Kamehameha-Maui football team beats Waimea in Division II final

RELATED PHOTO GALLERY The second time was tougher. The second time was sweeter.

Defending champion Kamehameha-Maui had a rough start but turned the tide in the second quarter en route to a decisive 48-24 win over Waimea in the Division II final of the First Hawaiian Bank /HHSAA Football State Championships on Friday night at John Kauinana Stadium.

Zedekiah Campbell and Xander Pagan provided the 1-2 punch for the Warriors (11-1 ) and their potent rushing attack. Campbell finished with 146 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, and also caught a 38-yard TD. Pagan added 59 yards and two TDs on six attempts as KS-Maui wore down Waimea in the trenches. KS-Maui rushed for 196 yards after accumulating negative yardage—minus-1 on four carries—in the opening quarter.

“I told the kids, you’ve got to continue to play through this. There are no easy wins, ” KS-Maui coach Ulima Afoa said. “It’s more satisfying when you can overcome some of these things in a game. That’s what they did. We got on a roll.”

KS-Maui began the season without its top two returning running backs. One sat out the year with an injury, while Campbell sat out the opener by coach’s decision.

“Every team goes through it in a 12-game season. We just had to be next man up, be ready to perform as well as the starter, ” Afoa said. “To me, my hat’s off to Zeddie. He accepted the discipline. He’s a good kid. We have good kids.”

Enjoying an elite offensive line, Campbell finished the year with 1, 015 yards and 11 TDs on the ground.

“Our three senior (offensive ) linemen and the other two are really good. We had Pau (Spencer ) at right tackle, Keanu Reyes at right guard, Jeremiah Kea at center, and then Isaiah Lani, left guard, and (Kekauakuewa ) Soo at (left ) tackle, ” Campbell said.

Waimea has a surplus of young talent. Many of its skill players, including quarterback Kolby Correa, are sophomores and juniors. Four Waimea turnovers, including three fumbles, made a major difference.

“Losses aren’t great. We have a lot to learn from this one, ” Waimea coach Kyle Linoz said. “We’re a little bit ahead of schedule with this group. We shot ourselves in the foot a lot. KS-Maui is an awesome team, a great team. It doesn’t matter what grade you are, you can’t give up the ball like that.”

The repeat run to the crown could have been a three-peat, but Waimea denied KS-Maui in 2023. Waimea edged Roosevelt in the state semifinal round 13-10, then met KS-Maui for the title and won 31-28.

“I played in that (2023 ) game, ” said Campbell, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior. “My role got bigger after that. Honestly, playing Waimea had a solid influence on my mentality going into this game. I’m here to beat Waimea. Waimea kind of scarred me, my sophomore year, because I was super close to that 2024 (senior ) class.”

KS-Maui’s defense was relentless, limiting Waimea’s run-heavy attack to 70 rushing yards on 29 attempts. Kolt Kahoohanohano had a team-high nine tackles and added an interception. He had a helmet-to-helmet infraction in the first half that led to a Waimea touchdown, but like his defensive unit, never gave up pursuit.

“It was definitely rough at first, but we stuck with each other and our coaches’ game plan, and we turned it up in the second half and finished it, ” said Kahoohanohano, a 5-10, 160-pound defensive back. “It’s definitely surreal. The first (title ) was crazy, but coming back to defend our title is definitely harder than last year. Waimea is definitely a good team.”

At Mililani Waimea (4-6 ) 6 6 6 6—24 KS-Maui (11-1 ) 6 14 14 14—48 WAIM—Nash Schaefer 24 pass from Kolby Correa (kick failed )

KSM—Zedekaiah Campbell 36 pass from Kekoa Keau-Davis (kick failed )

KSM—Xander Pagan 9 run (Kayden Yap kick )

WAIM—Schaefer 48 pass from Correa (kick failed )

KSM—Pagan 92 kickoff return (Yap kick )

WAIM—Kaulana Makua 8 pass from Cor-rea (pass failed )

KSM—Loea Asuega-Stark 7 pass from Keau-Davis (Yap kick )

KSM—Pagan 9 run (Yap kick )

KSM—Campbell 27 run (Yap kick )

KSM—Campbell 16 run (Yap kick )

WAIM—Kalawaia Martins 38 pass from Correa (pass failed )

RUSHING—Waimea : Kaikea Miyashiro 14-39, Correa 9-23, Paka Cintron-Chan-dler 3-5, Ikaika Miyashiro 3-3. Kame-hameha-Maui : Campbell 25-146, Pagan 6-59, Keau-Davis 1-7, Kamalei Bullock 1-4, Bruce Beltran 1-(minus 19 ).

PASSING—Waimea : Correa 14-27-2-218. Kamehameha-Maui : Keau-Davis 8-13-0-76.

RECEIVING—Waimea : Martins 5-77, Schaefer 4-105, Makua 2-22, Cin-tron-Chandler 2-12, Kahu’aina Makua 1-2.

Kamehameha-Maui : Campbell 2-35, Dane Nakagawa 2-9, Pagan 1-12, Asue-ga-Stark 1-7, Yap 1-7, Beltran 1-6.

TACKLES (solo-ast.-total )—Waimea :

Jayrden Sablan 3-6-9, Akoni Mata 1-6-7, Jaiden Yanos 2-4-6, Cyler Aranio 2-4-6, JJ Butay 1-5-6. Kamehameha-Maui : Kolt Kahoohanohano 7-2-9, Anthony Sardine Jr. 3-4-7, Aukai Phillips 5-2-7, Keanu Lanoza 5-1-6.

INTERCEPTIONS—Kamehameha-Maui : Kahoohanohano 2.

SACKS—Kamehameha-Maui : Frank Abreu 1.0