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Hurricanes Tackle Waianae In Last Game Of The Season

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Kapolei’s Dequarius Robinson attempts to stop Lyle Santiago. Photo by Nathalie Walker.

Although the Kapolei football team had already wrapped up an Oahu Interscholastic Association playoff berth prior to their regular-season finale with Waianae last Friday, there was little chance the Hurricanes were going to overlook the Seariders.

In addition to trying to improve its seeding,Waianae represented one of the top challenges of the season, in Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez’ view.

“It primes you and gets you ready (for the postseason),” Hernandez said. “If you can play against Waianae at Waianae, your kids can feel like they have some confidence going in(to the playoffs).”

Kapolei was anticipating receiving anywhere from the OIA Red West’s first to fourth seed, depending on the outcome of their game with Waianae (as well as the outcomes of the league’s other encounters), when the conference announced its pairings earlier this week. The top three seeds from both the East and West receive first-round byes, so it’s possible the Hurricanes could be idle until Oct. 26.

The Hurricanes entered last weekend with a 3-2 league record (5-2 overall),having beaten Leilehua and Radford in successive weeks. In both games, Kapolei had stellar defensive games, a trend Hernandez hopes will continue into the post-season.

“Our defense has been good - we had our best game of the season against Leilehua, holding them to 104 passing yards and 46 yards rushing,“he said of the 21-0 win over the Mules Sept. 29.“Our defensive line play has also really improved.

If we’re going to go anywhere (in the postseason), the offensive and defensive lines are going to have to carry us. If they can come together, they could catapult us to the next level.”

Senior Chad Lopati (“He’s been a force”) has led the way for the defensive line with up-and-coming tackle Maverick Satele having made a big impact in recent weeks. After starting the season at linebacker, Satele was moved to the line prior to the Campbell game and delivered big in his first start there, posting three tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

“Moving him to the line has been a revelation,“Hernandez said. “He gives us more strength and quickness there. He’s undersized at 5-10, 230, but he can make plays. He gets into the backfield.”

Kapolei’s rotation in its defensive line also boasts Othaniel Maiava, Trent Nakata, Paul Belford, Victor Faavae and Bryson Guerrero, while Cyril Ontai and Tim Brown anchor the line-backing corps. The Hurricanes also have a pair of play-makers in the secondary in free safety Kalae Parish and strong safety Keliiholokai Aki. The defense is yielding 197.6 yards per game,third-best in the OIA behind Leilehua and Waianae. On the ground, the Hurricanes are giving up just under 100 yards per game.

Offensively, the Hurricanes have relied on a balanced attack, led by versatile senior Mason Koa. The starting quarterback for most of last year and at the beginning of this season, he has spent a lot of time as a receiver lately to enable the team to take full advantage of his athleticism. He entered the weekend with 277 receiving yards and has rushed for an additional 277 as well as three touchdowns.

With Koa at receiver, the Hurricanes have gone to Noah Pascua at quarterback. A junior, he has thrown for more than 500 yards and a pair of scores to date. Shenon Moore (26 carries, 208 yards) is also ranked among the OIA’s rushing leaders.

As on defense, Hernandez sees Kapolei’s play in the line as a key to its postseason hopes.“Teams that can run the ball and stop the run usually fare better in the foul weather, which is what we’re going to be getting (at playoff time). We finally have everyone healthy (on the offensive line) now, so we have six or seven guys competing (for playing time),” Hernandez said of a rotation that includes Mike Hoffman, Alex Paiva, Stan Hasiak, Luke Spencer, Jordan Gibson and Kaipo Nakatani. “They’ve come together, and competition makes everyone better.”

Kapolei, which has never missed the playoffs in its six years of football, recorded its first-ever playoff win last October when the Hurricanes beat Kailua in a first-round game. The top five finishers in the OIA’s postseason earn berths in the First Hawaiian Bank Division I State Football Championships, which begin on Nov. 16.