The second time was tougher. The second time was sweeter.
Defending champion Kamehameha-Maui had a rough start but turned the tide in the second quarter en route to a decisive 48-24 win over Waimea in the Division II final of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships on Friday night at John Kauinana Stadium.
Zedekiah Campbell and Xander Pagan provided the 1-2 punch for the Warriors (11-1) and their potent rushing attack. Campbell finished with 146 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, and also caught a 38-yard TD. Pagan added 59 yards and two TDs on six attempts as KS-Maui wore down Waimea in the trenches. KS-Maui rushed for 196 yards after accumulating negative yardage — minus-1 on four carries — in the opening quarter.
“I told the kids, you’ve got to continue to play through this. There are no easy wins,” KS-Maui coach Ulima Afoa said. “It’s more satisfying when you can overcome some of these things in a game. That’s what they did. We got on a roll.”
KS-Maui began the season without its top two returning running backs. One sat out the year with an injury, while Campbell sat out the opener by coach’s decision.
“Every team goes through it in a 12-game season. We just had to be next man up, be ready to perform as well as the starter,” Afoa said. “To me, my hat’s off to Zeddie. He accepted the discipline. He’s a good kid. We have good kids.”
Enjoying an elite offensive line, Campbell finished the year with 1,015 yards and 11 TDs on the ground.
“Our three senior (offensive) linemen and the other two are really good. We had Pau (Spencer) at right tackle, Keanu Reyes at right guard, Jeremiah Kea at center, and then Isaiah Lani, left guard, and (Kekauakuewa) Soo at (left) tackle,” Campbell said.
Waimea has a surplus of young talent. Many of its skill players, including quarterback Kolby Correa, are sophomores and juniors. Four Waimea turnovers, including three fumbles, made a major difference.
“Losses aren’t great. We have a lot to learn from this one,” Waimea coach Kyle Linoz said. “We’re a little bit ahead of schedule with this group. We shot ourselves in the foot a lot. KS-Maui is an awesome team, a great team. It doesn’t matter what grade you are, you can’t give up the ball like that.”
The repeat run to the crown could have been a three-peat, but Waimea denied KS-Maui in 2023. Waimea edged Roosevelt in the state semifinal round 13-10, then met KS-Maui for the title and won 31-28.
“I played in that (2023) game,” said Campbell, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior. “My role got bigger after that. Honestly, playing Waimea had a solid influence on my mentality going into this game. I’m here to beat Waimea. Waimea kind of scarred me, my sophomore year, because I was super close to that 2024 (senior) class.”
KS-Maui’s defense was relentless, limiting Waimea’s run-heavy attack to 70 rushing yards on 29 attempts. Kolt Kahoohanohano had a team-high nine tackles and added an interception. He had a helmet-to-helmet infraction in the first half that led to a Waimea touchdown, but like his defensive unit, never gave up pursuit.
“It was definitely rough at first, but we stuck with each other and our coaches’ game plan, and we turned it up in the second half and finished it,” said Kahoohanohano, a 5-10, 160-pound defensive back. “It’s definitely surreal. The first (title) was crazy, but coming back to defend our title is definitely harder than last year. Waimea is definitely a good team.”
After limiting KS-Maui to a three-and-out on the opening series, Waimea drove 65 yards in eight plays to pay dirt. The Menehune ran on every play before quarterback Kolby Correa threw a play-action pass to Nash Schaefer in the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown.
KS-Maui’s Frank Abreu blocked the PAT, and it was 6-0 with 5:56 left in the first quarter.
Waimea got a big break moments later when Chance Gomes recovered a fumble by Campbell at the Warriors’ 31-yard line. However, Waimea RB Kaikea Miyashiro fumbled in a massive scrum and KS-Maui regained possession at its 28-yard line. Miyashiro limped off the field with a leg injury.
One series later, Waimea fumbled again. Correa and his RB botched the exchange, and Keanu Lanoza recovered for the Warriors at the Waimea 39-yard line.
This time, the Warriors capitalized. Three plays later, Kekoa Keau-Davis found Campbell on a third-and-7 screen pass, and Campbell cut back from the left to right, going untouched for a 36-yard TD. The PAT missed and it was 6-all with 1:36 to go in the opening quarter.
After limiting KS-Maui to minus-1 yard on four carries in the first quarter, the second quarter was a different tale. The Warriors ran for 41 yards on four carries during their next drive, mixing the run and pass. Xander Pagan hit the inside hole, then bounced out of traffic to the outside for a 9-yard TD. That capped an eight-play, 80-yard drive — assisted by a roughing-the-passer flag — and gave KS-Maui its first lead, 13-6, with 9:20 left in the first half.
All of Waimea’s diminishing momentum turned around with one play. On third and 7, Miyashiro ran for a 1-yard gain, but Kahoohanohano was flagged for helmet-to-helmet contact. On the next snap, Correa launched a 52-yard bomb to Schaefer on a deep post route, bringing Waimea within 13-12 with 5:08 to go in the first half.
The extra-point kick caromed off the left upright and was no good.
Again, momentum changed hands quickly. Pagan returned the ensuing kickoff 91 yards to the end zone, giving KS-Maui a 20-12 margin with 4:56 before intermission.
KS-Maui opened the second half with a defensive stop of Waimea, but on its second offensive snap, a double-reverse lateral was fumbled away. Keanu Kua recovered for the Menehune at the KS-Maui 6-yard line.
On third and goal, Correa threaded the needle with a slant pass to Kaulana Makua for an 8-yard TD. The 2-point pass attempt fell incomplete, but Waimea was within 20-18 with 8:46 left in the third quarter.
KS-Maui was in the midst of another productive drive when Keau-Davis left the game with an injury after pitching the ball to Campbell for a 27-yard gain on a triple option. Keau-Davis returned two plays later. The Warriors drove to the 1-yard line, moved backward on a holding penalty, but Keau-Davis found Loea Asuega-Stark on a 7-yard TD pass.
The Warriors led 27-18 with 4:09 to go in the third stanza.
After kicker Kayden Yap recovered a fumble by Waimea’s Kali Thundah on the return, KS-Maui drove 42 yards in just four plays. Pagan scored on a 9-yard TD run to open KS-Maui’s lead to 34-18 with 3:33 left in the third quarter.
KS-Maui kept the pressure on, adding Campbell’s two rushing TDs of 27 and 16 yards. The second TD run opened the lead to 48-18 with 1:48 remaining.
Waimea tacked on its last TD on a 38-yard TD pass from Correa to Kalawaia Martins.
Source: The Garden Island