Kamehameha Schools Maui’s Kahoa Abreu cuts back on a second-quarter run against King Kekaulike’s Ahe Sumibcay (left) and Kingston Kapu during the Warriors’ 38-0 victory over Na Alii on Friday night at King Kekaulike Stadium. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
PUKALANI — The Kamehameha Schools Maui football team added to its school’s history on an inclement night at King Kekaulike Stadium on Friday.
The Warriors sewed up their second Hawaii High School Athletic Association state tournament berth ever — and first since 2005 — with a 38-0 win over Na Alii.
Kamehameha Maui (3-2) will represent the Maui Interscholastic League in the the Division II state semifinals on Oahu on Dec. 22.
“It’s good, it’s good for these kids, it’s good for the program,” Kamehameha Maui coach Ulima Afoa said. “You know, it’s a bench mark. We need to just continue to get better. That’s what we do in our program. You kind of knew that because that’s what we talked about when I got here — I’ve been here since 2015.
“So, we will just keep working.”
Kainoa Carpenter of the Warriors gathers in a teammate’s fumble at the goal line to score a touchdown in the second quarter. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
The Warriors took total control with a three-touchdown flurry in an 84-second span in the third quarter, upping the lead from 17-0 to 38-0.
They went 79 yards in 12 plays to score on their first drive of the second half, pushing the lead to 24-0 on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Makana Kamaka-Brayce to Pookela Aiu with 2:07 left in the third quarter.
After recovering a fumble for the seventh time in the game — King Kekaulike had 14 fumbles, losing eight on the extremely windy, rainy night — the Warriors increased the lead to 31-0 on a 33-yard Kamaka-Brayce scoring pass that was caught by Hoohenomauloa Stone-Han with 1:32 left in the third.
Less than a minute later, Laikukalani Wong intercepted an Austin Gomes pass — the first thrown all night by Na Alii — and returned it 10 yards for a touchdown that turned on the mercy-rule running clock for the rest of the night.
The Warriors got every player on the roster into the game, several of the younger ones drawing raves on the sidelines from their older teammates.
Kamehameha Maui quarterback Makana Kamaka-Brayce releases a second-quarter pass Friday night. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
“It was good for them because they deserve it, they work at it, you know what I’m saying?” Afoa said. “So, it’s good for them, it’s good for the program. We’re relatively a young team. We’ve got a good corps of seniors, but we’re mostly freshmen and sophomores.”
Kamehameha Maui took a 17-0 lead into the break after forcing King Kekaulike into 10 fumbles, six of which the Warriors recovered.
Na Alii started the game with an onside kick that they successfully recovered. Both teams then traded fumbles on consecutive plays, the last one leaving Na Alii in possession on the Kamehameha Maui 27-yard line.
The Warriors defense stopped Na Alii on downs before having to punt themselves. On the next play, Kamehameha Maui’s Paani Yap recovered a fumble to give the Warriors the ball on the King Kekaulike 43-yard line.
Na Alii’s defense then stopped the Warriors on downs to take over at their own 35, but King Kekaulike fumbled again and Kamehameha Maui’s Kalai Yap recovered the ball on the 34-yard line.
King Kekaulike’s Tobias Vazquez breaks up a pass in the end zone intended for the Warriors’ Dylan Schnitzer in the second quarter. — The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
Three plays later, Kamaka-Brayce hit Kainoa Carpenter over the middle — Carpenter broke free for a 38-yard touchdown reception to put the Warriors ahead 7-0 with 3:08 left in the first quarter.
Na Alii fumbled the ball on their next play and Kamalei Cua recovered for Kamehameha Maui. After the Warriors reached the King Kekaulike 1-yard line on a 30-yard Kamaka-Brayce pass to Kahoa Abreu, they fumbled on the next play. Na Alii’s Jorge Barboza recovered and returned it 12 yards to the 13-yard line.
The ball kept bouncing the Warriors’ way — they scored their second touchdown when Carpenter recovered a fumble in the end zone after Abreu caught a pass over the middle. Abreu coughed up the ball on the 5 and it dribbled into the end zone, where Carpenter fell on it with 7:54 to go in the first half.
Another fumble set up the Warriors with a short field on the next possession — Kamehameha Maui could not gain a first down, but Trenton Kiesel nailed a 28-yard field goal to make it 17-0 with 5:31 to play in the second quarter.
Another fumble by King Kekaulike was recovered by Kamehameha Maui’s Kaonohi Casco at Na Alii’s 32-yard line.
The King Kekaulike defense stopped the threat when field-goal holder Aiu was halted a yard short on a fake, giving Na Alii the ball back on their own 10.
Na Alii dropped to 0-5 on their senior night.
“The fumbles killed us tonight,” King Kekaulike coach Tyson Valle said. “We kind of hurt ourselves, you know, bad weather, whatever it is, you know, the fumbles definitely don’t help us win football games.”
King Kekaulike went into the game needing a win Friday and one next week to claim the MIL D-II state berth themselves.
“The kids tonight, they played hard. They were excited to play, we were really going after this game,” Valle said. “They knew what was on the line and they played hard, but hats off to Kamehameha and their team and good luck to them with the playoffs and states.”
* Robert Collias is at [email protected]
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Kamehameha Maui 7 10 21 0–38
King Kekaulike 0 0 0 0– 0
First Quarter
KSM–Kainoa Carpenter 38 pass from Makana Kamaka-Brayce (Treenton Kiesel kick), 3:08.
Second Quarter
KSM–Kainoa Carpenter recovered fumble in end zone (Kiesel kick), 7:54.
KSM–FG Kiesel 28, 5:31.
Third Quarter
KSM–Pookela Aiu 4 pass from Kamaka-Brayce (Kiesel kick), 2:07.
KSM–Hoohenomauloa Stone-Han 33 pass from Kamaka-Brayce (Kiesel kick), 1:32.
KSM–Laikukalani Wong 10 interception return (Kiesel kick), 0:43.
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MIL STANDINGS
DIVISION I
W L Pct PF PA
x-Lahainaluna 5 0 1.000 169 41
Maui High 3 2 .600 119 76
Baldwin 1 3 .250 53 114
DIVISION II
W L Pct PF PA
x-KS Maui 3 2 .600 169 111
King Kekaulike 0 5 .000 34 202
x-clinched overall championship
Friday’s Result
Kamehameha Maui 38, King Kekaulike 0
Today’s Game
Baldwin at Lahainaluna, 6 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 10
King Kekaulike at Kamehameha Maui, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 11
Baldwin vs. Maui High at War Memorial Stadium, 6 p.m.
End of regular season