KEAAU — It was only apropos that the treacherous first half ended with a bad snap. The ball slipped and slid backward for large loss on the slick Paiea Stadium turf, representing the ninth fumble of the game.
That turned out to be a conservative 24 minutes because there were 10 more fumbles in the second half.
The thunderstorms may have held off Friday night, but the rain did not.
Kealakehe won’t complain. The Waveriders may have gotten their mojo back on a miserable night for BIIF football in East Hawaii.
Anthony “Head” Trevino kicked a field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter, and that was it for points. Turnovers, defense and foul weather ruled the way, and Kealakehe held on for a 3-0 victory, its first of the season.
The Warriors (2-1 BIIF Division I) suffered their first loss. After taking advantage of 10 Honokaa turnovers in victory last week, Kamehameha lost six fumbles.
The Waveriders (1-2 BIIF Division I) got the game’s only points when their defense recovered a fumble at the Warriors’ 14. Kealakehe only had to move the ball 6 yards on the drive, and the real drama was whether or not the snap and hold would be clean. They were.
Kealakehe lined up for a field goal in the third quarter, but Trevino never got the kick off because of a bad exchange.
Kealakehe, which turned the ball over five times, won despite failing to gain 50 yards.
The Waveriders defense held the Warriors to only 118 yards.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Kamehameha’s offense appeared to have a chance when it took over at the Kealakehe 13 after a fumble recovery, but the Warriors promptly fumbled on the next play.
The Warriors got some offense going on a drive late in the fourth quarter in which backup quarterback Kekona Naipo-Arsiga found rhythm and threw completions in the flats.
Bryce Furuli’s run on fourth down set up Kamehameha inside the Kealakehe 5, but a false start moved the Warriors back and Ismail Souza’s sack dropped Naipo-Arsiga for an 11-yard loss.
Justin Kenoi’s field goal was low.
The play of the game may have been Trevino’s 75-yard punt to pin Kamehameha on the 20 for its final drive.
As far as the ball moving forward, the play of the first half was Makoa Manoa’s 56-yard punt. In a statistical oddity, Manoa saved his team three turnovers, recovering three fumbles.