Warriors rout Monarchs

Ikaika Hardie returned a punt 54 yards for a touchdown to lead the Warriors to a 35-7 win over the Monarchs last night at Kamehameha.

Hardie also caught two passes for 50 yards from quarterback Parker Bode to improve Kamehameha's record to 6-2-1 overall, 4-1 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.

In the closing minutes of the second quarter, Hardie used his evasive footwork to get past several Monarch defenders to put the Warriors up 13-7 going into halftime.

Damien, designated as the home team, was led by running back Vaa Faualo, who rushed for 94 yards on 20 carries.

Hardie got things started for Kamehameha, catching a pass in the middle of coverage, then setting up behind his blockers to run toward the goal line, being taken down 5 yards short -- a gain of 47. Running back Jayson Rego then dove forward, fumbling the ball into the end zone. But Kamehameha's Jacob Ho recovered the ball, resulting in a touchdown.

"We're proud of the way our guys battled tonight," Damien co-head coach Dean Nakagawa said. "I don't think the score was indicative of the type of effort we gave."

Later in the second quarter, Mitchell Cabreros intercepted a Bode pass, returning it 19 yards to the Kamehameha 1-yard line. On the next play, Akalifa Tau fought his way up the middle into the end zone.

"We got a little sloppy," Souza said. "But we rebounded and we got things taken care of. We got better as the game went on, so I'm pleased about that."

The Kamehameha ground attack took over in the third quarter. The Warriors relied primarily on Ryan Montez, who rushed 65 yards on four carries to begin the second half. Montez capped the drive with a 30-yard sprint into the end zone. He -- along with Even Coller and Tyson Fujimoto -- was able to replace the space created by the absence of Rego, who went down with an ankle injury in the first half.

"These guys came in and picked it up," Souza said.