Kalani's Sione Vea ran back an intercepted pass for a touchdown in the first quarter. The Falcons' defense held the Chargers to just 54 yards of total offense in a 22-8 win. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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10031517_KalaniPC_k7TD1stQt_0019.jpg - Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Kalani held Pearl City to just 54 yards of total offense in a 22-8 win at a windy Kaiser Stadium, keeping the Falcons hope for a OIA Division II playoff berth alive.

The Falcons' defense set tone for the game with five turnovers forced, and set the tone for the contest from the get-go.

On the third play of the game, Falcons defensive end Sione Vea stepped in front of a Pearl City pass thrown out in the flat and took the intercepted ball back 24 yards to put the Falcons up 7-0 following a Reece Kakugawa PAT.

"I rushed the quarterback, he (Vea) was there. In practice he makes all the plays, swats down every ball, I just expected him to be there," said Kalani linebacker Payton Awaya.

Though the blustery conditions certain played a factor, a relentless Kalani pass rush made the going even tougher for the Chargers, whose passes were intercepted three times overall in the game. The Falcons also recorded two sacks and recovered two fumbles in the contest.

"(Our) defense all year has kept us in games," said Kalani head coach Greg Taguchi. "They've been playing lights out all season for us."

Pearl City drove inside the 18 yard line on their opening drive of the second quarter, but a 36 yard field goal attempt was blocked by Kalani's Payton Awaya to keep the Chargers off the board.

"I knew I needed to block that field goal because three points in a close game like this means everything," added Awaya.

Awaya came up big again, this time on defense, a few plays following the block, as he recovered a snap that went over the head of Pearl City quarterback Jordan Santos to put the Falcons in prime position to extend the lead.

"You talk about those two guys (Vea and Awaya), they are the heart of our defense," remarked Taguchi. "Payton has come a long way, he's grown a lot since last year and I really appreciate his effort on the field. Tonight he had a tremendous game, kid has a lot of heart."

Two plays later, running back Sean Silas took a delayed handoff and rumbled into the endzone from 16 yards out to give the Falcons a 16-0 advantage with 4:17 left until halftime.

The Chargers were held to minus-16 yards of total offense in the first half. The Falcons only managed 75 yards of offense but converted each of three turnovers into points.

Things got a bit interesting late following a partially blocked punt midway through the fourth quarter, as the Chargers got right back into the contest on a 23 yard scamper to pay dirt by running back Joe Maneafaiga. On the two point try, Isaiah Asinsin found Kavossie Mason open in the end zone to cut the margin to just eight with 5:11 to play in regulation.

But Kalani responded on the very next possession, as Silas exploded for 25 yards on his first carry, and then into the endzone on a 29 yard gallop to put the game all but out of reach for the Chargers.

"Sean has come a long way from last year, he has really stepped up and runs that inside zone really well for us," said Taguchi. "We just gotta try to keep him healthy."

Silas was a workhorse once again for the Falcons, grinding out a game-high 153 yards on 27 carries, two of them for scores. The senior has racked up 111 carries for 587 yards on the year, eight of them for touchdown.

On the other side of the ball, Maneafaiga carried the load for Pearl City. He toted the ball 22 times for 122 yards and a touchdown in the loss, a bright spot for a Chargers' offense that netted just 26 yards on the ground.

The final playoff spot in OIA D2 play will come to down Kalani and Waialua, who both sport identical 4-3 records heading into the final week of regular season play. Waialua owns the tie breaker over Kalani thanks for a 21-16 win over the Falcons, but a Kalani win over Nanakuli coupled with a Waialua loss to Radford would put the Falcons into the final four in OIA Division II.