Campbell erases huge 1st half deficit, stuns Kapolei in OIA Open Division semifinals

MILILANI – Sabers sorcery. 

The top-ranked Campbell Sabers (9-0) completed one of the greatest comebacks in OIA playoff history on Friday, bouncing back from a 26-point deficit in the first half of the Open Division semifinals to shock the fourth-seed Kapolei Hurricanes (5-4) in an offensive shootout, 49-43. The victory clinched a spot in the 2024 First Hawaiian Bank State Football Championship tournament and marked the first appearance in an OIA Division I-Open Division title game since 1997 for Campbell. 

Campbell QB and Cal football commit Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele picked apart the Kapolei defense, completing 32 of his 47 pass attempts for 473 yards and six touchdowns through the air. The 6-foot-3 signal caller added another score with his legs, a two-yard touchdown on the Sabers’ first drive out of the halftime break.  

Kapolei won the opening coin toss and elected to receive, going to work quickly as San Jose State commit Tama Amisone snatched sophomore QB Leysen Rodrigues’ pass with one hand and took it 59 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead just over a minute into action. The Kapolei defense stepped up to the plate to match, forcing a pair of punts on the first two Campbell offensive possessions. 

Rodrigues continued dealing for Kapolei, delivering a perfect ball to Maui Remigio while absorbing a roughing the passer call to put the ball on Campbell 2-yard line on the Hurricanes’ third drive. Kapolei extended the early lead to 13-0 a few plays later after Kaina Kamohalii took a reverse around the right edge for a 7-yard TD with 6:26 remaining in the 1st quarter. 

Things broke Kapolei’s way again in the opening minutes as senior defensive back Makana Taylor added his OIA-best seventh pick of the year on the next drive, becoming just the third player to intercept Campbell star Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele this season with 4:36 left to play in the 1st quarter. 

Again, Kapolei drove the field as Amisone scrambled 34 yards inside the Campbell 25 and another roughing the passer penalty against the Sabers drawn by Rodrigues put the Hurricanes at the 11-yard line of Campbell. Amisone would cap off the 7-play, 58-yard scoring drive with his second touchdown of the night a few plays later, a 2-yard dash to give a 19-0 lead to Kapolei with two minutes still remaining in the night’s first frame. 

Campbell finally found some success to begin the 2nd quarter as Sagapolutele dropped a deep pass down the right sideline in the bucket of Zayden Alviar-Costa for a 44-yard touchdown just eight seconds back into action, making it a two-score game for the Sabers, 19-7. 

Kapolei answered back fast as Rodrigues tossed his second touchdown of the half, finding Nikko Smith in stride for a 78-yard touchdown to go back up big, 26-7. The Hurricanes continued the defensive domination of the Sabers by forcing a three-and-out on the next drive, getting the ball back at the Campbell 48 up by three scores with 8:11 left in the opening half. 

With another drive starting in plus-field position, Kapolei capitalized again as Rodrigues found Amisone on a nine-yard strike for the SJSU commit’s third touchdown of the half, putting the Hurricanes up by 26 points with 5:25 left to play in the 2nd quarter. 

Slowly, the Sabers offense had started to wake up on the other side. 

Sagapolutele and Campbell orchestrated a beautiful 7-play, 76-yard scoring drive in just over three minutes of game time to make it 33-14 with 2:04 remaining before the midway break as the Cal commit found Alviar-Costa for the second time in the frame for a score. 

The Hurricanes chipped on a 37-yard field goal right before the break, taking a 36-14 lead into the locker room. On the other side, confidence was still growing for Campbell with the 2nd half opening kickoff coming to the Sabers. 

With the help of a 46-yard catch-and-run by sophomore running back Brystin Sansano, Campbell entered the red zone just three plays into the 3rd quarter. After the Kapolei defense tightened the screws in goal-to-go snaps, Sagapolutele took matters into his own hands and worked into the end zone for a 2-yard rushing touchdown on 4th-and-goal to bring Campbell back within two possessions for the first time since early in the 2nd quarter. 

The Sabers’ defense added to the momentum with the second interception of Kapolei’s Rodrigues as Braysen Cullen forced the takeaway for the top-ranked team in the state. The offense repaid the favor a few plays later as Sagapolutele tossed his third TD pass of the night, a 1-yard connection with Rusten Abang-Perez to pull Campbell within a possession, 36-28, with 3:38 left in the 3rd quarter. 

With momentum in the Sabers’ direction, Kapolei would go three-and-out again and give the ball back to Campbell with time left in the 3rd quarter with a chance to tie with a touchdown and 2-point conversion. 

Sagapolutele guided the Sabers’ offense down inside the Kapolei 10 before the third frame ran out, picking right back up to begin the 4th quarter as he found Alviar-Costa on a 7-yard strike for the duo’s third TD connection of the night. The 2-point conversion try to tie was no good though, leaving still Campbell down a pair, 36-34. 

Not willing relinquish the lead without a fight, Kapolei’s offense re-found the footing to put together a 12-play, 64-yard scoring drive that was capped off with more Amisone magic as the senior athlete took a 4th-and-goal around the edge to score, extending the Hurricanes’ lead back to two possessions with under seven minutes to play. 

Sagapolutele, needing to work quickly, hit Abang-Perez for a huge 52-yard gain to get the Campbell offense down to the Kapolei 35 after three plays. Makana Taylor nearly produced his second interception of the night against Sagapolutele two snaps later, but a holding penalty wiped the turnover away and provided a new set of downs at the 25-yard line of the Hurricanes. 

The new life was all the Sabers needed as Sagapolutele found Alviar-Costa for the fourth scoring connection of the night on the very next play, pulling Campbell back within two with just over five minutes left in regulation. 

Campbell’s defense got the ball right back in Sagapolutele’s hands, forcing a three-and-out by Kapolei and seeing a 17-yard punt give the Sabers ideal starting field position with a chance at the lead for the first time all night. 

Again, the Cal commit found Abang-Perez for a big gain to move inside the 20 before hitting Shaison Kupukaa two plays later to push the Sabers in front for the first time all night. Sagapolutele hit Tainoa Lave for the 2-point conversion to give Campbell the 49-43 lead with 2:08 left in regulation, completing the 26-point comeback. 

The Sabers defense put the cherry on top by forcing a turnover on downs in four plays as Tama Amisone missed the final two drives with a leg injury for Kapolei. 

Zayden Alviar-Costa led the loaded Campbell wide receiver room with eight catches for 174 yards and four touchdowns while Rusten Abang-Perez added 13 receptions for 121 yards and a score for the Sabers. 

Kapolei sophomore QB Leysen Rodrigues finished the night with 321 passing yards in the loss, tossing three touchdowns and a pair of interceptions while splitting quarterbacking duties with Amisone throughout the game. Amisone totaled 258 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns before leaving late in the 4th quarter with a leg injury. 

The Hurricanes will face off against Mililani next weekend for the final OIA spot in the 2024 First Hawaiian Bank State Football Championship tournament in the 3rd-place game for the Open Division. Campbell will take on three-time defending state champion Kahuku in the first appearance in OIA Division 1-Open Championship since 1997 for the program.