Top Performers
Damien's Borges, Pearl City's Wasano collect weekly honor


Damien junior linebacker Shawn Borges blocked three field goals and had the game-sealing interception in the Monarchs' 6-3 win over Pac-Five last Friday night. Borges also added six tackles as Damien improved to 5-0 in the first time in school history. Steve Erler | Special to SL

Male Athlete of the Week: Shawn Borges, Damien football
Scoring on the Damien Monarchs won't come easy when Shawn Borges is on patrol.

The junior linebacker blocked three field goals and had the game-sealing interception in the Monarchs' 6-3 win over Pac-Five last Friday night. Borges also added six tackles as Damien improved to 5-0 in the first time in school history. 

"Sean is one of the best athletes on our team," said Damien coach Eddie Klaneski, whose team is ranked fourth in the latest ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Division II Football Power Rankings. "He did a great job for us on defense covering down and made just a bunch of big plays.

"Prior to the game it was funny, he goes ‘coach I'm going to give you chest bump if we make a play tonight,' and I said ‘yeah, we're probably going to have three of those' and it worked out. We talked about getting interceptions and he just came up big with the three big blocked field goals."

With Bransen Apao making his first start under center, Damien's defense and special teams unit needed to pick up the slack when the offense could not turn drives into points.

"It was a good team effort," said Borges. "The offense didn't do that well but the defense had to pick it up and I just thank God for the opportunity to play."

The Monarchs' defense also did a solid job pressuring Pac-Five quarterback Kainoa Ferreira. The Wolfpack's signal-caller passed for four scores in Pac-Five's previous contest, but found little success against Damien and was intercepted twice with no touchdowns. 

"We held this team down as much as we could and we didn't let them get into the end zone" said Klaneski. "That was a huge goal for us and we're proud of our team."

Dylan Tapat returned Ferreira's first interception of the night to the Pac-Five 7-yard line to help set up Damien's only score of the game — a keeper by Apao — one play later. This gave Damien a 6-3 lead with 5:04 remaining in the first quarter.

"When the offense is struggling the other part of the team has got to pick it up," said Klaneski. "We came together tonight and we won as a team."

Damien could not get anything going the rest of the way, but Pac-Five threatened to score in each of the following three quarters. Pac-Five kicker Tyler Fukuroda, who booted a 28-yard field goal for the first points of the game, could have easily been the hero of the game if it wasn't Borges.

Coming off the left side of the defensive formation, Borges preserved Damien's lead with a blocked field goal in every quarter after the first. 

"My coaches just told me to do it and I believed it would work so I just went after it," Borges said on the blocked field goals.

The threat of Borges around the corner played a huge factor in Pac-Five's decision to go for the win when the Wolfpack faced a fourth-and-goal situation at the Monarchs' 9-yard line with less than two minutes to play in regulation. Borges was able to step in front of a pass intended for Travis Kaloa and Damien was able to hold on for the win. 

"It was fourth down and we wanted to pump up the crowd," Borges said on his interception. "I just dropped back into coverage and saw the ball coming for me so I went to go get it." 

Damien will have a week off before taking on Saint Francis.

-Michael Lasquero

Female Athlete of the Week: Kiara-Lin Wasano, Pearl City air riflery
Shooting is a family affair for Kiara-Lin Wasano.

The senior is one of three sisters who have excelled in the sport of air riflery under coach Les Aranaydo at Pearl City.

"Kiara started shooting as a freshman and has been with us four seasons now," said Aranaydo, the Chargers' longtime coach. "Her younger sister, Kylie, is a freshman this year. Her older sister, Kristy-Lin, graduated two years ago, so it's definitely a family thing for them."

Wasano had a pair of stellar performances last week in wins over Waialua and Campbell to help Pearl City complete a perfect 7-0 regular-season record in the Western Division of the Oahu Interscholastic Association.

"Kiara was our top shooter last week and has progressively improved," Aranaydo said. "She's usually gets stronger and improves toward the latter part of matches."

Against the Bulldogs Wednesday, Wasano shot a score of 526.13 and followed that up with a 528.13 against the Sabers Saturday.

"She's pretty well-rounded and balanced from all three positions," Aranaydo said. "It's just been a matter of upping her scores from each position and the scores from the beginning of the season are building as with all of the top girls we have and it's nice that we're peaking now, so hopefully we'll be ready when it counts in the OIA semifinals and championships over the next few weekends."

Aranaydo has the luxury of three of the league's top shooters on his team. In addition to Wasano, he expects both Danielle Tanabe and Jennifer Loui to do well in the OIA and state championships.

"Danielle won the OIA last year and was fourth in the state, but really any of the three can win the OIA and also place high in the states," Aranaydo said. "All three should finish in the top five in the state individually and one could possibly maybe even win states."

All three shooters are seniors and four-year members of the team.

"It's a big advantage team-wise when you get all three of them shooting high," Aranaydo said. "If you look at the team scores, none of the girls' teams in the OIA are close, so the girls' team is solid, but when you look at states, it's just a matter of if they put it together at the right time."

Aranaydo said the trio continue to benefit from each other daily.

"I think it's a competition between each other on a friendly basis," he said. "They support each other, they work together and they're always together during matches. It's like that team concept that being together for so long they know each other so well."

Away from the range, Aranaydo describes Wasano as "real quiet."

"She's conservative, real intelligent, has a high GPA and is very personable," Aranaydo said. "She's not loud or anything, but she takes care of what needs to be done and uses her time nicely. She perseveres to do well in anything she does and she gets along well with everybody."

Pearl City has won four straight league championships and claimed its only state title in program history two years ago, when the trio were sophomores.

"It's a goal for those three girls specifically to get back there," said Aranaydo, who noted the cupboard will hardly be bare in the years to follow. "I've got some pretty good younger ones coming up, who will help to kind of replace these girls, so we'll be a pretty competitive team next year for the girls, too."

Wasano and the Chargers will host the OIA team semifinals Saturday and the individual and team championships on Oct. 10. The Civilian Marksmanship Program/Hawaii High School Athletic Association State Championships will be held at Kamehameha-Maui on Oct. 28.

-Kalani Takase

AIR RIFLERY
Joel Endo, Waianae — Shot a score of 527.17 in a win over Kapolei

Micah Olivas, Leilehua — Shot a score of 525 in a win over Kapolei


BOWLING
Blaise Dela Pena, Pearl City — Rolled a high game of 243 in an OIA West boys' meet

Ryan Kajihiro, Pearl City — Rolled a three-game series of 565 in an OIA West boys' meet

Kylie Malilay, Pearl City — Rolled a three-game series of 510 in an OIA West girls' meet

Kiana Saito, Aiea — Rolled a high game of 202 in an OIA West girls' meet


CROSS COUNTRY
Jordan Jones, Pac-Five — Won the girls' race at the Honolulu Marathon/Kaiser Invitational in a time of 18 minutes and 22.5 seconds

Kaeo Kruse, Kamehameha — Won the boys' race at the Honolulu Marathon/Kaiser Invitational in a time of 15 minutes, 30.38 seconds


GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Jayleen Abregana, Kapolei — Had eight kills, six digs and three aces in a win over Campbell

Sierra Buscher, Iolani — Had eight kills and 11 digs in a win over Mid-Pacific

Kamalani Cachola, Aiea — Had 16 digs, nine assists and a kill in a loss to Mililani

Hope Carter, Mililani — Had 25 digs, 13 assists, six kills and six aces in a win over Aiea

Bailey Choy, Iolani — Had 17 assists, 11 digs, one kill and an ace in a win over Mid-Pacific

Anela Lee-Pakaki, Kapolei — Had 11 kills, six digs and an ace in a win over Aiea

Ashley Pawlak, Aiea — Had eight kills, five digs and two aces in a win over Aiea

Cheyenne Teo, Kahuku — Had 10 kills and four digs in a win over Kalaheo


FOOTBALL
Keanu Alu, Kealakehe — Scored on a 54-yard interception return in a win over Keaau

Kade Ambrocio, Waianae — Rushed for two touchdowns in a win over Kaiser

Jay Amina, Kapolei — Scored on an 85-yard interception return in a win over Farrington

Nainoa Banks, Nanakuli — Threw for 317 yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-28 passing in a win over Pearl City

Kaeo Batacan, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Rushed for 101 yards and two touchdowns on 38 carries in a win over Konawaena

Jordan Bayudan, Kamehameha — Rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries in a win over Iolani

Alex Brost, Hawaii Prep — Caught a touchdown pass and made 14 tackles in a win over Honokaa

Harmon Brown, Kahuku — Rushed for 184 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries in a win over Waipahu

Ronnie Espiritu, Lahainaluna — Caught two touchdown passes in a win over Kamehameha-Maui

Noah Esprecion, Campbell — Caught 10 passes for 97 yards in a loss to Moanalua

Challen Faamatau, Farrington — Rushed for 102 yards on 25 carries in a loss to Kapolei

Ace Faumui, Radford — Rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries in a win over Kalaheo

Jaren Feary, Kaimuki — Intercepted two passes in a win over Waialua

Michael Feliciano, Moanalua — Caught six passes for 127 yards with a touchdown and rushed for two other scores in a win over Campbell

Kaysen Higa, Mililani — Threw for 221 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Kailua

Sequioa Iona, Kealakehe — Intercepted four passes, including a 67-yard pick-6, in a win over Keaau

Jordan Iosefa, Saint Louis — Made 12 tackles, including a sack, in a loss to Punahou

Kamuela Kaniaupio, Kamehameha-Maui — Scored on a 50-yard interception return in a loss to Lahainaluna

Nick Kapule, Punahou — Threw for 328 yards and three touchdowns on 26-of-36 passing in a win over Saint Louis

Theodore Kenese, Kahuku — Rushed for two touchdowns in a win over Waipahu

Matthew Keopuhiwa, Pearl City — Had two sacks in a loss to Nanakuli

Kailikea Kukuawela, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Intercepted two passes in a win over Konawaena

Hirkley Latu, Kahuku — Scored on an 82-yard interception return in a win over Waipahu

Jeremiah Leaeno, Campbell — Made seven tackles, four for losses, including a sack, and broke up a pass in a loss to Moanalua

Isaac Lerma, Hilo — Rushed for 155 yards on 12 carries in a win over Waiakea

Keoni-Kordell Makekau, Iolani — Caught 13 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Kamehameha

Vavae Malepeai, Mililani — Rushed for 171 with two touchdowns on 20 carries and caught a touchdown pass in a win over Kailua

Tielu Mamea, Mililani — Recovered two fumbles in a win over Kailua

Randy Manewa, Nanakuli — Made eight tackles and intercepted a pass in a win over Pearl City

Bayley Manliguis, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Caught a touchdown pass and recovered a fumble in a win over Konawaena

Kainalu Martin, Kamehameha — Scored on a 57-yard interception return in a win over Iolani

Keala Martinson, Punahou — Caught six passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Saint Louis

Billy Masima, Kaimuki — Rushed for 164 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries in a win over Waialua

Jensen McDaniel, Kaiser — Rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries in a loss to Waianae

Alexcio Meyers, Nanakuli — Made nine tackles, including two sacks, and intercepted a pass in a win over Pearl City

Keanu Momoa, Nanakuli — Caught five passes for 126 yards and a touchdown in a win over Pearl City

Kingston Moses-Sanchez, Farrington — Caught seven passes for 115 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Kapolei

Dalton Nascimento, Moanalua — Made seven tackles and broke up two passes in a win over Campbell

Kumoku Noa, Kamehameha — Caught eight passes for 189 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Iolani

Patrick Nunez, Pearl City — Caught two passes in a loss to Nanakuli

Leelan Oasay, Saint Louis — Caught five passes for 107 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Punahou

Skyler Ogata, Hilo — Scored on a 47-yard fumble return in a win over Waiakea

Courtney Paaga, Damien — Made five tackles, including two sacks, in a win over Pac-Five

Christian Punsalan, Pearl City — Had two sacks in a loss to Nanakuli

Keala Santiago, Kahuku — Scored on a 45-yard interception return in a win over Waipahu

Brandon Sevelino, Nanakuli — Intercepted two passes in a win over Pearl City

Nehemiah Saovao, Moanalua — Made six tackles, three for losses, including a sack and had one quarterback hurry in a win over Campbell

Isaac Slade-Matautia, Saint Louis — Made 11 tackles, including a sack, and blocked a punt in a loss to Punahou

Fatu Sua-Godinet, Kamehameha — Caught 10 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown in a win over Iolani

Dillon Sunday, Radford — Scored on an 80-yard fumble return in a win over Kalaheo

Tua Tagovailoa, Saint Louis — Threw for 346 yards with a touchdown on 21-of-38 passing and rushed for 72 yards with two other scores on 12 carries in a loss to Punahou

Wayne Taulapapa, Punahou — Rushed for 164 yards and four touchdowns on 33 carries in a win over Saint Louis

Kaale Tiogangco, Hilo — Threw two touchdown passes and rushed for another in a win over Waiakea

Nic Tom, Kaiser — Scored on an 85-yard kickoff return in a loss to Waianae

Alosina Toomalatai, Pearl City — Had three sacks in a loss to Nanakuli

Javen Towne, Waianae — Rushed for a touchdown and caught a touchdown pass in a win over Waianae

Kawika Ulufale, Campbell — Threw three touchdown passes in a loss to Moanalua

Lanakila Wilson, Saint Louis — Caught four passes for 106 yards in a loss to Punahou

Justice Young, Kamehameha — Threw for 370 yards and four touchdowns on 22-of-41 passing in a win over Iolani

Alakai Yuen, Moanalua — Threw for 242 yards and three touchdowns on 15-of-23 passing in a win over Moanalua