Defending champion Kamehameha Schools Maui rolls into Division II state championship game for fourth time in five years

PUKALANI — Zedekaiah Campbell made an early statement in his final game at Kana‘iaupuni Stadium. Xander Pagan put an exclamation mark on it for the Kamehameha Schools Maui football team.

Together, one of the most prolific running back tandems in the state led the Maui Warriors to a 37-18 win over sister school Kamehameha Schools Hawai‘i in a semifinal of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Division II tournament on Saturday night.

The victory is the 10th straight for the Maui Warriors (10-1) and sends them to their third straight state championship game and fourth in five years. The defending state champions and No. 1 seed this season will play Waimea of Kaua‘i for the D-II state title at 4 p.m. Friday at Mililani High School.

Campbell is Kamehameha Schools Maui’s all-time leading rusher — he has 2,229 career yards after rushing for four touchdowns and 145 yards on 23 carries Saturday night.

“It felt great. It was an awesome experience, but honestly, it was all thanks to God,” Campbell said. “And without Him, I wouldn’t have been here today, wouldn’t be making all those reads and making any of those plays. And I also just want to thank my linemen, too. They just make all the blocks.”

As Campbell looked at his left tackle, Pa‘u Spencer, during a post-game interview, he smiled widely.

“Like I said, they are one of the best lines in the state,” Campbell said. “I will miss playing with guys like Pa‘u.”

Pagan, a sophomore, tacked on 117 yards on 20 carries. After Campbell piled up 66 yards on the ground in the first quarter, Pagan added 60 yards on the ground in the second quarter as Kamehameha Maui rolled to a 27-0 halftime lead. 

The Maui Warriors took a 7-0 lead on the first possession of the game when Campbell ran seven times for 68 yards on a nine-play, 80-yard drive. Campbell scored on a 1-yard run after a direct snap with 7:24 to play in the first quarter. 

Campbell now has 869 yards rushing for the season and has 26 career touchdowns. That includes 19 this season, 16 of which have come on the ground.

He will leave Kamehameha Maui’s stadium with a remarkable legacy, capped by a tie for his career high in touchdowns — he also had four rushing scores in a 49-28 win over Baldwin on Sept. 28.

“It didn’t really hit me yet that this is my last game here,” Campbell said. “I’m not even worrying about where we play. I’m just worried about who we play, when we play, and like what our responsibilities is really. Job’s not finished. We still got one more game too. So I have nothing to dwell upon. … We’re riding high tonight.”

Spencer said blocking for Campbell and Pagan “makes my job easy. I just go and they make the cuts based off of me and they make me always right. They make the defense always wrong.”

In their last three state tournament games — all wins — the Maui Warriors have outscored their opponents 134-58. 

An interception and 39-yard return by Kamehameha Maui’s Kolt Kaho‘ohanohano set up Campbell’s second touchdown run, an 8-yard jaunt with 10:19 to go in the first half. 

A 23-yard completion from Kekoa Keau-Davis to Bruce Beltran moved the ball to the Kamehameha Hawai‘i 29-yard line and Campbell scored five plays later. Keau-Davis scampered for 15 yards to the KS Hawai‘i 8-yard line on the play before Campbell scored.

Campbell scored his third touchdown on another direct snap on a 2-yard run up the middle to push the lead to 21-0 with 5:32 left in the first half. That score capped an eight-play, 73-yard drive that featured 49 yards on the ground by Pagan on three carries, including a 26-yarder to the KS Hawai‘i 14-yard line.

Kayden Yap caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Bruce Beltran after Beltran took a pitch from Keau-Davis with 13 seconds left in the first half. That touchdown upped the lead to 27-0 at halftime.

The fourth score of the first half was set up by a 39-yard pass from Keau-Davis to Loea Asuega-Stark to the 11-yard line of the Hawai‘i Warriors.

Campbell ran 16 times for 95 yards in the first half and Pagan ran eight times for 74 yards. The Maui Warriors out-gained the Hawai‘i Warriors 186 yards to 73 in the first half and 446 yards to 331 for the game.

Pagan was happy to spell Campbell when it was necessary. Campbell has scholarship offers from small schools Indiana Wesleyan University, Pacific University and Azusa Pacific University, but dreams of playing at the NCAA Division I level.

“I felt great, it’s great running behind a senior who is a wonderful player,” Pagan said. “I think that he has a bright future in college and everything. It’s wonderful that I get to back him and showcase my talents, too.”

The game was the first in the state tournament between the two sister schools, who had played each other only twice before. The first meeting between the two was Aug. 20, 2004, in the first varsity game for both programs in Kea‘au on Hawai‘i island. The two also met the next year in Pukalani.

Friday will be the fourth state final in five years for Kamehameha Maui and mark nine straight for the MIL and 11 of the last 13 for the league in Division II.

“Our kids played well and that’s just part of our culture that we’ve built,” Kamehameha Maui head coach Ulima Afoa said. “We’re not worried about who we play. We’re worried about how we play.”

Kamehameha Hawai‘i head coach Kealoha Wengler said his team couldn’t control the dual threat at running back for the Maui Warriors.

“They came prepared, they were really quick, they were relentless, they just kept coming,” Wengler said. “They did their homework, they studied us really good … 22 (Campbell) and 21 (Pagan) they are slippery running backs, We had a hard time getting a grip on them.”

KAMEHAMEHA MAUI 37, KAMEHAMEHA HAWAI‘I 18

KS Maui.                      7.      20.         7.       3—37

KS Hawai‘i                    0.        0.         6.     12—18

First Quarter

KSM—Zedekaiah Campbell 1 run (Kayden Yap kick), 7:24.

Second Quarter

KSM—Zedekaiah Campbell 8 run (Kayden Yap kick), 10:19.

KSM—Zedekaiah Campbell 2 run (Kayden Yap kick), 5:32.

KSM—Kayden Yap 13 pass from Bruce Beltran (Kayden Yap kick), 0:13.

Third Quarter

KSM—Zedekaiah Campbell 8 run (Kayden Yap kick), 2:39.

KSH—Chanse Kaaua-Long 7 run (run failed), 0:16.

Fourth Quarter

KSH—Isaac Aurello 11 run (run failed), 8:00;

KSM—Kayden Yap 24 FG, 4:41.

KSH—Chaseton Wong 12 pass from Kahekili Makekau (pass failed), 0:42.