Waimea DB Kaili Arakaki defends a pass intended for Kaiser WR Donovan Reis. Brien Ing | SL

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Waimea LB Linebacker Rhaziah Tacub-Taniguchi pressures Kaiser QB Easton Yoshino. Brien Ing | SL

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When the state tournament bracket was released, Waimea coach Kyle Linoz knew his team would have a tall task against a Kaiser football team that featured four-year varsity quarterback Easton Yoshino.

So when the Menehune came away with a 48-7 win over the Cougars in the opening round of the First Hawaiian Bank Division II Football State Championships last Saturday at Hanapepe Stadium, Linoz admitted that he was surprised by the final score.

"We didn't think it would be like this either," he said. "We knew how prolific their passing game is. They're an exceptionally good team."

It was the most dominant win by a KIF team over a visiting OIA team in the state tournament. After Saturday's result, the KIF improved to 12-2 all-time when they host an OIA team in the postseason.

"Just home cooking I guess, got to sleep on our own beds," Linoz said.

Regardless, the Waimea defense still put in work against the Cougars.

"We kind of crossed our fingers, played man coverage and even though Mr. Yoshino is one of the best quarterbacks in the entire state, we just depended on our line, rode them and hoped to get into his face as much as we could," said Linoz.

The defensive game plan was in full effect on Kaiser's opening drive. An apparent completion on the Cougars' first play from scrimmage was broken up by corner back Josiah Banasihan at the last second. Linebacker Rhaziah Tacub-Taniguchi was also able to break through the line on third down and rushed Yoshino into a throw to force a three-and-out.

Waimea LB Linebacker Rhaziah Tacub-Taniguchi pressures Kaiser QB Easton Yoshino. Brien Ing | SL    Purchase image

On the Cougars' second series, Waimea limited Kaiser to a pair of 4-yard completions that sandwiched a 1-yard run. A false start on fourth down derailed a potential opportunity and Kaiser was forced to punt. The Menehune scored after the change of possession and Kaiser saw itself down 14-0 early in the second quarter.

"All week we were on them," Linoz said of the defense. "The challenge was to play tough against not only (Yoshino), but their entire fleet of receivers are exceptional because of their quarterback. He's outstanding. No sleep for us this whole week. We were shaking in our boots with us guys, but thankfully we got pressure and things went our way."

Yoshino was limited and was wearing a leg brace after getting injured in the OIA championship game against Nanakuli, but that did not affect the outcome as much with all the pressure Waimea sent his way.

Linoz added that his team showed blitz more often than not against the Kaiser offense.

"We kind of showed that we were coming full house, but we would drop out of it because we're not that crazy," Linoz said with a chuckle. "We're just happy with the results. They're an exceptionally good team, we got lucky today."

The Cougars did get something going on their following possession however. Yoshino spread the ball around with completions to Jesse Shingawa, Keagan Lime and Makana Naleieha before he fired a deep ball down the right sideline to Donovan Reis, who plucked the pass out of the sky for a 47-yard catch-and-run. Reis caught a 3-yard scoring pass on the next play to cut Waimea's lead in half.

Kaiser looked poised to score on its next drive, but a screen pass to running back Kai Blackton was sniffed out for a 2-yard loss and a high snap resulted in a 25-yard loss on third down.

Waimea took a 21-7 lead into the locker room at the half, but it quickly grew after the break when Kenny Okeigar picked off a Yoshino pass in the left seam and took it back for a 58-yard pick-six to make it 28-7.

Tacub-Taniguchi had the lone sack against Kaiser in the contest, which came on a first down play after the Cougars drove to the Waimea 36. Kaiser ultimately turned it over on downs on the possession with back-to-back incompletions on third and fourth down. The Menehune would go on to score after the change of possession to go up 35-7.

Kody Erdmann also came down with a third quarter interception after he caught a Yoshino pass that was batted at the line. Waimea recycled the turnover into a 3-yard touchdown run by Robbie Correa that enabled the running clock with 1:51 remaining in the third quarter.

Yoshino finished the game completing 22 of 38 passes for 250 yards in the loss. Naleieha was also held to a season-low 31 yards as Kaiser was held to its lowest scoring output in two years.

The Menehune will look to continue their winning ways when they travel to Honokaa Saturday in a 7 p.m. semifinal.

State tournament results when a KIF team hosts an OIA team
1999 Waimea def. Kailua, 20-18
2001 Waimea def. Castle, 41-20
2002 Waimea def. Kailua, 24-21
2006 Kauai def. Waipahu, 17-6
2007 Kauai def. Roosevelt, 40-9
2008 Radford def. Kauai, 17-7
2010 Kauai def. Kalaheo, 17-13
2011 Kapaa def. Pearl City, 7-0
2012 Radford def. Kauai, 22-21
2013 Kauai def. Pearl City, 13-7
2014 Kapaa def. Pearl City, 30-22
2018 Kapaa def. Kaimuki, 20-12
2019 Kapaa def. Kaimuki, 35-28
2022 Waimea def. Kaiser, 48-7