Kalani running back Ace Faumui led all ball carriers with 275 rush yards and four touchdowns in a losing effort against Nanakuli. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Nanakuli running back Makaila Haina-Horswill exploded for 213 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns against Kalani. Sean Nakamura | SL

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Sat, Oct 11, 2014 @ Kaiser [ 5:30 pm ]

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Nanakuli

48

Kalani

35

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Nanakuli (10-1-0)	7	27	7	7	48
Kalani (4-5-0)	7	7	7	14	35

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Tyler Ching 56 yd 1 TD

Kale Kanehailua 125 yd

Ace Faumui 275 yd 4 TD

Makaila Haina-Horswill 213 yd 3 TD

Juwan Bohannon 33 yd 1 TD

Clifford Cunningham 58 yd

HAWAII KAI – Nanakuli still remains golden. 

Running back Makaila Haina-Horswill rushed for 213 yards and three touchdowns to help lead the fourth-ranked Golden Hawks over No. 10 Kalani, 48-35 in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II game at Kaiser Stadium Saturday night. The victory completed an undefeated regular season for Nanakuli (8-0).

After failing to make the postseason in 2013, the Golden Hawks will enter the league's four-team tournament as the top-seeded team. They will host the Falcons (4-4) in a rematch next week Friday Oct. 17.

"It's good to get payment on the work that we put in," Nanakuli coach Keala Watson said. "Our guys, we never did quit. Now we just got to use this as momentum heading into the postseason. We all got to keep in mind that our season is not done. 

"They had a chip on their shoulders from not making it (to the playoffs) last year. They know what it feels like to be counted out; they don't want that to happen again. Everybody is making sure that we're a in position so that we can control our destiny to get to where we want to be."

Haina-Horswill made his presence felt from the get go, busting through the middle of the Kalani defense untouched for an 80-yard touchdown run on the Golden Hawks' second play from scrimmage.

The 5-foot-6 senior running back also came up clutch on a play that essentially put the game out of reach for Kalani. After both teams traded timeouts with Nanakuli facing a fourth-and-one situation, Haina-Horswill dashed and darted his way for a 71-yard score. Clifford Cunningham's PAT gave Nanakuli a 41-21 lead with 4:08 left in the third quarter. 

"He's always the one we count on. Everyone knows it I guess, but he's still able to do it even with all the pressure that he's got, all the eyes on him and everyone keying on him," Watson said on Haina-Horswill. "It's amazing that he can go out there and continue to impress and make big plays." 

But the Falcons would not go down quietly on their homecoming night. Led by the gritty running style of Ace Faumui, Kalani was able to make it a six-point game with 2:38 left in the ball game. Faumui finished the night with a game-high 275 yards rushing and four touchdowns. The junior running back also saw time behind center with quarterback Tyler Ching leaving the game with an injury early in the third quarter. 

"He's going to be a tough one for us next week. We're going to have to make sure that we can contain him. He ran on us like nobody has done before. We're going to have to be on top of him. He's a good player," Watson said on Faumui. 

Any hope of a Kalani win was extinguished when Nanakuli linebacker Randy Manewa returned the ensuing onside kick all the way to the Falcon's one-yard line. Kale Kanehailua's quarterback sneak with 1:38 left in regulation iced the Falcons' comeback attempt.

Although his team came up on the losing end, Kalani coach Greg Taguchi hopes his team can use the late surge as momentum heading into the playoffs. 

"One thing I know about our team's character is that we didn't give up. There were opportunities for them to give up and not fight back but we showed that we could fight back and play to the end of the game. I think that's one thing positive. Hopefully we can continue it into next week," said Taguchi.

Kalani first got on the scoreboard with Ching's 29-yard touchdown pass to Juwan Bohannon with under a minute left to play in the first quarter. 

The Golden Hawks would then go on to score 20 unanswered points to open the second period. Kanehailua cashed in on a three-yard run, Haina-Horswill scored on a 35-yard scamper and Nakanaela Kipi returned a Ching interception 50 yards for six. A 69-yard touchdown run by Faumui would stop the string of Nanakuli scores. 

Nanakuli responded with Kanehailua's one-yard run to make the score 34-14 right before the end of the first half. Kanehailua finished with 125 yards passing and 73 yards rushing.

The winner of next week's rematch will clinch one of two OIA berths into the Division II state tourney. Nanakuli was last there in 2012 while Kalani is still looking for its first appearance in school history.