JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM Aiea's Jeric Lake, left, batted away a pass intended for Kapolei's Tommy Ross during the first half last night.

Hurricanes defend new
home from Na Alii

QB Brad Padayao leads
Kapolei to a 41-13 victory

Kapolei quarterback Brad Padayao threw three touchdown passes in the first 5 minutes of the fourth quarter to turn a close game into a 41-13 rout over Aiea last night at the Hurricanes' stadium.

Padayao recovered from two early interceptions to throw for 291 yards and help Kapolei improve to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red West Conference.

"He started off slow ... he turned the ball over and wasn't hitting his receivers but really started to come on," Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said.

Aiea quarterback Kali Kuia passed for 335 yards, but Na Alii (2-1, 0-1) let several scoring opportunities slip away to drop their conference opener.

"We have to be able to capitalize on those opportunities," Aiea coach Wendell Say said. "I'm glad it's happening early in the season rather than later because it's something we can correct."

Aiea struck quickly, as a 46-yard punt return by Lofa Liilii set up a 7-yard touchdown pass from Kuia to Josh Blakemore on Na Alii's first offensive play of the game.

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM Aiea's Lofa Liilii hauled in a pass in front of Kapolei's Shannon Arnold in the first half.

Kapolei's next two drives ended with interceptions, but Aiea couldn't capitalize.

The Hurricane offense got into gear in the second quarter. After taking over at its own 11, Kapolei drove downfield and a 43-yard pass from Padayao to Aaron Santiago set up the Hurricanes' first score, a 2-yard Padayao run.

Aiea fumbled the ball away on its next play from scrimmage, and Kapolei converted the turnover into a 17-yard touchdown run by Santiago.

Kapolei added to its lead with 38 seconds left in the half when Padayao lofted a pass to Jon Santiago in the left corner of the end zone to put the Hurricanes up 20-6 at halftime.

Aiea cut into Kapolei's lead in the third quarter on a 38-yard TD pass from Kuia to Alan Fonoti.

But the Hurricanes bolted away again as Padayao hit Caleb Spencer for a 58-yard scoring strike on the first play of the fourth quarter.

The Hurricane defense forced Aiea to punt on its next two possessions and the offense turned both into touchdowns, with Padayao connecting with Sean Sasser and Alasi Toilolo to put the game out of reach.

Although Kapolei was able to win its first conference game on its new home field, Hernandez said the Hurricanes will need a more complete performance when they face Leilehua next week.

"We were hoping we could be able to play that way for four quarters. We played well in the second and fourth quarters," Hernandez said. "We have to put it together and play four quality quarters."

No. 9 Waianae 43, Pearl City 6

Henry Keomalu threw for two touchdowns and ran in another to lead the Seariders over the Chargers.

Keomalu found Leroy Lee-Kiaaina for a 45-yard touchdown, hit Darius Fuller for a 15-yard score and ran one in from 8 yards. He also went 5-for-5 kicking extra points for Waianae and ran in a 2-point conversion.

Andrew Blue rushed for 31 yards and threw one touchdown for Pearl City in a losing effort.

OIA White

Caleb Fore threw two touchdown passes to lead the Bulldogs to their first win since a 23-13 victory over Kalani last Sept. 18.

Fore, who went 12-for-25 for 150 yards, threw a 40-yard TD pass to Donovan Matas in the first quarter and found Cody Labra for a 25-yard score in the third.

Keo Palimo'o scored the Marauders' only touchdown on a 12-yard run in the fourth.

KIF

Kenny Estes overcame a cold and kicked a field goal to give the Menehunes a victory over the Warriors in the Kauai Interscholastic Federation opener for both teams.

MIL

Quaterback Kalehua Moniz threw for 385 yards and four touchdowns as the Bears defeated the Sabers.

Moniz went 22-for-43 with just one interception. He threw two touchdowns to Kainoa Klask in the first quarter, including one for 55 yards, to give Baldwin the early lead.

Maui quarterback Rock Trostel was involved in both of the Sabers' touchdowns, scoring on a 1-yard run and on a 14-yard pass to Niuafe Lama in the fourth quarter.

No. 6 Mililani
coasts by Nanakuli

Mililani eliminated one potential pest from its schedule last night in Nanakuli.

The Trojans visited the hornets' nest known as the Golden Hawks' home field and came away with an easy 42-0 Oahu Interscholastic Association West football victory.

Coach James Millwood knew better than to let his Mililani boys look past the always hard-hitting Nanakuli bunch, which is ready-made for the role of spoiler.

But the defending West champion Trojans simply had too much firepower, and they neutralized the hard north-south running of Zachary Tolentino.

By building a 21-0 second-quarter lead, Mililani forced the Golden Hawks (0-4, 0-2 OIA West) to abandon their running game in favor of the pass, which fizzled.

"We expected a physical game," said Millwood, whose Trojans improved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the conference. "They're big and they like to hit, so that's why we did a lot of the short, quick stuff. It's a real different atmosphere over here. We haven't been here in 10 years or so and the boys were looking at the beautiful views of the mountains and we had to tell them to stay focused and sharp."

Deftly, the Mililani offense built its lead by scoring on its first three possessions. Kekoa Perbera was the backbreaker, scoring on two long plays to turn a close game into the mounting rout.

He snaked his way for a 36-yard touchdown on a fourth-down play for a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter. He then found daylight by weaving around tacklers after taking a short screen pass from Austin Funakoshi for the 21-point lead early in the second period.

"We really wanted it," Perbera said. "We took them like any other team, that they were going to try to knock us off. But we took it to 'em. I just keep my legs driving until I hit the ground."

Perbera scored his third touchdown on another fourth-down play midway through the third, when the Golden Hawks left him wide open for a 21-yard scoring strike from John Abreu.

In the fourth quarter, Mililani added two more touchdowns on Jordan Apduhan's 27-yard run and Kala Perbera's 19-yard interception return.

Elijah Avilla had two sacks for the Trojans, and Matt Pupu and David Ishida had one each.

Tolentino rushed for 55 yards on 10 carries, and 46 of those yards came in the first half.

Issac Iuta was the defensive standout for the Golden Hawks. His fumble recovery on a botched Mililani punt return was just one of many plays he was in on.

"He's got a lot of dedication ," Nanakuli senior lineman Aaron Watson said about Iuta. "He's only a junior, but he plays and leads and acts like he's a senior already.

"Everybody was nervous about this game. They're a high-caliber team. We felt like we could stay in the game, but once they started scoring on us, we started (to lose focus)."

Watson's brother Keala, an injured University of Hawaii lineman who didn't make the trip for today's game against Michigan State, was on the sidelines helping out the Golden Hawks.

"He comes to our practices whenever he can," Aaron said. "He's like a role model to everybody. Everybody in Nanakuli knows who he is. And he knows a lot and teaches us stuff he's learning at UH."