Leong, Fisiahi lead Kaiser rout of Kalani, 62-20

Kaiser RB Fitou Fisiahi rumbles down the field for a touchdown against Kalani. Greg Yamamoto | SL

HAWAI'I KAI - Thomas Leong's game got off to an inauspicious start but got better quickly.

Kaiser's running back/special teams returner lost a fumble on his first carry of the game, but more than made up for it with four touchdowns to help the Cougars rout Kalani, 64-20, in an O'ahu Interscholastic Association White season opener for both teams at Kaiser stadium. The second half was played with a running clock because of the league's 35-point differential mercy rule.

The Cougars (1-1 overall, 1-0 OIA White) took the opening kickoff to their 40 after Dylan Buck's 39-yard return. Kaiser drove to the Falcons' 37, when Leong fumbled at the Kalani 27. The Falcons eventually punted and Leong returned it 75 yards for the first score of the game.

He would also scored on an 11-yard run and ended the Cougars assault with a 94-yard kickoff return for a TD.

"It started off rocky," said Leong, a transfer from Kailua High. "I fumbled my first carry. I had to make it up."

He wasn't the only Cougar to shine. When not playing linebacker, Fitou Fisiahi lined up at running back. With only five carries, he scored three times on runs of 4, 7 and 40 yards, finishing with 67 yards.

Melvin Kahunanui, who had two interceptions, scored twice, scoring on a 30-yard interception return that made the score 35-0 with 2:27 in the second quarter. He also caught a 16-yard TD pass from Kahoali'i Karratti, a Konawaena transfer, who was 13 of 17 for 199 yards.

Quarterback Noah Brum passed for 194 yards and three touchdowns for the Falcons (0-2, 0-1), who have dropped 12 in a row to their East O'ahu neighbors.

Kaiser was up 35-0 with 2:27 left in the half before Kalani got on the board with 58 seconds left when Brum hit Blaise Manabe on a 16-yard TD pass. But the Cougars quickly responded on Karratti's TD pass to Kahunanui as time expired and make it 41-6 at the break.

The Falcons were able to score twice in the second half, but Kaiser kept the margin from getting to under 35 with three more scores.

"We struggled offensively last weekend (in a 21-7 loss at Campbell)," Kaiser coach Rich Miano said. "We needed to establish our offensive identity, be able to run the ball, be able to throw the ball, so it was big for us because we haven't played well in our last couple of scrimmages against Kahuku, Mililani and Kamehameha. Those are good football teams.

"Special teams, we knew if we continued to work on it, with the athletes we have, we could make some explosive plays."

Sophomore Kahi Neves, who is 6 feet 3 and primarily a defensive end, started at quarterback for the Cougars, but gave way to Karratti shortly in the Cougars' first series. Miano said he needed to give his QB of the future some reps.

"We want to make sure he's involved in the package just in case Li'i goes down," Miano said. "Second, he's that talented that he's going to help us win and do somethings for us and take some pressure off LI'i."

The Cougars' starters played most of the game even with the score out of reach by halftime. Miano said his team isn't that deep; he suited only 39 of 50 players. A number were unavailable for various reasons, including injuries.

"It's nothing to do with trying to run up the score or anything," Miano said. "We have six defensive backs, we have five linebackers, we have maybe six or eight on the defensive line, so it's not like we can go deep. We tried to put in some guys in the third quarter. But we're trying to establish some rhythm and we don't want to rub it in on anybody, but at the same time we don't have a lot of depth. I wish I had more players."

The Cougars draw a bye next week, while the Falcons will host Pearl City Friday at Kaiser.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].