Waianae outlasts Campbell, 29-21 in OT, to clinch state berth


Waianae's Braiden Ayala comes up with his first of two interceptions on the game. His second INT sealed the win for the Seariders in overtime. Greg Yamamoto | SL

HALAWA  The final four is set for the Open Division.

The Seariders held off a furious, second-half Saber rally, and Rico Rosario's go-ahead score in overtime lifted Waianae past Campbell, 29-21, in the third place game of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I Playoffs at Hawaiian Tel FCU Field at Aloha Stadium.

The Seariders (7-4 overall) won the previous matchup on Aug. 25, 27-14, and returns to the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Division I-Open Football State Championships to face Kahuku on Nov. 10 at 4 p.m.

"We never really thought about the final four. We try to take it one game at a time. They stuck together all the way. Campbell is a great team and our kids overcame a lot. Everyone's vital to our team and if we didn't come together as a whole team then this wouldn't have been possible," said Waianae coach Walter Young.

Campbell saw its season end at 7-5 overall.

Rosario, who had limited action in the first half, battled through injuries from the Mililani game to finish with 69 yards on 12 carries and two scores — one in the second half and another in OT to lift the Seariders.

"Rico was banged up and he was able to dig deep and be able to go for us. He's a special kid," said Young, on Rosario's effort.

The Seariders went to Rosario three plays in a row in the overtime period and capped the drive with a 3-yard touchdown. Waianae called a timeout and Rosario ran it in for two points for a 29-21 lead.

"Coming into the second half, I knew my team needed something. I had to step up and play my role and do what we had to do. I want to shout out the o-line for making the blocks and the defense playing a hell of a game," said Rosario.

"Our kids dug deep and our team put together a drive that gave us the go-ahead. The offense and defense put it together to put us on top," said Young.

Campbell got the ball and Krenston Kaipo found Vernon Estrata-Daite for 6 yards, but threw two straight incompletions. On a fourth-and-4, Braiden Ayala intercepted Kaipo for his second pick of the night near the 5-yard line to seal the deal.

"They ran hitches the plays before. I thought he was going to throw it to me since the quarterback was eyeing me," said Ayala.

"Our defense is very tough and I was telling them when we score, to keep their heads up and just ball and play like this is their last game because the score was close," said Rosario.

Waianae's opening drive covered eight plays, 35 yards and went to four different ball carriers. Justin Tacgere sneaked it up the middle on a fourth-and-goal for a 7-0 lead.

The Seariders padded their lead to 13-0 following Kaimana Swann-Merritt's pick-six that went 45 yards.

"Our kids put it together defensively and when it counted, they did what they needed to do," said Young.

Campbell's six first-half offensive possessions resulted in three punts and three interceptions.

To Kaipo's credit, the junior southpaw rallied the Sabers to throw three second-half touchdowns to finish with 221 yards on 16-of-37 passing and four interceptions.

Personal foul penalties on Waianae helped extend the Sabers' second half offensive drive and Kaipo found Pokii Adkins-Kupukaa for a 17-yard touchdown.

After Waianae went three-and-out, Campbell needed three plays to take the lead, 14-13. Kaipo completed a 19-yard pass to Adkins-Kupukaa and a personal foul helped set up Kaipo's 42-yard score to Keanukea Coyaso-Decambra and Ariel Villanueva put through the PAT.

The Seariders forced Campbell to punt from their own end zone and took over on the Saber 35. On the third play of the drive, Rosario broke loose for a 27-yard run and Kanai Mauga's run made it, 21-14, with 2:23 left in the fourth quarter.

Campbell took over on their own 34, and seven plays later, tied the game up at 21 after Kaipo threw a fade to Tyrese Tafai from 10 yards out on a fourth-and-6 and Villanueva made the kick with 1:07 left in regulation.

Waianae dug themselves in a hole after Nathaniel Thompson sacked Tacgere for a 13-yard loss and Dylan Duque intercepted Tacgere to send the game into overtime.

"We had one goal and that was not to let them score. We had to come back harder," said Ayala, on heading into overtime.



Reach Brandon Ching at [email protected].