Kapolei cruises by Waipahu behind Kapahu’s record-setting night

KAPOLEI – Rocked ‘em like a hurricane.

After seeing their season opener cancelled from the effects of Hurricane Lala, the No. 4-ranked Kapolei Hurricanes (1-0) provided a storm of their own with a dominant 50-15 victory over No. 6-ranked Waipahu (1-1) on Friday night.

Kapolei senior running back Chazz-Michael Kapahu tore up the Marauders defense, toting the rock 18 times for 223 yards rushing and three touchdowns. It set a new school record for the Hurricanes according to Hawaii Prep World’s archives, passing John Dela Rama’s 214-yard outing against Kalani in August 2003.

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Kapahu quickly turned the praise on his offensive linemen after being asked about his historic night, crediting the big men up front for creating holes and lanes for the 5-foot-8 back to take advantage of all night.

“My O-line, they made amazing blocks tonight, gave me the holes and I just hit them,” said Kapahu.

He got the action going early for the Hurricanes, ending off the Open Division squad’s first possession of the season with a one-yard score.

Kapolei quickly added on after forcing a three-and-out from Waipahu, getting a big punt return to set up the offense deep within Marauder territory before senior quarterback Jacob Ballesteros connected on a 19-yard touchdown pass to senior wideout Nikko Smith to make it a 14-0 advantage for the Hurricanes.

Smith, who holds Division I offers from the University of Hawai’i and San Jose State, led the Hurricanes with two receptions for 26 yards and the score. In all, only three different players registers catches for Kapolei.

Do-it-all ATH Zeph Salis pushed out the Kapolei lead to 21-0 after a 13-yard scoring run of his own midway through the second quarter. Waipahu finally threw a punch back to end the first half when sophomore QB Jake Garcia found senior WR Lyric Anuenue on a three-yard touchdown pass just before the break and added a two-point conversion right after to cut down the deficit, 21-8.

The Marauders looked to have found some momentum with the score before the halftime switch, starting off the second half by forcing a punt from Kapolei. Unfortunately for Waipahu, the punt ricocheted off of a returner and was recovered by the Hurricanes.

The Waipahu defense held strong again to keep it a two-score game, forcing another punt from Kapolei that was fielded cleanly by the Marauders.

Once again, untimely mistakes hurt Waipahu has Garcia tossed his lone interception of the evening on the ensuing drive and set up Kapahu’s second scoring run of the night with 4:34 left in the third quarter and Kapolei now leading 29-8.

Waipahu had one last breath of fight before the end of the third frame, seeing Arona Liaina cap off a 56-yard scoring drive with a one-yard touchdown run to make it 29-15.

Kapolei had another quick response with sophomore RB Kalani Meyers-Tuinei dashing away from the defense for a 30-yard touchdown to close out the quarter and put the game clearly into the program’s back pocket.

Kapahu cemented his status as the night’s breakout star as the clock ticked under 10 minutes left in regulation as he sprinted 63 yards to the house for his third and final touchdown of the game and sophomore RB Ryzen Macapagal took his lone carry of the evening 15 yards for a score to cap off a season-opening 50-burger from the Hurricanes.

Kapolei tallied 399 yards of total offense in the victory, getting 361 of it on the ground as the offensive line flexed up front. QB Jacob Ballesteros went just 6-of-9 passing for 38 yards and touchdown while not turning the ball over a single time for the Hurricanes.

Waipahu got an up-and-down night from Jake Garcia as the sophomore ran for his life away from a staunch Kapolei defense that sacked him three separate times and showed him plenty of pressure, seeing the 5-foot-8 gunslinger complete 15-of-26 passes for a game-best 122 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Senior RB Rocco Silofau had 14 carries for 88 yards in the loss for the Marauders while sophomore WR Ian Tutuvanu showed off a nice rapport with Garcia as he led the way with six catches for 78 yards.

Waipahu will look to bounce right back next Friday when Farrington (0-2) visits 94 block for the Marauders’ third straight clash with an Open Division squad. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. HT.

Kapolei gets an extra day off before the potential biggest test of their season as Kamehameha-Kapālama (1-1) visits the Hurricanes on Saturday, August 29 with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. HT.

Kapolei ATH Zeph Salis shakes off a Waipahu defender in a win over the Marauders. | Photo: Riley Guillermo

Kapolei WR Nikko Smith catches a touchdown pass over Waipahu’s Jayse Braun in the first quarter of the Hurricanes’ win over the Marauders. | Photo: Riley Guillermo