KEALAKEKUA — On a day that featured 1,003 yards of offense and 15 touchdowns, John Kamoku was the difference for a Konawaena football team that barely held off Hawaii Prep Friday at Julian Yates Field.
With the Wildcats trailing 28-21, Kamoku scored three consecutive rushing touchdowns, finishing with 200 yards on the ground as Konawaena beat HPA 56-49 in the highest-scoring game in Big Island Interscholastic Federation history.
Kamoku had plenty of help, with junior quarterback Lii Karratti completing 16 of 29 passes for 344 yards and three touchdowns, and senior wide receiver Domonic Morris catching seven passes for 148 yards and two scores for the Wildcats (8-1 BIIF Division II, 8-4 overall), who celebrated their Senior Night.
While addressing the crowd at Yates Field, Wildcats coach Cliff Walters commended HPA (5-4, 5-6) for helping prepare Konawaena for next Saturday’s game at Kamehameha-Hawaii, where Walters said his team “would win a BIIF title.’’
HPA trailed 49-28 after Karratti connected with Morris for a 25-yard touchdown pass with 5 minutes, 45 seconds remaining before a furious HPA rally fell short.
Earlier, Ka Makani took a 28-21 lead on the first of two junior Blake Hooser’s kickoff returns for touchdowns — a 90-yard jaunt down the right sideline — with 9:51 left in the third quarter.
Then Kamoku took over.
He promptly tied the contest on a pitch to the right where he cut back to his left and sprinted down the right sideline for a 68-yard touchdown run.
Then Kamoku capped a 10-play, 86-yard drive that carried over into the fourth quarter, taking a snap at quarterback out of the shotgun, finding a hole on the left side of the line and scoring on a 36-yard touchdown run for a 35-28 lead.
Dishon Cho, who later scored a touchdown on a dynamic 66-yard catch-and-run, set up Kamoku’s third touchdown with a 32-yard punt return. A late-hit penalty called on HPA gave the Wildcats the ball on Ka Makani’s 27-yard line, where after an incomplete pass Kamoku leaped high over a defender near the 20 before finding the end zone for a 42-28 advantage.
Konawaena seemingly had the game in control on Morris’ second TD reception, but HPA made things interesting at the end.
After Hooser’s second kickoff return for a touchdown pulled HPA within 56-42, Ka Makani’s Nicolas Palleschi recovered an onside kick.
HPA responded with a seven-play 47-yard drive Palleschi capped with an 8-yard touchdown reception that made it 56-49 with 1:30 left.
However, Kamoku then sealed the game for Konawaena, first recovering HPA’s ensuing onside kick before picking up a first down with a 19-yard run with 29 seconds remaining that allowed the Wildcats to run out the clock.
Konawaena trailed 14-0 in the first quarter, but the Wildcats cut the lead in half on one play.
Karratti threw a bomb down the right sideline to Morris, who caught the ball at the HPA 40 before outrunning his defender to the end zone for a 66-yard touchdown.
Then after forcing an HPA punt, Kenan Gaspar hauled in a 51-yard pass from Karratti, and Konawaena tied the contest five plays later on Bubba Ellis-Noa’s 2-yard scoring run.
Ka Makani’s Bobby Lum, who finished with 220 rushing yards on 31 carries, gained many of his yards after contact, shedding several tackles behind the line of scrimmage for positive gains.
The junior first set up Koa Ellis’ 27-yard touchdown run with a 45-yard gain, then capped a 15-play, 93-yard drive with a 30-yard touchdown on a dump pass from a scrambling Ellis for its 14-0 lead with 10:27 left in the first half.
Ellis finished 10-of-21 for 149 yards passing, and Mike Nakahara caught three passes for 55 yards and a touchdown.
HPA 7 14 7 21 — 49
Konawaena 0 14 14 28 — 56
First quarter
HPA — Koa Ellis 27 run (Dylan Ryan kick), 10:56
Second quarter
HPA — Bobby Lum 32 pass from Ellis (Ryan kick), 10:27
Kon — Domonic Morris 66 pass from Lii Karratti (John Reglogle kick), 10:06
Kon — Bubba Ellis-Noa 2 run (Replogle kick), 2:13
HPA — Mike Nakahara 17 pass from Ellis (Ryan kick), 0:17
Third quarter
Kon — Ellis-Noa 1 run (Replogle kick), 10:05
HPA — Blake Hooser 90 kickoff return (Ryan kick), 9:51
Kon — John Kamoku 68 run (Replogle kick), 9:29
Fourth quarter
Kon — Kamoku 36 run (Replogle kick), 11:52
Kon — Kamoku 27 run (Replogle kick), 7:28
Kon — Morris 25 pass from Karratti (Replogle kick), 5:45
HPA — Lum 7 run (Ryan kick), 3:03
Kon — Dishon Cho 60 pass from Karratti (Replogle kick), 2:48
HPA — Hooser 89 kickoff return (Ryan kick), 2:33
HPA — Nicolas Palleschi 8 pass from Ellis (Ryan kick), 1:30
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