OIA Football
Kahuku denies late Moanalua charge, 31-15


   



Sat, Oct 6, 2012 @ Moanalua [ 6:00 pm ]


Final 1 2 3 4 T
Kahuku (12-0-0) 14 14 0 331
Moanalua (5-5-0) 0 0 7 815
Micah Kaneshiro 180 yd 2 TD
Viliami Livai 74 yd 1 TD
Aofaga Wily 151 yd 2 TD
Jon-Michael Sharsh 117 yd 2 TD
Kawehena Johnson 60 yd 1 TD

Aofaga Wily rushed for 151 yards -- including 101 in the first half -- and two touchdowns Saturday night to help Kahuku defeat Moanalua, 31-15, in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association regular season finale for both teams.

The Red Raiders improved to 7-0 overall, finished atop the OIA Red Conference Eastern Division standings at 6-0 and will receive a first-round bye in the upcoming league playoffs. Na Menehune fell to 4-4, 4-2 and will be the East's No. 3 seed, playing host West No. 6 seed Waipahu (2-6, 2-4) most likely on Friday.

Kahuku began Saturday's game like it picked up where it left off the week before in a dominant 31-6 victory over previously unbeaten Farrington, marching 64 yards in just eight plays capped by Wily's 22-yard ramble for a score.

Jake Samsel's extra point made it 7-0.

Later in the first quarter, the Red Raiders capitalized on a short, high punt that ricocheted off a Moanalua player and was recovered by Jayven Mohetau near midfield. Six plays later, Wily scored from three yards out and Samsel's PAT made it 14-0.

Na Menehune got its own break early in the second quarter when Chaz Winham recovered a fumble at the Kahuku 11-yard line, but got pushed back to the 20 and missed a 37-yard field goal attempt. The Red Raiders then traversed 80 yards in just seven plays, culminating in Lasi Livai's 1-yard quarterback sneak as the lead stretched to 21-0 with 7:01 still remaining in the half.

Rashaan Falemalu then recovered a fumble at the Moanalua 29 four plays after the ensuing kickoff, and Kahuku again cashed in as Livai tossed a 17-yard touchdown throw to Kawe Johnson in the back right corner of the end zone.

Samsel's extra point made it 28-0 with 2:27 before intermission.

"Sometimes coming off a bye can hurt you, and in the first half it seemed like we took a lot of time to get warmed up," Na Menehune coach Arnold Martinez said. "We lost the ball a couple times, blew some coverages, and against Kahuku you cannot afford to make mistakes like that. They are a big, solid, fast team."

Moanalua got the break it needed early in the third quarter as Zarin Augustiro recovered a fumble at the Kahuku 21, and after a 10-yard penalty, Micah Kaneshiro threw an 11-yard TD pass to Jon-Michael Sharsh. Landon Ogawa's PAT cut it to 28-7 with 9:17 remaining in the quarter.

Samsel split the uprights on a 30-yard field goal four minutes into the fourth quarter to make it 31-7, but Na Menehune cut it to 31-15 with 2:48 left after a 66-yard touchdown pass play from Kaneshiro to Sharsh -- in which Sharsh spun around to snare a deflected pass in mid-air -- and a two-point conversion pass involving the same combination.

Moanalua's Cody Wright then recovered the ensuing onside kick at the Red Raiders' 42, but Na Menehune came up a yard short on fourth-and-8 and Kahuku proceeded to run out the clock.

"We made some adjustments at halftime and played them tough after that," Martinez said. "We had a great second half, and I'm proud of our guys' effort."

Fullback added 78 yards on 11 carries for the Red Raiders.

Kaneshiro finished with 16 completions in 25 attempts for 180 yards, with two interceptions. Sharsh racked up 117 of those yards on seven catches.





Show your support

Every contribution, no matter the size, will help ScoringLive continue its mission to provide the best and most comprehensive coverage of high school sports in the state of Hawaii and beyond.

Please consider making a contribution today.

ADVERTISEMENT


IMAGE GALLERY



MORE STORIES

No. 2 Maryknoll denies No. 4 Punahou to punch ticket to states

The Spartans avenged a nine inning loss to the Buffanblu two days ago and return to the state tournament...

Kamehameha edges Saint Louis to win double elimination tourney

Warriors topped Crusaders in extra innings to force a winner-take-all playoff for overall league championship.

Waialua stuns Kailua in five sets to win first-ever OIA D2 crown

The Bulldogs dropped the first two sets and rallied for the next three to stun the Surfriders for their...

Moanalua fends off Mililani in 5 for fifth straight OIA boys volleyball title

Ezekiel Sablan put down 20 kills, Jaycen Bush tallied 14 and D'Angelo Ross added 13 to lead Na Menehune...

Punahou needs extra innings to top Maryknoll, keep season alive

Buffanblu scored five big runs in to break a 2-2 in the top of the ninth then held off a Spartans' rally...

Higashionna leading the charge for Pearl City; Bautista's emergence a boon for Mililani

The junior second baseman batted 9 for 15 in four OIA tournament games for the Chargers last week, while...