanakaole was 4 of 15 for 44 yards with two picks before he left with an injury late in the third quarter.
HPA scored on the game’s opening series, an eight-play drive that covered 74 yards, capped by Ellis’ 27-yard pass to Perry.
The next score, bridging the first and second quarters, was another long, methodical march, 81 yards and 12 plays. A key play was Ellis’ 22-yard pass to Chris DeSalvo on fourth down near midfield. Ellis later scored on a 2-yard run.
Right before the clock malfunctioned in the second quarter, HPA increased its lead to 20-0 on a 98-yard, five-play scoring march. Ellis fired a 54-yard scoring strike to Palleschi, who juggled the ball, but secured it before his jaunt into the end zone.
The Cougars were playing a Cover 2 (each safety is responsible for half the field), and the safety was late covering Palleschi, who ran a simple streak route and scored for a 20-0 cushion.
Also in the first half, besides a general lack of offense (53 yards), the Cougars also had difficulty snapping the ball. Three bad snaps cost them 39 yards; the only good news is that the negative yardage is charged to the team, not an individual.
HPA quickly went to work on another scoring spree to start the third quarter. It took only three plays from near midfield to increase the lead to 27-0 after Brost caught a 41-touchdown pass.
On the ensuing series, the Cougars were pressured, fumbled in the end zone, and Caleb Kagawa recovered for another Ka Makani touchdown and a 35-0 cushion, after Palleschi hauled in a two-point pass.
A safety in the fourth quarter concluded HPA’s scoring.
In something of a highlight for the Cougars, they didn’t let HPA’s backups score late in the game on a lengthy drive that covered the third and fourth quarters.
The visitors started from their 21-yard line, ran 19 plays and reached Keaau’s 4-yard line. But on fourth-and-goal, the Cougars stuffed Zach Chaikin for a three-yard loss.
In an 8-man football game that was not on the schedule and announced only to BIIF officials on Friday, Kohala beat Keaau’s junior varsity 49-6.
