Football: Jaguars top Warriors in pre-season
Photo by Brianne Reformina
Valley Center quarterback Rikki Mazzetti attempts a run while Kamehameha Maui’s sophomore Michael Kalalau chases him down. The Valley Center Jaguars defeat Kamehameha Schools Maui Warriors 34-0, Friday, Aug. 25 at Kanaʻiaupuni Stadium.
PUKALANI — The Kamehameha Schools Maui varsity football team took a 34-0 loss, Aug. 25, in their last pre-season game against the Valley Center High School Jaguars at Kanaʻiaupuni Stadium.
The Jaguars scored in the first few minutes of the first quarter with a 14-yard pass to Loren Diloreto, but the Warriors held the Jaguars to 7-0 until the end of the first quarter.
The Warriors’ junior Jayden Delatori added to the game statistics with three tackles at the beginning of the second quarter. With the Warriors in possession of the ball, senior Damon Martin fumbled but recovered for one yard. The Jaguars could not complete most of their passes to Zachary Mahrenholz and gained little distance.
“[The Jaguars] just couldn’t deal with the wind during the game, but you can’t help it,” Diloreto said.
The Warriors managed to earn yards while in possession with Martin making the runs; however, long passes from quarterback Kainoa Sanchez to senior Nathan Facuri failed to find their target in this quater.
“The boys had the right idea, but their execution lacked focus and in the end, they couldn’t get the ball far down the field,” Maui Warriors head coach Ulima Afoa said.
The Warriors’ defensive linemen kept the Jaguars from pushing further down the field, but eventually, the Jaguars scored another touchdown to Mateo Sinohui.
Halftime had the Jaguars up 14-0. Up to that point, Diloreto was a standout for the Jaguars, and for the Warriors, Martin and Sanchez had the biggest impact.
At the start of the second half, junior Dane Abarra gained the Warriors yards until he was tackled by the Jaguars’ Ozzie Anderson.
Valley Center attempted most of their plays with Mateo Sinohui. He created distance and eventually scored again with a rush through the Warrior defense.
“It shouldn’t have been that hard, yet we made it that way,” senior Jarin Correa said to his linemen after the game.
The Warriors’ linemen were able to hold off the Jaguars for most of their runs but the few times they slipped up led to touchdowns by the Jaguars.
Towards the end of the second half, Sanchez took control of the plays by creating his own runs to earn the Warriors their yards. The Jaguars took the rest of the fourth quarter with plays to get Ronnie McCowan the ball and earn one more touchdown.
“The Jaguars were able to complete their passes and hold [the Warriors] to no points,” senior Kiha Mossman said.
In the end, the Jaguars defeated the Warriors 34-0.
“The Warriors were prepared, but [the Jaguars] just had enough control to score touchdowns, but the wind was definitely something for us to get over,” Jaguars coach Rob Gilster said.
Although the Warriors lost, it was a pre-season game, which doesn’t affect their Maui Interscholastic League win-loss record (1-0). Their next game will be this Saturday at 7 p.m. against King Kekaulike High School at War Memorial Stadium.
