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.