No. 8 Kailua rebounds to upend No. 10 Moanalua, 37-24


Kailua wide receiver Martin Tigilau had eight receptions for 150 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Moanalua. Johnny Wilson | Special to SL

SALT LAKE—No. 8 Kailua rebounded to put the loss against Farrington in the rear view mirror as Noah Auld's five passing touchdowns lifted the Surfriders past Moanalua, 37-24 in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Blue Division game at Moanalua High School on Friday night.

"The thing we stress to them in this division you can't sleep on anybody and everyone comes to play week in and week out. They keep fighting back and I tell them keep plugging away and it will work in your favor," said Kailua coach Joseph Wong.

The Surfriders improve to 5-1 in the Blue, 6-1 overall, while the Na Menehune dropped their third straight game to fall to 1-4 in the Blue, 2-4 overall.

Auld passed for 275 yards, five touchdowns and an interception. Martin Tigilau led all receivers with eight catches for 150 yards and two touchdowns and on defense he recorded an interception.

"Credit to the receivers and the line. Our line blocked and our receivers caught everything," said Auld. "Martin is a great receiver and snags everything in his reach."

"I call him a GM, he's a general manager and he has to manage everything on the field. He has a lot on his shoulders and it's a team effort and everyone is trying to get him in the right position at the right time," said Wong.

Moanalua scored on their opening series, marching 94 yards on six plays capped by Michael Feliciano's 45-yard run. Feliciano finished the game with 57 rushing yards and caught six passes for 90 yards and a touchdown.

However, it was all Kailua from there.

Kawehe Kohatsu pressured Alakai Yuen and was called for intentional grounding in the end zone resulting in a safety for the Surfriders.

In the second quarter, Noah Auld connected with three different receivers for touchdowns. Auld threw a 17-yard touchdown to Martin Tigilau. Tigilau caught five passes for 111 yards in the first half. Tigilau's interception set up another Kailua score as Auld found Isaiah Damo-Agacoili for a 25-yard touchdown.

"Moanalua is a good team, but our line gave him time and he found the open spots," said Tigilau. "They (the o-line) did really good when we needed them."

After Moanalua turned it over on downs with 44 seconds left, Auld marched the offense all the way down to the Na Menehune 10-yard line and dumped a pass to Mark Lagazo with no time left to give the Surfriders a 23-6 lead going into halftime.

Auld threw a 21-yard touchdown to Kalei Kealoha-Machado to make it 30-6. Kealoha-Machado intercepted Yuen and Kailua went all the way down to the Moanalua 28-yard line, but Pita Tiave intercepted a deflected pass and returned it 78 yards for a touchdown.

Auld shook off the turnover and guided the Surfriders 54 yards on nine plays after he threw his fifth touchdown to Tigilau to make it, 37-12.

Moanalua's offense woke up in the fourth quarter as Yuen hit Feliciano for a 22-yard touchdown. After the Surfriders punted, two plays later Yuen found Kaimi Kini for 42 yards, but the run failed as Moanalua trailed, 37-24. Yuen had 19 passing yards in the first half, but finished the game with 245 passing yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Surfrider defense bent, but didn't break. Christian Mejia had three sacks and a forced fumble, Kohatsu added two sacks, Tigilau and Kealoha-Machado each had interceptions.

"That is our mentality, bend don't break. They did a good job tonight," said Wong, on his defense.

Logan Serikawa added three sacks to lead the Na Menehune defense.

The Na Menehune were not able to capitalize on a turnover after Gabriel LeLesch coughed up the football and Justice Tuaopepe recovered it. However, three plays later Mejia sacked Yuen and knocked the football out and Kohatsu pounced on it.

Kailua will host and close out the regular season against No. 3 Mililani (5-0 OIA, 5-1 overall) while Moanalua will host Campbell (1-4 OIA, 1-5 overall) on Sept. 26.



Reach Brandon Ching at [email protected].