Jason Sharsh hauled in 11 catches for a total of 246 yards and 2 TDs as Moanalua held on to beat Aiea. Peter Caldwell | SL

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Aven Santiago | SL

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Fri, Sep 19, 2014 @ Moanalua [ 7:30 pm ]

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Aiea

30

Moanalua

42

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Aiea (2-6-0)	0	21	2	7	30
Moanalua (3-5-0)	6	14	22	0	42

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Kawika Keama-Jacobe 356 yd 2 TD

Kobe Kato 278 yd 1 TD

Kawika Keama-Jacobe 18 yd 2 TD

Kodi Ongory-Mathias 39 yd

Jason Sharsh 246 yd 2 TD

Derreyl Ogawa-Staples 91 yd 1 TD

SALT LAKE — It was a tale of two halves. 

Moanalua rallied in the second half to upend Aiea, 42-30 on homecoming at Moanalua on Friday night. The Na Menehune snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 2-3 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Blue Division, while the Na Alii fall to 2-3. 

“It feels really great. It was a must-win situation and if we lost this game, we probably wouldn’t have made it to the playoffs and now we have a chance to take this momentum into Kailua next week. I was really happy we could excel in this game and we never won a home game yet so it’s a really good moment for our team and we got one for our classmates, teachers and everyone else who came to support us,” said Moanalua quarterback Kawika Keama-Jacobe, who finished the game 22-of-31 passing for 356 yards, two rushing and two passing touchdowns and one interception. 

“It feels great, especially for the seniors to go out on their home field with a victory like this. It’s bittersweet because they know it’s their last game at home but also to know that we’re still in playoff contention and still have the season ahead of us is a great feeling,” said Moanalua coach Jason Cauley. 

Trailing, 21-20 going into halftime, Moanalua came out in the second half and outscored Aiea, 22-2 in the third quarter. Keama-Jacobe rushed for two touchdowns and threw two touchdowns -- both to Jason Sharsh to lead the way. His second rushing touchdown reclaimed the lead for Moanalua and his second touchdown pass of the game gave the team a comfortable lead and never looked back. He finished the game with 13 rushing attempts for 18 yards. 

“We started off slow and the o-line and without them doing the job upfront and we probably wouldn’t have been able to put points on the board, so praise to the o-line,” said Keama-Jacobe. 

Jason Sharsh led all receivers with 11 catches for 246 yards and two touchdowns. 

“We practiced hard this week and it was a team effort, we all did our part,” said Sharsh. 

“He’s (Kawika) getting better and better. Unfortunately against Kapolei we couldn’t throw it that much, but it was carrying over from that Farrington game and he had a great week of practice— how you play is how you practice. He really applied himself this week and during the bye week. All the receivers were on the same page and this made a huge difference— this was Sharsh’s coming out game for this year and he did well too,” said Cauley.  

Moanalua took a 12-0 lead in the second quarter after Aiea went three-and-out and drove 80 yards capped off by Keama-Jacobe throwing a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jason Sharsh. The Na Alii turned it over on downs and the Na Menehune scored after Keama-Jacobe ran it in for a 3-yard touchdown, but the run failed. 

The Na Alii scored 21-unanswered points to give themselves a nine point lead with 1:28 remaining in the second quarter. 

“We had our opportunities but we didn’t capitalized on it. We disciplined some kids and that costed us too and it’s important that they do the right things,” said Aiea coach Wendell Say. 

“We played Aiea the past two years and I was talking to Coach Say before the game and I know what they’re going to bring: intensity and they are going to bring all 11 hats to the ball and they are going to play that way. Anytime you go into them you hope you can get through the game because they’re going to hit you, cause turnovers and fumbles and they’re always known for their defense,” said Cauley, on Aiea. 

Aiea answered immediately as Noah Taiese returned the ensuing kick off 96-yards for the touchdown. Gage Asing intercepted Keama-Jacobe’s pass and Aiea was able to convert the turnover into points as Rexy Kolone ran it in for a 3-yard touchdown to put the Na Alii up, 14-12. 

Moanalua turned it over on downs, Kobe Kato threw a 40-yard pass to Derreyl Ogawa-Staples to the Moanalua 1-yard line. Kato found Ogawa-Staples again, this time for a 2-yard touchdown to make it, 21-12. 

Moanalua received a short kick off and got all the way down to the Aiea 3-yard line, but Walter Peters fumbled the ball and Taiese recovered it on the 3-yard line. 

However, things went Moanalua’s way as Kato fumbled the ball trying to hand it off and Nehemiah Sauvao scooped it up and returned it for a 1-yard touchdown. Keama-Jacobe’s pass to Karson Cruz  for 2-point conversion made it, 21-20 as they trailed at halftime. 

Moanalua came out of halftime looking like a different team as they scored 22 points in the third quarter. 

“Besides adjustments it was executing what we had planned. The first half we had some mental mistakes and turnovers on offense that killed our drives. Defense we were struggling and they were eating us up and all credit goes to Aiea because they beat us fair and square that first half. Second half, we went in and reminded the guys of their assignments, keys and techniques and they applied them. Made a difference in the second half and got a couple scores,” said Cauley.

Keama-Jacobe rushed for a 5-yard touchdown and his pass to Sharsh was good for the 2-point conversion to make it, 28-21. 

“The defensive line for Aiea started slanting to sides we were trying to run our zones to. My coach told me to keep the ball and make it happen with my legs,” said Keama-Jacobe. 

Aiea scored on a safety after the snap went into the end zone and rolled out of bounds, but on the next offensive series, Aiea quarterback Jordan Liilii threw an interception to Stevie Feliciano, who returned it 33-yards for a touchdown. 

Kato started the first half in place of Liilii, who according to coach, was held out due to disciplinary reasons. Kato finished the game 19-of-41 passing for 278 yards a touchdown. 

“It comes down to our kids being ready and it was a team effort, if we discipline somebody they have to understand that it’s hurts us. They played hard, it was muggy and it was tough and cannot help, but they played hard from start to finish and gave it their all,” said Say. 

Keama-Jacobe threw his second touchdown pass to Sharsh for 31-yards to give Moanalua a comfortable lead, 42-23.  

Aiea’s Lincoln Tappe recovered Kato’s fumble for the last score of the game. 

Moanalua travels to play a winless Kailua squad on Sept. 27 while Aiea hosts Campbell on the same night. 

“It gives us confidence and we want to win these games coming up,” said Sharsh. 

“I hope they know they keep up this momentum and they know they have to work even harder coming into Kailua next week because they’re looking for their first victory and don’t want their season to end so we got to come in a go hard and it’s going to be a tough game next week,” said Cauley.