KAPALAMA HEIGHTS—No. 11 Moanalua made plays down the stretch and rallied in the fourth quarter to tie No. 8 Kamehameha, 21-21 at Kunuiakea Stadium Friday.

Freshman quarterback Tayden-Evan Kaawa threw for 268 yards, one interception, and three touchdown passes —two going to Gabe Wells, who had five catches for 65 yards to lead Na Mehenune (1-1-1 overall). Eric Stephens hauled in 117 of his 125 receiving yards in the second half.

"Tayden is cool under pressure. But he's young, but he's going to make those young mistakes. Me as a head coach, I have to make sure to give him every opportunity to work through it. There was a part in the game where things got hectic but he started moving the ball the way he needed to and he's a good player, he's going to get better by the week," Moanalua coach Vince Nihipali said.

The Warriors (0-1-1 overall) played their first game since Aug. 6 and scored all their points on the ground led by Kealii Ah Yat, who threw for 238 yards, was picked off once but had 18 rushing yards and two rushing scores.

Moanalua tied it up the game at 21 after Kaawa found Wells for a 21-yard touchdown on fourth-and-16. Kamehameha started on their own 26 and got into Na Menehune territory after Ah Yat found Kalai Bradley on a 29-yard completion. The Warriors got to the 25 but a false start penalty pushed them back five yards and on the next play, Colby Casinas dropped Ah Yat for a 12-yard loss turning it over on downs.

With 1:19 left on the clock, Kaawa completed a 15-yard pass to Stephens and spiked the ball. Following an incompletion, Keenan Ulu caught the ball on the backside of a defender's body for a 35-yard gain down to the 8. Cameron Johnson took a 1-yard loss and a spike set up a 26-yard attempt from Andy Nguyen but it was no good as time expired.

"I told the kids, it's like a life lesson. Life is never going to go your way every single time, you're going to have to battle and keep fighting. You have to believe in each other. We're a really young team. If you can grow like this and keep fighting and give yourself a chance to win, we'll be better off as the season goes along in the Open Division," Nihipali said.

It was a nice homecoming for Nihipali, who graduated from Kamehameha in 1990.

"This is home for me. I owe a lot to Bernice Pauahi and Kamehameha Schools. This place will always hold a special place, I get choked up thinking about Kamehameha."

After Moanalua went three-and-out on their opening drive, Kamehameha marched down field with an efficient, 14-play, 94 yard drive by going 3-for-3 on third down and Ah Yat snuck it in on fourth-and-goal for a 7-0 lead.

Moanalua got the ball back after Joshua Sanders recovered the muff punt, but Na Menehune turned it over on downs. Na Menehune forced a punt and scored off a turnover after Hunter Eagen recovered the ball on the Warriors' 22 after it touched a Kamehameha player.

"I thought special teams improved 100-fold today. We got turnovers, they made plays, running down kickoffs more aggressively. It was a rough week of practice where we were banged up, we were missing guys to injury. I told the younger guys, this is where you're going to grow yourself and get better. Man, they played lights out," Nihipali said.

Kaawa squeezed it to Johnson on fourth-and-goal from 7 yards out to tie the game. Jordan Peredes intercepted Ah Yat, but Moanalua could not capitalize on the turnover and turned it over on downs.

Kamehameha scored after forcing a stop on a nine-play, 77 yard drive capped by Dreyton Stone's 4-yard rushing score that gave the Warriors a 14-7 lead at halftime.

After Kamehameha's first offensive drive to start the third quarter stalled, Moanalua answered to tie the game with a nine-play, 74 yard scoring drive to tie the game at 14 after Kaawa found Wells for a 5-yard touchdown.

Nicson Alapai recovered a muffed punt but could not take the lead after Kain Tubania's 40-yard field goal attempt was no good. Alapai got the ball back again for the Warriors, this time on an interception, but a 31-yard attempt from Tubania was no good to start the fourth quarter.

Kiai Hanohano forced the ball out of Kaawa's hand and Nazaiah Caravallo recovered it. Stone gained nine yards twice and Ah Yat found Kaina Watson for a 28-yard gain to the 1 that set up Ah Yat's second rushing touchdown of the night.

Both teams traded punts until Moanalua got the ball back on its own 40. Kaawa connected with Stephens for a 31-yard gain and tacked on more yardage from a penalty. Johnson got to the 9, but on the next play, Kaawa was sacked by Caravallo for a 12-yard loss. On fourth-and-16, Kaawa rifled it to Wells for the tying touchdown.

Ryson Lum led Na Menehune's defense with seven tackles, Casinas had four solo tackles and the crucial sack, Paredes had the lone interception.

Caravallo had four solo tackles with a sack and fumble recovery for the Warriors. Sheyden Iokia caught five passes for 87 yards to lead the Warriors and Watson was the next leading receiver with 83 yards.

Moanalua starts Oahu Interscholastic Association Open Division play at Mililiani (1-1 overall) on Saturday, Sept. 3.

Kamehameha will have time off before starting its Interscholastic League of Honolulu slate against Saint Louis (1-1 overall) on Saturday, Sept. 10.