Bulldogs surge past Falcons, 34-7


Kamalei Rosa connected on both field goal attempts and was 2-for-2 on extra points. Robin Sakamoto | Special to SL
WAIALUA - While the weekend's premier prep football matchup took place some 20 miles down the road, the Waialua Bulldogs could think of no better place to be Friday night than at Toshi Nakasone Field.

Led by a second-half surge and the right leg of Kamalei Rosa, Waialua handily defeated visiting Kalani, 34-7, in an O'ahu Interscholastic Association White Conference game. A home crowd of about 600 saw the Bulldogs improve to 1-2 overall and 1-1 in league play. The Falcons, who had a bye last week, fell to 0-2.

"We've had trouble putting together a good game from start to finish, but tonight we were able to win all four quarters," Waialua coach Lincoln Barit said. "Our first two games, we hung around in the first half, but fell apart in the second."

The Bulldogs made their debut at Nakasone Field Friday after opening the season with consecutive road losses.

"It feels good to get the win at home with all of our family and friends supporting us," said Rosa, who made both field goals he attempted and was 2-for-2 on extra points. "This is a big win for us, so hopefully we can keep it going."

After the first of four Kalani turnovers, Waialua quickly turned it into the game's first score. Less than three minutes in, quarterback William Sacapulo-Uepa put his team on the board with an 8-yard touchdown pass to running back Kennedy Siaosi. Rosa added the PAT to give Waialua a quick 7-0 lead.

Midway through the second quarter, Rosa knocked through his first field goal - a 27-yarder - to cap a 12-play drive that covered 89 yards and took nearly five minutes off the clock. The Falcons' special teams helped to extend the drive after a muffed punt return at their own 18-yard line was recovered by Waialua's Kristoffer Cuadro.

Later in the quarter, linebacker Rudi Galapia jumped in front of a Ka'au Kuia pass and appeared to return the interception for a 67-yard touchdown, but a block in the back against Waialua negated the runback and the drive started instead at the Kalani 47-yard line. Two plays later, Sacapulo-Uepa overthrew a wide open receiver on a wheel route along the right sideline and the Bulldogs were forced to punt on fourth down.

However, Waialua got the ball back with 28 seconds left to play and moved it down to the Falcons' 25. Rosa sent his team into the half with a 13-0 lead after a 42-yard field goal as time expired.

"That one really felt good," said Rosa, a standout soccer player during the winter season. "Everyone - the whole team - was working hard and I just wanted to do my part and not let them down."

Late in the third quarter, Rosa helped to set-up another Waialua score. On a third-and-six play, the 5-foot-3, 155-pound senior caught a quick pass in the left flats from Sacapulo-Uepa and broke loose along the left sideline for a 69-yard gain down to the Kalani 16. After a penalty against the Falcons moved the ball to the 8-yard line, Christian Agcaoili rushed in for a score to make Waialua's lead, 20-0.

Ezra Travis scored on the second play of the fourth quarter on an 18-yard run and Kyle Michael caught 12-yard scoring pass from Sacapulo-Uepa to extend it to 34-0. Kalani's only score came with 1:16 to play on a 20-yard pass from Ka'ua Kuia to his younger brother Keano Kuia.

"I think we're fortunate that we don't have a lot of two-way players - we only had two tonight," Barit said. "In the second half, I think that helped us keep our legs fresh out there.


Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].