OIA Football
Late-game heroics lift Moanalua over Kailua, 34-33


  



Sat, Sep 27, 2014 @ Kailua [ 6:00 pm ]


Final 1 2 3 4 T
Moanalua (3-5-0) 0 0 6 2834
Kailua (0-7-0) 10 10 6 733
Noah Auld 186 yd 2 TD
Kawika Keama-Jacobe 310 yd 4 TD
Jason Sharsh 131 yd 1 TD

KAILUA – Moanalua scored 28 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to overcome a 20-point halftime deficit in Na Menehune's 34-33 win over Kailua in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Blue Division game at the newly christened Alex Kane Stadium Saturday night.

Na Menehune quarterback Kawika Keama-Jacobe passed for 310 yards and four touchdowns to help Moanalua improve to 3-3 in league play. Keama-Jacobe also carried the ball 13 times for 96 yards and Na Menehune's first score of the game. 

"Our coach always preaches ‘no matter what the score is, we got to keep on fighting. We got to keep on fighting till the end,'" said Keama-Jacobe.

"That (message) was good for our offensive line. They gave us that push and they (helped us) take it down the field on the last couple drives and we got a couple of touchdowns in to win the game. Praise to the Oline. I'd like to thank my coaches and my heavenly father Jesus Christ."

After Keama-Jacobe's six-yard touchdown pass to Karson Cruz with 1:34 left on the clock, Na Menehune was able to get the ball back after a botched Kailua handoff. Zorich Palimoo recovered the loose ball at the Kailua 44-yard line to give Moanalua possession with 83 seconds left in the game.

Keama-Jacobe was able to take Na Menehune to the Kailua 25-yard line with a 19-yard scramble on the second play of the drive. Kailua's defense would then make a stand, forcing three straight incompletions to bring fourth down. 

With the game on the line receiver Jason Sharsh came up clutch. On back-to-back plays the senior wideout caught a 12-yard pass to convert on fourth down and the game-winning score on a 13-yard fade route. Sharsh would finish with 131 yards on eight receptions. 

"If you just throw it up he's probably going to come down with it. That's just the type of ball player he is," Moanalua first-year coach Jason Cauley said on Sharsh. "I've coached a lot of receivers that are in the NFL now. I've coached against Julio Jones, I've coached Solomon Patton. Jason Sharsh runs better routes and has better hands than anybody I've ever coached."

Na Menehune's late-game heroics put a damper on Kailua's homecoming and final game of the year. It was a heartbreaking way to end the season for first-year Kailua coach Joe Wong and the Surfriders (0-7). 

"It's just unfortunate how things unfolded. Towards the end of the game we gave up some big plays," said Wong. "We lose some good seniors out there but there's some returnees that are quality guys coming back next year. To build on that, it's a new offense and defense so hopefully they can continue to buy into the system and we just go from here." 

The Surfriders had Moanalua's number for most of the game, holding a 20-0 lead at halftime and a 33-6 lead early in the fourth quarter. Carrying Kailua through much of the game was running back Paepaeiva Silifaiva-Kaehu with season-highs in carries (34) and yards (184).

Silifaiva-Kaehu carried the ball seven times for 32 yards in the Surfriders' 15-play drive to start the game. Colin Kubota's 36-yard field goal gave Kailua a 3-0 lead with 5:02 left in the first quarter. 

Kailua extended its lead to 10 after Awa Byers returned a Keama-Jacobe interception 92 yards for a score. 

The Surfriders doubled their lead in the second quarter thanks to a 37-yard field goal from Kubota and a one-yard plunge by Silifaiva-Kaehu. The 20-point output in the first half eclipsed Kailua's previous season-high in scoring.

Noah Auld added two touchdown passes in the second half to help pad the Surfrider lead. Martin Tigilau's 33-yard touchdown catch gave Kailua a 33-6 lead with 10:33 left in the fourth quarter. 

Then Moanalua started to work its magic. Na Menehune struck back with an eight-yard connection between Keama-Jacobe and Michael Feliciano. The eight-play drive was kept alive with a Keama-Jacobe 22-yard scramble on a critical fourth-and-two situation. Keama-Jacobe found Stevie Feliciano on the two-point conversion to make it 33-14. 

After a failed onside kick attempt, Na Menehune got the ball back at their own 37-yard line thanks to a failed 47-yard field goal attempt by Kubota. Two plays later Keama-Jacobe found Cruz for a 17-yard touchdown pass. Thomas Sheridan's PAT made it a 12-point game with 3:03 left in regulation. 

Moanalua got the ball back on the ensuing kickoff thanks to Palimoo's onside kick recovery. However, the drive quickly ended with Kawika Manabe's interception on Keama-Jacobe. In spite of this Moanalua was able to get the necessary stops on defense needed to get the ball back. Junior linebacker Kekaulike Kalua led Na Menehune's defensive effort with a game-high 12 tackles. 

A pass interference call against Kailua and a 48-yard reception by Sharsh helped set up Moanalua's next scoring play. Cruz caught a six-yard strike to pull Na Menehune within five. The senior receiver caught four passes for 44 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Cruz also sealed the win with his interception on Auld on the final play of the game.

Moanalua hosts second-ranked Mililani (7-0, 6-0 league) in the final game of the regular season next Saturday. A win against the Trojans can lock up the division's fourth seed in the league's 12-team postseason tournament the following week. 

"It just shows that we can come back no matter what the odds are," Cauley said on the win. "We kept fighting and kept fighting and something good happened. We'll take that into next week and hope it carries over into the game against Mililani."



Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].




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