Weekend Games Critical To West Oahu Football Playoffs
As prep football reaches the midway point this weekend, every game is critical to shaping the playoff picture. A look at this week’s games for Aiea, Campbell, Pearl City, Kapolei and Waipahu is below.
Anuenue at Pearl City, 6 p.m. Friday
The Chargers should be on upset alert this weekend, as it could be the perfect trap game. After a critical game with Kaimuki last weekend, Pearl City will want to avoid a letdown.
A bye week follows, allowing extra time to prepare for their much-anticipated Radford game Sept. 19.
Pearl City has posted workmanlike wins to date over both Roosevelt (34-6) and Waialua (34-7), and quarterback Jordan Taamu is completing 68 percent of his passes, while throwing for four scores.
Kailua at Campbell, 8 p.m. Friday
A team’s ability to run the ball on offense and stop the run game, defensively, is invariably a sure sign of a championship-level team. That’s good news for a Saber team that has done those two things better than perhaps any team in the state.
Two weeks into the season, Campbell’s defense is yielding just 57 yards per game on the ground. Conversely, it’s averaging 322 yards per game on the ground.
The Kailua defense, meanwhile, is giving up better than 500 yards per game and will need an improved effort to contain the Sabers.
Waipahu at Kaiser, 8 p.m. Friday
The Marauders are still looking to get untracked after low numbers undermined their momentum in fall camp, eventually forcing Waipahu to forfeit by half-time its first game with Farrington. It followed up with a pair of tough ones against Windward foes Kahuku and Castle.
Like Waipahu, Kaiser also has struggled early, losing to Mililani and Leilehua by a combined score of 99-14 in weeks one and two.
Aiea versus Farrington, 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Roosevelt
With three of its last four games at home, the Aiea schedule looks favorable on the back end. The outcome of this week’s contest against Farrington could figure big if Na Ali’i wins.
As in past years, Farrington has thrived with its ball-controlling run-game to date, so the key matchup here will be how well the Aiea front seven can get off blocks against the physical and agile Governor offensive line.
Kapolei at Moanalua, 8 p.m. Saturday
Is there any doubt that Kapolei has the best 0-2 team in the state?
Indeed, the Hurricanes were only a few plays away from a much better fate than the first two weeks when they lost on the road to Kahuku and against Farrington. Things hardly lightened last weekend with defending OIA Red champion Mililani. For the Hurricane faithful, this might be the most intriguing game of the month.
Moanalua first-year head coach Jason Cauley was Kapolei’s offensive coordinator in 2012 and 2013, and he should have a handle on Kapolei’s personnel. Na Menehune’s first priority will be to contain Kapolei quarterback Alton Julius, who threw for three touchdowns in week two versus Farrington.
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