Sabers win slugfest vs. Warriors, 10-3
Maui High improves to 3-1 in MIL play after another near-shutout
WAILUKU — The Maui High School football team didn’t quite record its fourth shutout of the season, but the Sabers came close enough on a night when points were at a premium.
The Sabers finished a 3-1 first round of the Maui Interscholastic League season with a hard-fought 10-3 win over Kamehameha Maui on Friday night at War Memorial Stadium in front of about 3,000 fans.
“I keep on saying, we’ve got to fix a lot of stuff,” Maui High coach Aylett Wallwork said. “You know, give it to Kamehameha, they came up with a really good front, their front did really good against Lahaina and maybe we underestimated them, but they’re really good.
“Their record doesn’t reflect it, but they can play.”
The Sabers finally broke on top 3-0 on a 33-yard field goal by Sevy Sconfienza with 3:40 left in the third quarter. The kick capped a 12-play, 75-yard drive that began on the Sabers’ own 9-yard line.
The big plays on the drive were a 15-yard pass on third-and-6 from Evan Tarasenko to Piercen Evans with Tarasenko escaping big pressure. On the next play, Evans got loose for a 25-yard jaunt to the Kamehameha Maui 47-yard line.
Devontae Myrick followed that with 20- and 22-yard runs in the next few plays, the second run moving the ball to the Warriors’ 13.
After forcing a three-and-out on defense, the Sabers finally opened up some breathing room on the first play of the fourth quarter when quarterback Joe Cariaga took a quick snap and rambled 52 yards up the middle to the end zone on a fourth-and-1.
“Again, we keep on driving, start getting cute and start throwing the ball, we start using yards, we have got to be more consistent in what we do,” Wallwork said.
That pushed the lead to 10-0 and with the Maui High defense on the field, it felt like more.
The Warriors (0-3) finally got on the scoreboard with a 23-yard field goal from Makaha Pang with 2:26 to play — they went 76 yards in 20 plays and converted two fourth downs on the march that took 6:55 off the clock.
“They might have lost to King K in the first round, but they’ll be better in the second round,” Wallwork said of the Warriors.
The first half ended scoreless after both teams had several good scoring chances.
The Sabers reached the Warriors’ 13-yard line on their second possession before a fumble was recovered by Imaikalani Kramer. The Sabers again reached scoring territory early in the second quarter, but a bad snap foiled a field-goal try.
A dropped snap on a punt gave Maui High the ball on the Kamehameha Maui 45-yard line midway through the second quarter.
Two plays later, Evans fumbled and Kaonohi Casco returned it 40 yards to give the ball to the Warriors on the Maui High 30-yard line.
Two plays after that, Zye Haupu intercepted a Makana Kamaka-Brayce pass in the end zone.
Inside the final minute of the half, Maui High’s Cody Alejo intercepted a Kamaka-Brayce pass to give the Sabers the ball on the Kamehameha Maui 26, but they missed a 32-yard field-goal try with just seconds left on the first-half clock.
The Warriors had 37 total yards and three first downs in the first half, while the Sabers had 134 yards and 10 first downs.
For the game, Evans piled up 138 rushing yards on 24 carries to lead the Maui High offense that finished with 323 total yards. The Sabers limited the Warriors to 169 total yards.
“That’s a good start, right?” Kamehameha Maui coach Ulima Afoa said, referring to the fact that his team doesn’t quit. “I mean, it’s a good start. You can’t have hope if you’re not playing hard. So, that’s a good start. We just gotta do a better job of finishing the situations, not breaking down.
“We managed to hold them off a little bit better this time, but we’ve also got to start producing more points, too.”
* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com
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KS Maui 0 0 0 3– 3
Maui High 0 0 3 7–10
Third Quarter
MH–FG Sevy Sconfienza 33, 3:40.
Fourth Quarter
MH–Joe Cariaga 52 run (Sconfienza kick), 11:50.
KSM–FG Makaha Pang 23, 2:26.
Junior varsity–Kamehameha Maui 7, Maui High 6.
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MIL FOOTBALL
DIVISION I STANDINGS
W L Pct PF PA
Lahainaluna 2 0 1.000 38 24
Maui High 3 1 .750 88 20
Baldwin 0 2 .000 6 71
DIVISION II STANDINGS
W L Pct PF PA
x-King Kekaulike 2 1 .667 51 46
KS Maui 0 3 .000 33 55
x-clinched first-round championship
Friday’s Result
Maui High 10, Kamehameha Maui 3
Today’s Game
Baldwin vs. Lahainaluna at War Memorial Stadium, 7 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 16
Baldwin vs. Kamehameha Maui at War Memorial Stadium, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 17
King Kekaulike at Lahainaluna, 7 p.m.