Campbell outlasts Kamehameha in overtime to win first HHSAA Open title

HONOLULU – There will be fireworks all night in ‘Ewa Beach.

The Campbell Sabers (9-3) capped off the high school football season in prime fashion Friday night at T.C. Ching Athletics Complex on the campus of the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, taking down Kamehameha-Kapālama (5-5) in overtime of the 2025 First Hawaiian Bank Football Championships Open Division title game, 26-23, to claim the second state championship in program history.

Senior QB Brayden Medeiros completed 11-of-15 passes for 151 yards and three touchdowns for the Sabers, including the game-winning pass to Zayne Pasion on the final play of the game to become the third program in nine seasons to take home an Open state championship.

San Diego State commit Tainoa Lave did a little bit of everything in his final high school game for Campbell as he recorded a game-high 11 tackles (10 solo) on defense, a 55-yard punt return on special teams and 50 yards of total offense (plus a rushing touchdown) to clinch the win.

After the teams traded stops across a scoreless opening quarter, Lave provided the first true spark of the night for either side with his 55-yard punt return, taking advantage of a sleeping Warriors coverage unit to set up the Sabers at the KSK 21 to begin the second period.

Campbell wasted little time capitalizing, seeing Medeiros connect with junior Brystin Sansano on a 21-yard TD pass to grab a 7-0 lead with 10:38 remaining in the first half.

Kamehameha-Kapālama responded on the ensuing drive with the help of a free first down by way of a roughing the passer penalty on third-and-long.

After an interception in the end zone by Campbell DB Jaedon Pablo later in the drive was wiped out by another personal foul penalty against the defensive line, KSK RB Nainoa Melchor dealt the tying blow for the Warriors as he raced around the left edge for an 11-yard score.

KSK forced a punt on the following Campbell possession after Kalei Harbottle got home for a sack, allowing the Warriors to tack on a 25-yard Tyler Fujimoto field goal as time expired in the first half to take the lead for the first time all night, 10-7, as the teams went to the locker rooms for the break.

Campbell tried to snatch back the momentum when play resumed in the third, recovering a pooch kick to steal an extra possession. The Warriors defense stepped up with another stop despite the surprise second-half starting kick, seeing Harbottle get home for the second time to force the Sabers to settle for a 34-yard field goal attempt that would sail wide-right.

The teams traded stops as the third frame progressed until Campbell finally started to wear down the KSK defense with six runs down the stretch of the quarter, working inside the Warriors’ 10 as the game moved into the final 12 minutes of regulation.

Lave rammed forward five yards for a TD on the first play of the final frame to put the Sabers back in front, but Kamehameha blocked the PAT to keep within a field goal with 11:54 to play.

Campbell seemingly took full control a few minutes later after Mana Forges was hit as he threw and Shaison Kupukaa intercepted the Kamehameha quarterback near midfield. The Sabers dialed up the deep shot on the very next play as Medeiros hit Lathaniel Teleaai on for a 55-yard bomb, putting the Sabers up by 10 with 7:53 remaining in regulation.

Kamehameha was able to make it a one-possession game with 3:49 still left to work with after settling for a 22-yard field goal from Fujimoto. WR Jayden Braun looked to have a diving TD catch on 2nd-and-Goal, but replay review overturned the call on the field after showing the ball hit the ground before he secured it.

After forcing a punt by the Sabers to get one last chance, Kamehameha marched 75 yards down the field in 73 seconds to tie the game at 20 as Hazyn Botelho ran tough for an 11-yard touchdown to force overtime for the first time since the Open Division Championship came into existence in 2016.

Tyler Fujimoto put the Warriors up with a 31-yard field goal with their opportunity in overtime, giving the lead to Kamehameha-Kapālama while leaving the door open for a walk-off win for the Sabers.

With the door cracked, Campbell crashed into the winner’s circle as Medeiros floated a pass towards the right sideline for Zayne Pasion for a game-winning 17-yard TD to clinch the program’s first Open Division championship and second overall state title in football.

Kamehameha QB Mana Forges wrapped up his senior season completing 15-of-33 pass attempts for 129 yards, throwing for one touchdown and one interception in the loss. Senior RB Nainoa Melchor racked up a game-high 102 yards rushing and a touchdown while leading the Warriors with four catches for 37 yards out of the backfield.

“I want to cry without crying; I don’t want to go to sleep,” An emotional ninth-year head coach Darren Johnson said after the victory. “I just want to say thank you to everybody.”

The Sabers become just the second OIA program to take home a state title in Hawai’i’s highest level of high school competition and the third program overall to win the Open Division since its creation. Powerhouses Kahuku and Saint Louis were the lone two programs to win across the first eight title games, seeing Punahou and Mililani sneak into the game a few times only to fall in three separate tries.

Campbell also dealt the first-ever HHSAA state title game loss to the Kamehameha-Kapālama football program. The Warriors had won each of their previous appearances in the Division I title game in both 2004 and 2009.

It also checked off one of the biggest remaining boxes for Johnson, who had previous stops with Kailua and Kaimuki before Campbell but had never made it to a state title game, let alone won one.

The veteran head coach finally reached the pinnacle of Hawai’i high school football. He’s got a community fit for the celebration, too.

“Brah, I don’t know if they’re going to sleep tonight,” Johnson said of the team bringing a state championship back to ‘Ewa Beach. “I don’t know, if [the community] got firecrackers going off tonight … I just love these kids.”