WAIMEA — A trip to the Big Island was a success on and off the field for St. Margaret’s football team.
In kite-flying weather, the California-based Tartans blew by Hawaii Preparatory Academy 41-7 on Saturday behind 226 yards and two touchdowns from sophomore Koa Todd.
“It was a good matchup, and we are very humbled by all the hospitality we have received,” St. Margaret’s head coach Stephen Barbee said.
Ka Makani (0-1) didn’t have much to cheer about until late in the afternoon, when quarterback Kekoa Ilagan-LeBlanc found Noah Wise on a deep pass down the sideline and finished the drive with a 10-yard QB keeper.
Both sides had a hard time getting offense going in the first quarter, mostly because of the hammering winds. Barbee said his staff made the choice early to lean on the run, despite having senior George Krantz — who passed for 3,000-plus yards and 43 touchdowns a year ago — under center.
“Sometimes you just have to do what works,” Barbee said. “If you can’t pass the ball because the wind is moving it all over the place, you have to run the ball.”
Todd took advantage of his increased workload, doing most of his damage on two long runs that combined for 117 yards. However, the converted safety wore down the Ka Makani defense with his punishing style, picking up chunks of yardage at a time.
“He is a load — a real workhorse,” Barbee said of Todd. “He can carry it 20-25 times and usually won’t be brought down by one person.”
Ka Makani made some opportunistic plays on defense in the first half, but were stung by some untimely turnovers that St. Margaret’s turned into points, including a fumble recovery in the end zone by Nicholas Amoukhteh that opened the scoring for the Tartans.
St. Margaret’s put the game out of reach in the third quarter, with George Krantz connecting on a 31-yard touchdown strike to senior Auston Locke, and Nick Krantz and Todd each finding the end zone on the ground.
“It was a little difficult with the wind, but we did what we could,” Locke said. “We tried to get the short screen game going and obviously ran quite a bit. We really can’t complain — it’s been great, waking up in paradise and getting some practice in.”
The trip was more than a pitstop and preseason game in paradise for St. Margaret’s — an Episcopal school out of San Juan Capistrano, California. The team arrived on the island Tuesday and have kept a busy schedule during their stay. On top of a beach day and watching the junior varsity squad beat Kealakehe’s JV team 27-6 on Thursday, the Tartans found time to volunteer at local Episcopal churches in the area.
“It has been great being here, but it’s also very important for us to give back to the community hosting us,” Barbee said. “All the communities here on the island have been incredible.”
The volunteer work even provided some unique experiences for the players.
“I was cutting down trees and chipping paint off walls,” Locke said. “It was a little different than the things I’m used to doing but it was a lot of fun.”