Kapaa shuts out Kauai on homecoming night

Kapaa utility Chaz Pacleb returned three punts for 87 yards in a win over Kauai. Manuel Henriques | Special to SL

Round one goes to the gang in green.

A crowd of over 5000 was on hand to witness Kapaa blank Kauai, 29-0, in a Kauai Interscholastic Federation game at Vidinha Stadium Friday night. The Warriors, ranked No. 3 in the ScoringLive/OC16 Division II Power Rankings, improved to 2-0 in league play.

Kauai, the 2013 KIF champion and Division II runner-up, defeated the Warriors in all three meetings last year. The Red Raiders’ largest margin of victory in those contests was three.

“To start the season 2-0 and shut both teams out, that’s going to give us confidence down the stretch,” said Kapaa coach Phillip Rapozo. “It was a big win because (Kauai) just went to the state championship game and was just a couple of plays from winning it.”

A contributing factor in the Warriors’ win was field position. Kapaa had eight of its 11 drives start in Red Raider territory. Helping the Warriors win the field position battle was senior utility Chaz Pacleb with three punt returns for 87 yards. Pacleb also recorded a team-high eight tackles in the contest.

“Chaz is the one who gets the defense and special teams going. He was big that night. To me he was the most valuable player of the game,” Rapozo said on Pacleb.

Defensively Kapaa made a concerted effort to stop the Red Raiders’ run game, limiting Kauai to four net yards rushing. Kauai was averaging 133 yards per game prior to the contest.

“The game plan was to shut their run down and make them throw,” said Rapozo.

A missed conversion on 4th-and-goal at the Kauai one-yard line helped setup the Warriors’ first points of the game. Two plays after the turnover on downs, linebacker Mana Kupihea stuffed Kauai’s Damien Butac in the end zone for a safety.

The Red Raiders’ next offensive series was just as unsuccessful. Backed into a 3rd-and-25 situation, Kauai elected to quick kick it to get the Warriors off guard. However, Pacleb was able to pick up the ball at the Kapaa six-yard line and return it 34 yards to near midfield.

Pacleb’s return set up Kapaa’s first touchdown of the game on the very next play. Quarterback Rudy Agoot faked a handoff going to the left before rolling right and finding Shain Davis down the right sideline for a 59-yard touchdown. Davis, who normally plays running back and slot receiver, was out split out wide for the scoring play.

“Shain we move him all around. He is the most exciting player on our team,” Rapozo said on Davis. “We tried to take advantage of one-on-one opportunities.”

Kicker Noah LaMadrid kicked field goals from 36 and 25 yards out to give Kapaa a 15-0 halftime lead.

Kapaa scored its final scores in the third quarter on a 12-yard Agoot read-option keeper and a 24-yard touchdown reception by Davis.

Kauai linebacker Kelii Efhan had a game-high nine tackles in the loss. He also added a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

The Warriors will take on Waimea (0-2 KIF) Saturday for the last KIF night game of the season.

Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].