By: Wes Nakama

PEARL CITY — The historic first Hawai’i visit by a high school football team from Colorado quickly turned into a historic rout Thursday evening, as Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch) rolled past Pearl City, 83-6, at scenic Bino Neves Stadium.

It was the season opener for the Golden Eagles, who finished 9-3 last year after losing to national powerhouse Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) in the 5A (top level) State Quarterfinals. Pearl City, which is making the move up from Division II to DI this season, fell to 0-2.

The Chargers shot themselves in the foot almost from the outset, losing the ball on a fumble and then a 52-yard pick-6 on their first two possessions, resulting in a 14-0 deficit just 68 seconds after the opening kickoff.

After a three-and-out and short punt, Mountain Vista then went 46 yards in just four plays, capped by Jack Blais’ 6-yard touchdown run that helped push the lead to 21-0 with 7:39 still remaining in the first quarter. After another three-and-out and short punt, quarterback Austyn Modrzewski connected with Sean Conway for a 21-yard TD pass that resulted in a 28-0 lead midway through the quarter.

After yet another three-and-out, Modrzewski launched a perfect 41-yard spiral to Brooklyn Bailey, setting up Blais’ 15-yard zig-zag scoring run. That helped to extend the score to 35-0 barely eight minutes into the game.

“It was our first game, so I wasn’t sure how we were going to come out,” said Golden Eagles coach Garrett Looney. “So obviously those (first) two quick scores will deflate any team a bit, and it allowed us to focus more on ourselves.”

Pearl City coach Robin Kami acknowledged the rough start did affect his team and set the tone for the game.

“Yeah, because we were fired up (at kickoff),” Kami said, “but then those two quick scores hurt us.” 

The Chargers finally got a big play of their own when quarterback Ikaika Torres threw a long strike down the right sideline to Javian Mizuno, who caught it in stride and dashed untouched to the end zone for a 73-yard score. The two-point conversion attempt failed, making it 35-6 with 3:28 still to go in the first quarter.

But Mountain Vista was far from done.

The Golden Eagles responded with a four-play, 75-yard scoring drive culminating in Modrzewski’s 29-yard pass to Conway, making it 42-6 just inside the two-minute mark. They added three more touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 63-6 lead into halftime.

Modrzewski, who was Colorado’s Gatorade Co-Player of the Year last season and has verbally committed to play for South Dakota, finished with 16 completions in 21 attempts for 338 yards and seven TD’s. He was intercepted once. Blais, a super shifty scatback who also is an All-American in lacrosse, rushed for 82 yards on just six carries.

Mountain Vista’s offensive line was anchored by 6-foot-6, 320-pound senior Jack Heath, who has committed to Navy. Conway, who caught three touchdown passes, is being recruited by Air Force.

“I know the score was out of hand, but I told the kids, ‘Don’t even look at the score, just keep on trying, keep on working hard and have some pride — play for the name on your (jersey),’ ” Kami said. “They came out hard in the second half, so I like that. I like that they didn’t give up, they could have put their head down, but they kept the fight ’til the end. So I give credit to my team for not giving up.”

Looney also gave Pearl City kudos for its fighting spirit.

“You know what, they kept playing really hard, they competed their (okole) off even when the score got out of hand,” Looney said. “You can tell a lot about a program, and a coach, on how their kids continue to compete and play hard. I love seeing that — they played hard until the very last whistle, and that’s culture right there. I love that, they never stop, which is all you can ask for a kid.”  

Mountain Vista, located about 20 miles south of downtown Denver, competes every year against Highlands Ranch rival Valor, another Colorado powerhouse program that counts San Francisco 49ers star Christian McCaffrey among its alumni.

“Hopefully this benefits us, playing a team of this caliber,” Kami said. 

Looney said about 80 percent of his 55-player travel squad had never visited Hawai’i before arriving on Tuesday. The Golden Eagles enjoyed a luau at Sea Life Park on Wednesday, and planned to visit Pearl Harbor on Friday morning before attending the Hawai’i-Delaware State college football game Saturday night in Manoa.

Thursday’s game was arranged through a Florida-based event company called KSA, and Mountain Vista did its own fundraising to help pay for the trip.

“I have come to Hawai’i many times, I actually got married here and I’ve come here with my own children, and it’s such a great experience,” Looney said. “When we realized (the game) was a possibility, we put it together, we fund-raised for it, and made it happen. I’m super excited for (the team). We wanted to make it meaningful outside of just the football game, we want to appreciate the culture, appreciate the island … it’s a great opportunity.”

After the game, the two teams gathered in the nearby Chargers gym for a joint plate lunch dinner and the players got to interact and mingle.

“I told our kids, ‘When the game is finished, guys, let’s show the aloha spirit,’ ” Kami said. ” ‘Let’s show them why they came to Hawai’i, what it’s all about. It’s not just football, it’s (also) off the field. Let’s show them the aloha spirit so when they leave this island, they can go home feeling good about Hawai’i.’ “

Photos: Lori McKeown