By Wes Nakama
Early hope turned into a downward spiral for Pac-Five on Friday night, as the Wolfpack took a 6-0 lead but then struggled through injuries as Kamehameha-Hawai’i scored 43 unanswered points to win the first round game in the First Hawaiian Bank HHSAA Division II Football Championships.
An estimated crowd of about 1,000 at Farrington’s Skippa Diaz Stadium watched freshman quarterback Kahekili Makekau complete 12 of 21 passes for 241 yards and two touchdowns and sophomore running back Dallas Enriquez add 105 yards and two more TD’s rushing to help the Warriors improve to 8-5 and advance to next week’s semifinals at Kamehameha-Maui on Nov. 22.
Pac-Five’s season ends at 3-4.
The Wolfpack made it into the red zone on their first two possessions, but had to settle for Keahi Yuen field goals of 23 and 27 yards, the second one with 5:40 remaining in the first quarter. But that would be it as far as Pac-Five scoring for the rest of the night.
Kamehameha-Hawai’i, meanwhile, got on the board with Makekau’s 34-yard touchdown pass to Chaseton Wong, and Thurston La’a’s extra point gave the Warriors the lead for good at 7-6 with 3:41 remaining in the first quarter. Enriquez then helped push the lead to 14-6 with a 3-yard TD run that capped a seven-play, 60-yard drive two minutes into the second quarter.
In the meantime, the Wolfpack lost starting quarterback Colten Amai-Nakagawa to an injured left (throwing) shoulder, starting running back Elijah Connell-Chavez to another injury and starting receiver Mission Uperesa-Thomas to an allergic reaction, among other players coming out for cramps and other ailments.
“Injuries changed the complexion of the game,” Pac-Five coach Kena Heffernan said. “It was rough seeing eight of our players, or more, going down for one reason or another. Colten had a shoulder issue, so right away he couldn’t throw the ball. He’s a key factor, he’s a very big part of this team, as well as other guys. But I appreciate a lot of first-year guys who were trying to step in, but … varsity level football is tough, being out there. But they tried their hardest. I’m proud of that aspect.”
The Wolfpack hung around until Enriquez stretched the lead with a 16-yard run to paydirt up the middle, and La’a tacked on the PAT to make it 21-6 with 3:08 left in the third quarter.
“The defense was pushing and firing off all season, so I really thank them for that,” said Enriquez, who is 5-foot-8, 225 pounds. “That (first two red zone stops) really just made us want to go out and score and get back in the game. We just had to go and push through, and we just came out and did what we needed to do.”
The Warriors broke open the game early in the fourth when Makekau connected on a medium route Wong, who darted upfield and then cut across to the right side and outran defenders all the way to the end zone, to help extend the margin to 28-6. Makekau then essentially sealed the victory with a 1-yard quarterback keeper with 8:57 remaining as Kamehameha-Hawai’i went up, 35-6.
“Our defense came up really clutch, really strong, especially in the red zone,” Warriors coach Kealoha Wengler said. “They made some nice fourth-down stops, and that really changed the momentum for us. We had a couple turnovers in the first quarter, and that’s what really hurt us, and we couldn’t establish a nice rhythm. But once we got that running game going and we got the rhythm going, then we were like, ‘Let’s just keep this going.’ “
Wong finished with five catches for 129 yards and the two touchdowns.
Heffernan said he was impressed with Kamehameha-Hawai’i in several ways.
“They have some playmakers, I’m not taking away anything from that team, they did a fantastic job,” Heffernan said. “I wish them the best of luck next week against Maui. They’ve got some really good players, their coaches are really humble, super nice. Hat’s off to them, they definitely deserved to win tonight.”
Photos: Gavin Yasunari
