Kapolei runs over
winless Pearl City

The seventh-ranked Hurricanes
take sole possession of first place
with the rout

With back-to-back showdowns against rated teams upcoming, seventh-ranked Kapolei made quick work of winless Pearl City.

Brad Padayao threw for a touchdown and ran for two more in just one half of work as the Hurricanes steamrolled the Chargers 56-21.

Radford Raquedan totaled 107 rushing yards on only three carries, including a blistering 73-yard touchdown run as Kapolei picked up its fifth win of the season, and fourth in league play. But it didn't come without an early scare as Pearl City took a surprising 7-0 lead on a flea-flicker when quarterback Andrew Blue hooked up with Daniel Soliven for a 45-yard score.

"We were aware they might throw some tricks at us," Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said. "We probably looked ahead a bit, which is not what I wanted, but we needed that wake-up call."

Kapolei responded by scoring the game's next seven touchdowns, six of which came in the first half as Kapolei built a 42-7 lead at intermission.

The Hurricanes scored on their first two running plays, with Nate Dixon following Raquedan's long run with a 10-yard score of his own.

Padayao added his two touchdown runs, one coming on a 36-yard scamper, and also hooked up with Jon Santiago for 49 yards and another score. Jameson Chee added a 47-yard interception return for six more points.

"The key to our offense is we have such a balanced attack this year," Padayao said.

"We have to get rid of the mental mistakes and the dumb penalties that seem to kill us. We see ourselves as underdogs and feel like we have to prove something every week."

With the lead safely in hand, Padayao got to rest the entire second half as backup quarterback Mason Koa saw his first action at the varsity level.

The sophomore showed why he might be the future of Kapolei, dazzling the crowd with a 40-yard touchdown run on Kapolei's first offensive play of the second half.

"I was nervous, but it was pretty fun," Koa said.

Koa was recently brought up from junior varsity to help give Hernandez some depth at the quarterback position.

"He's got some pretty good moves, and now we've got two quarterbacks with some game experience to back up Brad," Hernandez said.

Blue scored on a 5-yard run for Pearl City to cut the Hurricanes lead to 34, and also hauled in a 33-yard touchdown pass from Joshua Tokunaga on the game's final play.

The Hurricanes took a half-game lead over idle Mililani for the OIA Red West lead. The two teams square off next week at Mililani before the Hurricanes then take on Waianae, which sits in third place with only one loss.

"For us, it comes down to rhythm football," Hernandez said.

"We can't afford the slow start we had tonight against the teams we have coming up. We're not going to be scoring 40, 50 points every game, so we have to make sure not to have any uneven performances."