Lahainaluna High School’s Kuola Watson tackles Kapaa’s Waikahekili Makepa during the first quarter of the Lunas’ 29-28 loss to the Warriors in a Division I state tournament first-round game Saturday night at Sue Cooley Stadium. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos
Kaulana Tihada knew he couldn’t rest after his 19-yard touchdown run put his Lahainaluna High School football team ahead late in the fourth quarter.
“I definitely felt excited but I knew that the game wasn’t over and we still had another minute, two minutes. So we still had our job to do,” Tihada said.
Fighting to hang on to their one-score lead, the Lunas gave up a deep touchdown pass and the go-ahead two-point conversion that sealed Kapaa’s 29-28 win in the first round of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Division I state tournament on Saturday night at Sue Cooley Stadium, a heartbreaking finale to a season that almost didn’t happen because of the Aug. 8 wildfires.
“Tonight’s game was a perfect example of what they endured,” Lunas co-head coach Dean Rickard said. “They faced adversity all season long overcoming the disaster, the tragedy, personal crisis and whatnot, but at the same time it didn’t stop them from trying to accomplish their goals of getting back to the state tournament. We did that and what we’re very proud of was that they fought to the very end.”
Down by one point with less than a minute to go, Lahainaluna drove from their own 27 to Kapaa’s 17-yard line, boosted by two pass interference penalties. With 8.5 seconds left on the clock, quarterback Lyrik Kahula took the snap out of the shotgun and found Tihada, who snagged a one-handed catch in the middle of the field and battled to break loose from the tackle. In the scrum, Lahainaluna couldn’t get back to the line fast enough, time expired and the Warriors’ bench poured onto the field in celebration.
Lahainaluna’s Kaulana Tihada carries the ball in the third
“I’m sure a lot of our fans are probably asking, why didn’t we just go for the field goal?” Rickard said. “But the thing is, we had eight seconds left thanks to two penalties. … We figured, OK, we take a shot for the end zone, and we kind of reminded our offense that eh, just give us some time, just give us some protection, because if our receivers don’t get open, then we’re not going to take the shot. We’re just gonna throw it out of bounds or throw it out of the end zone.”
But, Rickard said, “in the heat of the moment, the craziness of the game,” the Lunas went for the clock-draining short pass down the middle to Tihada.
“But again, this is a testament to our team. … Kaulana fought to get into that end zone because he knew we had no timeouts. He knew that we wouldn’t have enough time to down the ball to get the field goal unit in. And he fought hard. … Our quarterback Lyrik, we told him, eh, it’s not your fault. That’s how the game is played. And unfortunately we just came out on the losing end tonight.”
In a 5-0 Maui Interscholastic League season of mostly blowout scores, the Lunas only attempted one field goal, a 22-yarder that was blocked in a 28-7 win over Baldwin on Oct. 21.
On Saturday night, it was Lahainaluna’s ground game that shone once more, with nine ball carriers amassing 334 yards. Seniors Tihada and Kuola Watson scored two rushing touchdowns apiece and combined for 220 yards on 31 carries.
Lahainaluna’s James Lukela-Kobatake dives over teammate Simone Olakautu on a second-quarter run Saturday.
“The linemen were opening big enough gaps to where we could just squeeze through them,” Watson said. “Sometimes the gaps would be huge. No need even cut, just run straight. Shoutout to all the linemen. They worked really hard these past two weeks.”
Kapaa brought their own bruising ground game led by quarterback Kapono Na-O, who carried the ball 24 times for 159 yards and three touchdowns. The Warriors drew first blood when Na-O ran for a 42-yard touchdown with 7:22 left in the first quarter.
Up 7-0, they drove into Lunas territory again, but a key defensive stop that included Mauaalina Montgomery batting down Na-O’s pass gave Lahainaluna the ball early in the second quarter. Facing fourth down near midfield, Watson was poised to punt for the Lunas when he took the snap, saw the line shift right and scrambled up the left side for a crucial first down.
“It was supposed to be a punt but I saw open field so I ran,” Watson said. “We needed the first down to stay in the game, so I had to get it.”
Six plays later, Tihada plunged into the end zone for the tying score, capping an eight-minute drive that swung momentum Lahainaluna’s way. When Kapaa’s errant fourth-down snap on the next drive gave the Lunas the ball on the Warriors’ 19, Watson burst into the end zone untouched on Lahainaluna’s second play to put them up 14-7 with 1:48 left in the half.
The Lunas’ Kuola Watson carries the ball in the second quarter Saturday.
Lahainaluna’s defense came up big again in the third quarter, recovering Kapaa’s fumble on the goal line with the game tied at 14-14. The Lunas mounted a 99-yard, eight-minute drive that ended in a 7-yard touchdown run by Watson to retake the lead 21-14 to start the fourth quarter.
Tied at 21-21 after Na-O’s third rushing touchdown, Kahula faked a handoff to James Lukela-Kobatake and slipped it to the speedy Tihada, who followed his blockers through the defense and into the end zone to give the Lunas the 28-21 lead with 1:30 left in the game.
With 46 seconds on the clock, Na-O hit Evan Daligdig for a 48-yard touchdown pass in double coverage and the Warriors went for two.
“We’re in it to win it,” Warriors head coach Mike Tresler said when asked about the call.
“We practice our big set all the time,” he added. “We have full confidence in them and everybody wanted to go for it. It wasn’t my decision. Everybody said, we’re going for it.”
Lahainaluna’s Kaulana Tihada is slowed by Kapaa’s Masias Merseburgh in the fourth quarter Saturday.
Na-O shoved his way into the end zone for the one-point lead, and Lahainaluna came up short on their final drive.
“It’s a tough one, cause sometimes when you lose the way we lost tonight, sometimes it’s hard to swallow,” Rickard said. “But at the same time we told the kids, there’s nothing to hang your head about because all we ever ask is that you guys give everything you got and they gave everything they had tonight.”
Three months ago, the Lunas weren’t even sure they’d have a season. The wildfire that destroyed most of the town, including the homes of half the coaching staff and more than half the team, delayed the start of the school year and forced Lahainaluna to share a campus with Kulanihako’i High School in Kihei.
“After that fire we didn’t know what was going to happen,” said Tihada, whose family lost their home. “We didn’t even know if we were going to have school. So once we heard that we got a season, we were very grateful and excited because we worked so hard in the offseason and we didn’t want to let that all go to waste.”
Tihada, who is the son of assistant coach Joey Tihada and hopes to keep playing in college, said he’s been on Lahainaluna’s field since he was a ball boy at age 8.
“Man, it’s definitely tough knowing that this is your last year playing over here, playing for all these people,” he said. “It’s been a great journey all the way through. Very grateful for that.”
Watson, the son and grandson of Lahainaluna coaches who has his sights set on a college scholarship for football and weightlifting, said the Lunas’ program is “kind of my life.”
“That’s what I dream of, I dream of coming back and coaching and taking on the legacy,” he said. “Hopefully I can convince Kaulana and Kahi (Magno) to come. Maybe, maybe. This has been my whole life since I could remember.”
* Colleen Uechi can be reached at cuechi@mauinews.com.
Kapaa77015–29
Lahainaluna014014–28
First Quarter
KAP–Kapono Na-O 42 run (Kamalei Gonsalves kick), 7:22.
Second Quarter
LAH–Kaulana Tihada 1 run (Joseph Arcangel kick), 4:12.
LAH–Kuola Watson 15 run (Arcangel kick), 1:48.
KAP–Na-O 1 run (Gonsalves kick), 0:14.
Fourth Quarter
LAH–Watson 7 run (Arcangel kick), 11:51.
KAP–Na-O 3 run (Gonsalves kick), 5:57.
LAH–Tihada 19 run (Arcangel kick), 1:30.
KAP–Evan Daligdig 48 pass from Na-O (Na-O run), 0:46.
KAPLAH
Rushes-yards47-24550-334
Passing yards9522
Total offense340356
Return yards8263
Comp-Att-Int3-5-03-7-0
RUSHING–Kapaa, Na-O 24-159, Waikahekili Makepa 18-99, Kamalei Dasalia-Mundon 3-7, Gonsalves 1-1, Team 1-(-21); Lahainaluna, Tihada 22-124, Watson 9-96, James Lukela-Kobatake 6-49, Lyrik Kahula 4-31, Enoka Balinbin 2-15, Ikaika Cabrera 1-13, Michael Rayray 2-8, Hoken Hironaka 1-3, Thomas Borges 3-(-5).
PASSING–Kapaa, Na-O 3-5-0-95; Lahainaluna, Kahula 3-6-0-22, Team 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING–Kapaa, Daligdig 2-65, Gonsalves 1-30; Lahainaluna, Kaimiloa Kaina-Allen 1-8, Tihada 1-8, Cabrera 1-6.
*****
FOOTBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
DIVISION I
Saturday’s Results • First Round
Farrington 48, No. 3 Damien 26
No. 5 Kapaa 29, No. 4 Lahainaluna 28
Saturday, Nov. 18 • Semifinals
Farrington at No. 2 Waipahu, 7 p.m.
Kapaa at No. 1 Konawaena, 7 p.m.
DIVISION II
Friday’s Results • First Round
No. 3 Pac-Five 32, Kaimuki 7
No. 4 Roosevelt 19, No. 5 Kamehameha Hawaii 14
Saturday, Nov. 18 • Semifinals
No. 1 Waimea vs. Roosevelt at Hanapepe Stadium, 1 p.m.
Pac-Five at No. 2 Kamehameha Maui, 6 p.m.
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