GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Kapolei's Aaron Santiago picked off an Alfredo Higa pass intended for Aiea's James Buchanan to end the first half of last night's game at Aloha Stadium.

Kapolei unleashes Koa on Aiea

This Mason built a wall of victory, nothing pretty, but certainly sturdy.

First-year starter Mason Koa fired an 11-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Santiago with 4:14 left as Kapolei stunned No. 10 Aiea 19-14 last night at Aloha Stadium.

Aiea (2-2, 1-1 Oahu Interscholastic Association Red West) rallied with 14 unanswered points in the third quarter, but the young Hurricanes came through in the clutch. Just barely.

"If I had any hair, it would be gray by now. We tried to hand it to them on a silver platter," Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said.

"We're young and we don't know how to finish a win yet. Our defense did a great job. (Kamuela) Foki and (Cyril) Ontai, our safeties, will drop the hammer on anybody. And our corners, Austin Healy and Kalae Parish, were outstanding, along with Santiago."

It was Ontai, a sophomore, who had the key hit. Leading 14-13, Aiea had control of the football and its own fate midway through the fourth quarter, but Daniel Liilii fumbled on an end-around. Ontai's hit caused the fumble, and Caleb Helenihi returned the ball 50 yards to give the Hurricanes a first down at the Aiea 25-yard line.

Five plays later, Koa delivered a perfect spiral to Santiago for an 11-yard touchdown pass to regain the lead for good. Aiea drove to the Kapolei 46-yard line in the final minute, but came up short when Alfredo Higa's pass to Alan Fonoti fell incomplete.

Higa finished 22-for-42 for 198 yards.

Kapolei is 1-0 in Red West play (1-2 overall). Koa fumbled twice, but rushed for 78 yards on 27 carries, many of them wild scrambles that had Aiea clutching air.

"I was screwing up on reads. My coaches wanted me to stay in the pocket," said Koa, who completed nine of 15 passes for 106 yards with no interceptions. The momentum from last week's narrow win at Campbell has shifted for Aiea.

"Shoot, we had our chances, but we didn't capitalize," Aiea coach Wendell Say said. "Our timing was off, and our defense was on the field too long. Kapolei's always got talent. They showed it tonight."

Aiea played without All-State wide receiver Lofa Liilii, who rested a sprained ankle.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Kapolei's Aaron Santiago picked up yardage under pressure from Aiea's David Savaaetasi last night.

Kapolei's offensive line surprisingly took it to the Aiea front seven and drove for touchdowns on its first two possessions.

Koa engineered a poised 14-play, 80-yard march with the opening series. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound junior carried the ball six times for 25 yards, but Joshua Hose finished the drive with a 16-yard touchdown on a pass from Koa. Kapolei led 7-0 with 6:09 remaining in the first quarter.

After Aiea went three and out on the ensuing series, Kapolei's offense went back to work. With the help of pass-interference and roughing-the-passer penalties by Aiea, the Hurricanes drove 69 yards to paydirt. Koa's 12-yard pass to Kamuela Foki converted a key third down, and Foki finished off the drive with a 3-yard burst up the middle.

David Savaaetasi blocked the PAT try, but Kapolei led 13-0 with 34 seconds to go in the first quarter.

The rest of the half was a demonstration in erratic passing by Aiea and ball control by Kapolei. Koa ran for 42 hard-earned yards on 17 carries. He also completed seven of his 11 first-half pass attempts.

Aiea, meanwhile, managed 89 total yards before halftime.

Aiea had possession in Kapolei territory three times, starting one drive at the Kapolei 18-yard line. However, Higa was sacked by Chad Lopati and Austin Healy, ending Na Alii's best opportunity in the first half. Kapolei's secondary was stalwart. Santiago came up with an interception at the Kapolei 12-yard line and returned it to midfield to end the half.