Cousins Higa and Keo lead way for Na Menehune in flag football

Moanalua flag football players Breidi-Ann Higa and Jodie Keo are second cousins who’ve only known each other for two years.

The duo made it known Friday that they are a force to be reckoned with.

Higa completed 18 of 38 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns, and Keo caught five passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns and had an interception as Moanalua beat Campbell 30-12 in the semifinals of the Hawaii Dental Service/HHSAA Girls Flag Football Division I State Championships at Mililani.

“We all did our jobs, did our assignments and executed it well,” Higa said.

Moanalua (15-1) will play Mililani for the title today at 7 p.m. at Mililani.

Styralynn Hoakalei Reyes had 10 pulls for Na Menehune, who scored 24 consecutive points.

“The defense was a key to the game today,” Moanalua coach Ladd Mokiao said. “We did good film studies and we knew to key on certain players.

Higa and Keo, whose grandfathers are brothers, met when Higa was an eighth grader at King Intermediate and Keo was a freshman at Moanalua.

“We met like two years ago and ever since then we got closer. This school year brought us closer,” said Higa, who added they hadn’t met previously because she’s busy with sports.

Moanalua, the OIA runner-up, took a 6-0 lead with 7:21 left in the first quarter on Higa’s 28-yard pass to Keo.

“Getting the touchdown, I would not have cared if it didn’t come from me, but I’m just happy I was able to get it,” Keo said.

The score was set up by Keo’s interception at the goal line and her 52-yard return.

“It really brought our energy up,” Keo said. “Our coach was preparing us for this game and telling us what to look out for. Getting that pick, it just proves that we work hard and if we listen to our coach and stick to what we know, we can come out on top.”

Campbell, the OIA’s third-place team, tied it at 6-6 on Alexiis Amanonce Feliciano’s 5-yard quarterback keeper off the left side with 3:47 left in the first quarter.

Na Menehune retook the lead at 12-6 with 8:48 remaining in the half on Higa’s 29-yard pass to a wide-open Keo on fourth down.

“I thought I was going to drop it, but it was a really good throw from my QB,” Keo said. “I like racking up the points and helping out my team.”

Moanalua took an 18-6 advantage with four seconds to go in the half on Higa’s 16-yard pass to Iorana Simanu, who was wide open over the middle. Simanu caught six passes for 96 yards.

Na Menehune took a 24-6 advantage with 3:15 left in the third quarter on a fumble return by Jaclyn Smith. Zaira Sugui knocked the ball loose from the Sabers’ Feliciano in the backfield and Smith picked it out of the air and returned it 28 yards.

“Zaira came in, hit the ball out and I had it in my hands. I was like, ‘It’s a live ball,’ ” Smith said.

Feliciano was injured in the third quarter and did not return. She finished 9-for-16 for 98 yards.