Fight leaves Aiea-Campbell outcome in limbo

Aiea coach Wendell Say regrets that he wasn't able to instill more discipline into his players. He regrets their actions, clearing their bench last night to join a melee with Campbell players in a 33-26 game all but decided in Aiea's favor with less than a minute to play. And he regrets that fans from both sides had to see such a well-played game fall down to a pending Oahu Interscholastic Association ruling on the outcome expected early this week.

What he doesn't regret is his decision to move all of his players into the locker rooms a minute after the benches-clearing fracas at midfield, which started after Aiea running back Christian Kupau was tackled for a loss on third down at around the Aiea 45-yard line. There was some extra pushing and shoving that quickly escalated at the spot, with varying accounts on both sides of which team started what.

"More important, kids gotta learn," Say commented with a sigh. "This is not what you want to see. I'm just sad that it had to end this way."

It was a clash of No. 9 Aiea's effective passing game against Campbell's high-octane running attack before it became a 1-minute clash on the field, ending when coaches from both sides broke things up. Say gave his players a tongue-lashing on the sidelines before ordering them into the locker room; Tumoana Kenessey likewise.

Nobody knew the game's outcome as Campbell piled into its buses to leave. OIA officials would not comment as they left the field. Say expected a ruling one way or the other early this week, possibly as soon as tomorrow.

If players are suspended a week for leaving their benches, it will decimate both teams in next weekend's matchups -- Aiea plays Saint Louis on Friday and Campbell faces Kamehameha on Saturday.

The outcome -- or lack of one -- overshadowed a brilliant performance by Campbell running back Samson Anguay. The 5-foot-7, 140-pound Anguay, in his first game at the varsity level, went for 212 yards of total offense and four touchdowns -- including a 50-yard punt return in the fourth quarter -- on a series of brilliant runs. The sophomore accounted for all of his team's scores.

"We knew he was a good player and he worked hard in the weight room," Kenessey said. "He got good blocks, he did well."

Aiea quarterback Keenan Naeole also performed well, throwing for 223 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for a fourth to help keep his team ahead wire to wire. He found Aldodius Colquitt on a 53-yard strike, James Buchanan on a similar play for 43 yards and Jack Oliveros for a 30-yard score.

All of that now matters little to Say.

"This is not football," he said of the postgame mess. "This is not what any of us teaches, Campbell nor ourselves. Both sides played hard, Campbell played tough. It's just something that we don't like to see happen, period."

Leilehua 41, Radford 0

Leilehua's two-headed quarterback attack led the Mules over the visiting Rams in an OIA Red West opener. Kaipo Kea connected with Edieson Dumlao on scoring passes of 9 and 21 yards, and Kaipo DeRego tossed a 52-yard pass to Mike Dahlum that led to Joedee Taua's 2-yard scoring run.