Ezra Savea was waiting a long time for this one.

It was worth the wait.

The Kapolei junior quarterback showed the promise that had head coach Darren Hernandez raving about him over the summer in the Hurricanes' 49-28 season-opening win over visiting Kaiser Friday night. Savea threw for 185 yards with two touchdowns and rushed for two other scores in a solid performance.

Savea played at Kapolei as a freshman, transferred to Campbell for his sophomore season before finally returning to the ‘Canes during the offseason. He played all of the first half Friday, but saw limited time after halftime as backup signal-caller Taulia Tagovailoa went in for the third quarter. Savea returned to the game in the fourth quarter, but Hernandez said it was only to get him some more work.

"We just wanted to see how he would respond to (Kaiser) coming back," Hernandez said. "Both guys did what we asked them to do."

Savea guided the Kapolei offense on a 68-yard, 10-play drive to open the game. He completed all three of his passes on the drive, which was capped by his 9-yard option-keeper around right end. He connected on his first four pass attempts. Savea was intercepted by Kaiser's Keoua Mahiko a few minutes into the second quarter, but bounced back to complete his final seven throws.

A few drives later, the Hurricanes had a would-be 63-yard TD pass from Savea to Jaymin Sarono called back due to a block in the back, but found the end zone nonetheless just four plays later on Savea's 19-yard TD pass to Ty-Noah Williams.

Williams, a senior receiver, finished with game-highs of seven grabs for 114 yards and three touchdowns. He said that he and Savea have developed a connection over the summer.

"I think during pass league we just established a bond that if he throws it in my area, he's just got to trust me to get the ball," Williams said. "All the glory goes to God and I thank Him that he gave me this blessed talent and work ethic, so put those two together and I just want to thank Him for everything and I just thank Ezra for throwing me the ball and just trusting me."

Kaiser fumbled on the ensuing kickoff and Kapolei recycled the turnover into another Savea-to-Williams TD pass, this one going for 39 yards.

"We go through this during practices over the week. We just have the trust," Savea said of Williams. "I have trust in all my receivers, but this is one guy that I have trust in him, because he's mobile and he plays competitive and he's a strong guy."

Savea, who struggled to complete just 54.7 percent of his passes in 2014, made good decisions Friday night. He showed poise in the pocket, good downfield vision and flashed his mobility when he needed to.

Late in the game, he scampered down the right sideline for a 38-yard TD run to close out the scoring.

In all, the Hurricanes racked up 348 passing yards and 479 yards of total offense. They averaged 5.7 yards per rush with six different ball carries just eight days after starting running back Josh Kansana went down with a knee injury in a scrimmage against Saint Louis.

"With the loss of our starting running back, Josh Kansana, it pushed everyone on the offense to push harder and to work harder, because he's a big, versatile player," Williams said. "The offensive skills, we just had to work harder, because Ezra is the leader of the team for our offensive side and without Josh helping him, we've just got to help him even more, so that's how we just adjusted to their defense."

Hernandez said his team did a respectable job offensively without Kansana, a sophomore and star of the JV team last year.

"It's tough to lose a Josh Kansana, because that guy is so incredible, but we've got to pick up the pieces and I think tonight we did," Hernandez said.

L.J. Esperas, who was also banged up coming into the game, added 41 rushing yards on four carries, all in the second half.

"Offensively, L.J., when he came in in the second half, he looked strong as a bull, so I was happy about that," Hernandez said.

Kapolei, which hosts perennial-powerhouse Kahuku next Saturday, was without about 15 players for the non-league game, including wide receivers Alika Bantolina, Xhavier Mason, defensive lineman Punahou Mahelona and linebacker Lorenzen Panapa.

As for the quarterback position, Hernandez said nothing is set in stone yet.

"We lean to whoever is doing well and if both guys are doing well, both guys are going to play," Hernandez said. "If one guy is struggling and the other guy is playing well, then that guy is going to play. Ezra is the starter and Taulia is the backup as of right now and that's the way we're going to go into it. I thought both guys showed some really good stuff and I think it's a good problem to have."

Despite the prolific performance, Savea knows there is still much work to be done.

"This feels awesome, but we're never satisfied," Savea said. "We've got to get ready for Kahuku, which is a bigger team, so we've got to bring a stronger mindset and just keep pushing throughout the week and we'll see what God has in store for us."