Spencer Honda | ScoringLive
November 26, 2017, 10:05am
JPS brings senior game back to Oahu
Players from both Freedom Select and Liberty Select, with their mix and match helmet decals, converge on the ball following a kick return that was already blown dead. CJ Caraang | SLMILILANI — A week after three Hawaii high school football state champions were crowned to end the 2017 season, more than 150 senior student-athletes flocked to central Oahu for the inaugural Jr Prep Sports Senior Classic at Mililani High School.
Playing under modified rules with nine-minute quarters, the doubleheader featured a "Division II" game between teams Liberty Select and Freedom Select followed by a "Division I" showdown between Liberty Open and Freedom Open.
Liberty Select — coached by Pearl City coach Robin Kami — came out victorious in the first game, 26-23, while Freedom Open — coached by Castle coach John Hao — won the nightcap, 25-7.
For many players, the game was the close to their football careers with one final time to strap up in front of friends and family. For others, it was a last chance opportunity to garner more game film to send to college coaches in hopes of landing an offer.
But at its root, the game was a reward for the on-field performance of many outstanding players with a chance to have fun one more time playing — and swapping helmet decals — with their fellow seniors.
"I got about 16 new brothers added to my family and I just wanted to play my heart out for them," quarterback Braden Amorozo said, who along with nine Waipahu teammates were on Freedom Select, also being coached by Marauders coach Bryson Carvalho.
Freedom Select got on the scoreboard midway through the second quarter with a scoring strike from Amorozo to Isaac Yamashita — something the two had done seven times in their varsity careers.
He also connected with another blue and gold teammate late in the game, hitting Alika Ahsing for a 2-point PAT conversion.
Amorozo said he has drawn interest from several NAIA and NCAA Division III schools such as the University of Puget Sound, George Fox University and University of Redlands among others.
