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Breidi-Ann Higa passed for 415 yards and nine touchdowns as Moanalua rolled to a 72-12 win over Castle in a showdown of unbeaten teams in OIA flag football.
Moanalua improved to 5-0 in league play behind the precision of Higa, a freshman. She connected on 25 of 36 attempts and did not throw an interception.
Moanalua improved to 6-0 with the decisive win.
Jodie Keo, who will return to the mainland in two weeks for the final round of national team tryouts, was a two-way prime-time contributor. The sophomore hauled in eight passes for 195 yards and five TDs. She also had an interception.
“We were definitely ready to spread the ball around. They had a mark on me, so my teammates were open,” Keo said. “(Higa) has gotten faster and she always had that movement to get away (from blitzers).”
Several Na Menehune sat out with injuries. Moanalua’s final four regular-season games: Kaimuki (on Tuesday), Kahuku (April 11), at Castle (April 13) and at Kaiser (April 15).
Castle dropped to 4-1. In the Lady Knights’ first four games, they outscored opponents 148-19. Dorian Pokipala passed for 193 yards on 14-for-26 passing. Moanalua’s defense picked her off five times.
“We’ve just got to work harder, keep good energy and effort,” the senior quarterback said. “My girls, it was getting in their heads because of the score. We’ve just got to bounce back — learn and grow from this.”
The Knights have five games left before the playoffs. They play at Kahuku on Tuesday.
“Moanalua is a great team. They play really hard. They’re fast and they have some amazing athletes out there. Our team stuck together. They understand we got knocked down this time, but we got right back up,” Castle coach Robert Grey said. “We live and die by that blitz and (Higa) was able to get it off. That’s what happens when we miss. Jodie Girl is pretty amazing. We were aware of her. It’s one thing to prepare for it, and it’s another to do it.”
Castle led early and briefly. Pokipala, a former Moanalua two-sport athlete, found Taja Kaaihue-Tollefsen open on the first snap from scrimmage for a stunning 66-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline.
From there, however, Moanalua dominated with five interceptions, including two by Lofa Simanu.
Higa took what Castle’s zone defense gave her, hitting Simanu for touchdowns of 22, 3 and 11 yards for a 20-6 lead in the first quarter.
With the coverage shaded toward Simanu, Keo pulled in her first TD, a 48-yard strike from Higa, followed by a 17-yard scoring strike between the two.
After Higa found Keo for a 17-yard touchdown, Simanu returned a pick 18 yards to pay dirt, extending Na Menehune’s lead to 38-6 with 3:16 until intermission.
An 8-yard TD pass from Higa to Keo, plus a 2-point conversion strike from Higa to Simanu, made it 46-6 with 1:38 left until halftime.
Castle’s final TD came with 31 seconds to go in the first half. Pokipala found Jayley Arikawa for a 2-yard TD pass, cutting it to 46-12.
Higa launched a 66-yard TD pass to Keo for a 52-12 lead with 19 seconds until the half.
Shaydenurijah Key Bird (26 yards) and Keo (66 yards) hauled in TD passes in the third quarter, and Higa added a 1-yard TD run, twisting past a Castle blitzer, to cap the scoring.
Castle finished with four sacks. Two were by senior Alana Andrade, while Andraia Gaison and Arikawa each had one.
Polanikulea Leong-Wilkinson and Styralynn Hoakalei Reyes racked up one sack each for Moanalua. In the secondary, Rylie Rabe and Key Bird also had interceptions in addition to the picks by Simanu and Keo.
Hawaii Prep World
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Moanalua improved to 5-0 in league play behind the precision of Higa, a freshman. She connected on 25 of 36 attempts and did not throw an interception.
Moanalua improved to 6-0 with the decisive win.
Jodie Keo, who will return to the mainland in two weeks for the final round of national team tryouts, was a two-way prime-time contributor. The sophomore hauled in eight passes for 195 yards and five TDs. She also had an interception.
“We were definitely ready to spread the ball around. They had a mark on me, so my teammates were open,” Keo said. “(Higa) has gotten faster and she always had that movement to get away (from blitzers).”
Several Na Menehune sat out with injuries. Moanalua’s final four regular-season games: Kaimuki (on Tuesday), Kahuku (April 11), at Castle (April 13) and at Kaiser (April 15).
Castle dropped to 4-1. In the Lady Knights’ first four games, they outscored opponents 148-19. Dorian Pokipala passed for 193 yards on 14-for-26 passing. Moanalua’s defense picked her off five times.
“We’ve just got to work harder, keep good energy and effort,” the senior quarterback said. “My girls, it was getting in their heads because of the score. We’ve just got to bounce back — learn and grow from this.”
The Knights have five games left before the playoffs. They play at Kahuku on Tuesday.
“Moanalua is a great team. They play really hard. They’re fast and they have some amazing athletes out there. Our team stuck together. They understand we got knocked down this time, but we got right back up,” Castle coach Robert Grey said. “We live and die by that blitz and (Higa) was able to get it off. That’s what happens when we miss. Jodie Girl is pretty amazing. We were aware of her. It’s one thing to prepare for it, and it’s another to do it.”
Castle led early and briefly. Pokipala, a former Moanalua two-sport athlete, found Taja Kaaihue-Tollefsen open on the first snap from scrimmage for a stunning 66-yard touchdown pass down the right sideline.
From there, however, Moanalua dominated with five interceptions, including two by Lofa Simanu.
Higa took what Castle’s zone defense gave her, hitting Simanu for touchdowns of 22, 3 and 11 yards for a 20-6 lead in the first quarter.
With the coverage shaded toward Simanu, Keo pulled in her first TD, a 48-yard strike from Higa, followed by a 17-yard scoring strike between the two.
After Higa found Keo for a 17-yard touchdown, Simanu returned a pick 18 yards to pay dirt, extending Na Menehune’s lead to 38-6 with 3:16 until intermission.
An 8-yard TD pass from Higa to Keo, plus a 2-point conversion strike from Higa to Simanu, made it 46-6 with 1:38 left until halftime.
Castle’s final TD came with 31 seconds to go in the first half. Pokipala found Jayley Arikawa for a 2-yard TD pass, cutting it to 46-12.
Higa launched a 66-yard TD pass to Keo for a 52-12 lead with 19 seconds until the half.
Shaydenurijah Key Bird (26 yards) and Keo (66 yards) hauled in TD passes in the third quarter, and Higa added a 1-yard TD run, twisting past a Castle blitzer, to cap the scoring.
Castle finished with four sacks. Two were by senior Alana Andrade, while Andraia Gaison and Arikawa each had one.
Polanikulea Leong-Wilkinson and Styralynn Hoakalei Reyes racked up one sack each for Moanalua. In the secondary, Rylie Rabe and Key Bird also had interceptions in addition to the picks by Simanu and Keo.
Hawaii Prep World
For high school sports record books, visit .
Continue reading...
