Kaiser's Keoua Mahiko leaps up for an interception against Leilehua. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Fri, Oct 2, 2015 @ Kaiser [ 7:30 pm ]

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Leilehua

9

Kaiser

22

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Leilehua (3-6-0)	9	0	0	0	9
Kaiser (4-5-0)	0	7	8	7	22

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Nicolas Tom 112 yd 1 TD

Anthony Ugalino 81 yd

Parker Higgins 61 yd 1 TD

Zach Kamalani 22 yd

Keoua Mahiko 46 yd 1 TD

Ty Keough 116 yd 1 TD

HAWAII KAI – For a change, Kaiser did not have to rely heavily on quarterback Nicholas Tom and running back Jensen McDaniel.

The Cougars got an all-around effort to rally by Leilehua, 22-9, Friday night at Kaiser Stadium to clinch the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I Red third seed.

Kaiser trailed 9-0 after the first quarter before reeling off 22 unanswered points to improve to 4-4 overall and 4-3 in the OIA Red. Leilehua, which clinched the division's fourth seed, fell to 3-5 and 3-4. It was Kaiser's first win against Leilehua since 1977; the Cougars lead the series 2-1-1.

The Cougars will host Blue sixth seed Campbell and the Mules will host Blue fifth seed Moanalua in opening-round games of the 12-team OIA Division I tournament, which starts next weekend.

While Kaiser has gotten gutsy efforts all season with the number of two-way players it uses, it caught a break when Leilehua starting quarterback Konapiliahi Andres left the game in the second quarter with concussion-like symptoms. The Mules not only labored with four interceptions, but also shot gun snap inconsistencies.

"That was huge," Kaiser coach Cameron Higgins said of Leilehua losing Andres. "He could chuck it. We lucked out."

It was a tough break for Leilehua, which already lost its original starting quarterback Kalealoha Piceno against Kailua, when he was pressed into playing slot when another player suffered a concussion. Andres had been the QB since.

"We already lost our No. 1 quarterback," Leilehua coach Nolan Tokuda said. "We're playing our second quarterback. He was feeling comfortable with the reps during the week, then we have to go with Ugalino who hasn't taken a snap since last season. It's tough. It's not a knock against Ugalino; he went in there, did his best. That's all you can ask. I'm really proud of him."

Andres has passed for 1,354 yards and 15 TDs. Tokuda said Andres will get checked out Saturday, so his status for the playoffs is unknown.

It was only the second time this season Tom and McDaniel did not score a TD for Kaiser; the other time was the 34-3 loss to Kahuku. The Mules' defense was doing a good job against the Cougars' option.

But as the Mules' defense spent more time on the field because their offense could not sustain drives, the Cougars started giving the ball to the power-running Parker Higgins, who also plays linebacker on defense.  Parker powered his way for a 13-yard TD run that ignited the Cougars' rally; he finished with 61 yards rushing on seven carries.

Keoua Mahiko, a defensive back who had two of the Cougars' four interceptions, scored on a 46-yard pass play from Tom.

Running back Emmett Garcia scored his first TD of the season on a two-yard run to cap the Cougars' scoring.

"I think it was great to show that we're not one-dimensional," Kaiser coach Higgins said. "We've seen so reliant on – we live and die off Nic – so this was good for our team to come together offensively and defensively."

Leilehua got on the board first on its second series of the game. Aided by back-to-back personal foul and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, the Mules moved from their own 36 to the Cougars' 34 and scored on Andres' 34-yard TD pass to Ty Keough. Connor Murakami's PAT gave the Mules a 7-0 lead with 6:40 in the first quarter.

The ensuing kickoff set Kaiser at its 11. On first down, a low snap from center in shot gun formation rolled out of the end zone for a safety to increase Leilehua's lead to 9-0 just 12 seconds after its TD.

Kaiser began its rally late in the second quarter when Leilehua punted from its end zone and the 14-yard punt gave Kaiser excellent field position at the Mules' 15. After a two-yard gain by McDaniel on first down, Tom faked a dive to McDaniel, then pitched the ball to Higgins, who rolled in from 13 yards for the score. Andrew Kaufusi's PAT pulled Kaiser to 9-7 with 51 seconds left in the half

The Mules received the second-half kickoff, but their drive went backward. On second-and-24 at their 9, Kaiser defensive end Chance Kalaugher chased Ugalino in the end zone, where he pushed the ball out of bounds for a safety to tie the game at 9 33 seconds into the half.

The Cougars broke the tie after an interception by Mahiiko that was returned to midfield, but pushed back 10 yards by a penalty. The Cougars' 60-yard drive ended on the sixth play when Tom hit Mahiko on a 46-yard scoring play to put Kaiser ahead 15-9 with 3:07 in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Kaiser came up big on special teams when Keoni Pangan blocked a 32-yard field goal attempt by Leilehua's Murakami.

With 4:05 left in the game, Leilehua's Keough returned a punt 91 yards for an apparent TD, which was nullified by an illegal block penalty. The Mules were backed up to their 5, but the drive ended on Pangan's interception return of 40 yards to the Mules' 8. Three plays later, Garcia rumbled in from the 6 to make it 22-9.

Leilehua's ensuing possession ended with Mahiko's second interception.