WAIMEA — Waiakea has earned its smash mouth reputation through its bruising, ground-and-pound attack. On Saturday, the Warriors instead found salvation through the air, coming back late in the fourth quarter on a long touchdown pass from Makoa Andres to Gehrig Octavio to down Hawaii Preparatory Academy 21-19 and deny Ka Makani their first win of the season.
“At least we know we can come back and pass a little,” Waiakea head coach Moku Pita said.
Surprisingly, all of Waiakea’s scores came through the air. Andres saw limited time at quarterback but spurred the game-winning drive with long completions. He also had a 45-yard strike to fellow part-time QB Gehrig Octavio in the first half, and finished the game 5 of 7 passing for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Octavio — who received most of the snaps — was just 4 of 16 for 43 yards, but found Kingsly Kalili for a touchdown in the first half.
“Makoa has a strong arm and Gehrig is shifty, so we switch it up once and a while,” Pita said.
Moral victories are hard to come by in football, but a tight game against the Division I Warriors was exactly what the doctor ordered for Ka Makani (0-4, 0-5), who have struggled to keep scores close this season. After falling behind 14-0 at the half, Hawaii Prep reeled off 19 unanswered points before eventually allowing the winning touchdown.
“Down 14, things were looking pretty bleak. But the boys came out and battled in the second half. I couldn’t be prouder of them,” Hawaii Prep head coach Jordan Hayslip said. “Today, we grew up as a team”
Ka Makani quarterback Kekoa Ilagan-LeBlanc had his best showing of the season, completing 7 of 13 passes for 138 yards and three touchdowns. He also had three interceptions.
Hawaii Prep’s Noah Wise picked up 52 yards on the ground, and provided a boost on special teams with multiple long punt and kick returns.
The win was much needed for Waiakea (2-2), which hopes to stay in the race for one of the two Division I playoff spots. Keaau (2-2) and Kealakehe (1-3) are still very much in contention as the season slips into the second half of the schedule.
“We needed this win. We actually need all of them from here on out,” Pita said. “We are coming together, but we have a lot of kids who need to stop being selfish. Way too many personal foul penalties.”
Turnovers have plagued Ka Makani this season, and that continued early against the Warriors. Both of Waiakea’s first-half scores came off turnovers, including an interception on Hawaii Prep’s first possession of the game.
Waiakea also flipped a fumble recovery into points on a deep connection between Andres and Octavio. The duo traded roles for the score, with Octavio exploiting single coverage with his speed, and the hard-throwing Andres dropping a beautiful 45-yard pass into his arms.
Waiakea entered the break with a two score lead, but Hawaii Prep broke the shutout on a 35-yard strike from Ilagan-LeBlanc to Jevon Flippin midway through the third quarter.
The Warriors went back to business as usual, pounding away and completing a few short throws. But Ka Makani generated an opportunity when a defensive player got through the line untouched and blasted Octavio for a sack-fumble. It looked like a sure-fire scoop and score, but the ball rolled around on the grass and Hawaii Prep defenders looked at each other before Henry Madeen eventually recovered it for Ka Makani.
On the ensuing possession, Ilagan-LeBlanc let go of a deep touchdown pass on the run to freshman Michael Hughes to wrap up the third quarter, making it 14-13 after a missed PAT.
While Waiakea couldn’t seem to find it’s footing, Ilagan-LeBlanc was quickly finding his. Outside of the pocket, the junior completed a pass over the middle to Elijah Anakalea-Buckley to keep a crucial drive alive with a defender literally hanging off his leg.
Suddenly, Hawaii Prep looked like a different team, grinding out first downs and shaking off big hits. Sensing pressure, Ilagan-LeBlanc dropped back and delivered an easy pass into the flats to Sheldon Aribal, who scampered 27 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
Hawaii Prep hung onto the ball for the majority of the fourth quarter thanks to an interception by Flippin and a squib kick recovery. Ka Makani had three chances with the ball while Waiakea ran just one play.
The Warriors eventually earned another chance by forcing a punt as time ticked away in the fourth quarter. With Andres in at QB, the drive started with a 47-yard completion to Kalili. Andres then hit Sepp Steffany in the chest for a 12-yard gain, and finished the drive with a 23-yard scoring strike to a wide-open Octavio to wrestle the lead back for good.
With a shade over two minutes remaining to get into field goal range, Ka Makani moved into Waiakea territory, but saw the game end on an interception by Hunter Parks.