Kapolei has accomplished one first and will be seeking another. Chazz-Michael Kapahu rushed 23 times for 148 yards and one touchdown as the No. 5 Hurricanes beat No. 3 Mililani 21-14 in the semifinals of the OIA Open Division Tournament on Friday at Mililani.
Kapolei will be appearing in its first OIA Open final and has never won a league championship. “Mililani came back and was on the brink of beating us, but the boys just had some resolve. I credit my coaches and the players,” Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said.
Kapolei (7-4, 4-2) will play Kahuku on November 8 for the title. The Hurricanes lost to the Red Raiders 21-7 on September 13.
“We played them pretty tough at Kahuku. They’re a quality team. For us, we have to play our best game, our A-game to have a shot,” Hernandez said.
The Hurricanes also qualified for the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Open Division Championships, which start November 21.
“At Kapolei, we’ve been building this program year by year, brick by brick to try and get where we want to,” Hernandez said. “It’s not that easy. It takes a long time.”
The Trojans will play Campbell for third place and the league’s final state tournament berth.
Kapolei, which led 14-0 at halftime, scored the go-ahead touchdown on Valoia Amitoelau’s 11-yard run to make it 21-14 with 8:17 left.
“Football is not that complicated. You run the football, you stop the run,” Hernandez said.
Mililani went for it on fourth down from its 31 and threw an incomplete pass. Kapolei went three-and-out, and Mililani took over at its 30 with 4:04 remaining. On the first play, Mililani backup quarterback Dallas Carter was pressured and his deep pass down the middle was intercepted by Toa Leffler.
“Honestly, I could not have done it without the D-line,” Leffler said. “They kept the pressure up, and without the pressure I would not have had that.”
The Hurricanes faced a third-and-10 from the Trojans’ 37-yard line when Kapahu scampered 18 yards to move the chains and seal the victory.
“They [the offensive linemen] were giving me the gaps that I dream of. I was hitting the gaps that they gave me,” Kapahu said.
Kapahu patiently picked his spots to accelerate past the line of scrimmage throughout the game.
“I would say I’m a patient runner,” he said. “When I was younger I watched Le’Veon Bell a lot. That’s what I want to be.”
Mililani had a nice drive going on the opening possession of the game, but Kapolei’s Leffler intercepted a pass in the end zone.
Kapolei scored quickly on its second possession on Zeph Salis’ 27-yard run with 3:38 left in the first quarter. Genesis Stice made the PAT kick. Kapahu had a 51-yard run on the first play of the drive, with a 15-yard facemask penalty tacked on. Salis scored on the next play.
Kapolei, the No. 2 seed, went up 14-0 with 9:11 left before halftime on Kapahu’s 1-yard plunge on fourth down. He was stopped for no gain on the previous two plays. Larry McCarley made the PAT kick.
The Hurricanes gained 190 yards in the first half, with 151 coming on the ground. The Trojans had 120 yards, with 116 through the air. Kapolei’s Kapahu had 11 rushes for 119 yards before halftime.
Carter replaced Kekoa Koong at quarterback late in the third quarter, sparking Mililani, the No. 3 seed. The Trojans cut the deficit to 14-7 with 3:26 remaining in the third quarter on Jarius Borges’ 49-yard run up the middle and Pookela Tom-Makue’s PAT kick. Carter completed two passes for 24 yards on the drive.
Mililani (7-3, 4-2) tied it at 14-14 on Carter’s 12-yard fade pass to Luke VanAntwerp with 9:21 remaining in the game. The drive was extended on a fake punt executed by VanAntwerp on fourth-and-15 on the final play of the third quarter. VanAntwerp looked like he was going to attempt a rugby-style kick but instead took off and gained 16 yards to the 26. The Trojans scored five plays later.
The teams met in the regular-season finale on October 18, with host Mililani beating Kapolei 35-24.
**Final Score:**
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Total |
|———|—–|—–|—–|—–|——-|
| Kapolei | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Mililani| 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
**Scoring Summary:**
– KAP – Zeph Salis 27-yard run (Genesis Stice kick), 3:38 1Q
– KAP – Chazz-Michael Kapahu 1-yard run (Larry McCarley kick), 9:11 2Q
– MIL – Jarius Borges 49-yard run (Pookela Tom-Makue kick), 3:26 3Q
– MIL – Luke VanAntwerp 12-yard pass from Dallas Carter (Tom-Makue kick), 9:21 4Q
– KAP – Valoia Amitoelau 11-yard run (McCarley kick), 8:17 4Q
**Rushing Stats:**
– Kapolei: Kapahu 23-148, Amitoelau 6-53, Salis 3-21, Team 1-(minus 4), Jacob Ballesteros 2-(minus 17)
– Mililani: Borges 12-71, VanAntwerp 1-16, Carter 2-12, Noah Talon 1-0, Koong 3-(minus 9)
**Passing Stats:**
– Kapolei: Ballesteros 9-15-0-96
– Mililani: Koong 10-15-2-135, Carter 4-11-1-44
Kapolei’s effort and determination have earned them a historic place in the finals, and all eyes will be on the Hurricanes as they aim to capture their first OIA Open Division championship.
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