Kaiser gets by Kalaheo to lock up No. 2 seed in OIA D2 playoffs

Rayden Aoki | Special to SL

Sean Connell threw a touchdown pass and ran for another to help Kaiser hold off Kalaheo for a 21-14 win in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II game Saturday night.

The Cougars improved to 5-3 overall and 5-2 in league play, while the Mustangs fell to 2-4.

After a scoreless first quarter, Connell got the Cougars on the board with his touchdown run. Kalaheo answered with a TD run by Kamalu Anoba-Jordan, but missed the extra point.

Kaiser held a 7-6 lead at halftime, which held through the start of the fourth quarter.

Connell hit Keagan Lime for a touchdown pass with 7:50 left in the third quarter before Anoba-Jordan evened the score by running in a touchdown and the two-point conversion that followed to tie it at 14 with 6:17 to play.

The Cougars eventually got the game-winning score on a Brady Kim touchdown run with 54.1 seconds remaining. Bijan Yarbabaev added the PAT.

"Every game we've had this year has been competitive and that's just the nature of our league this year," Kaiser coach Tim Seaman said.

"I'm very proud of our kids for the fight they have displayed throughout the course of the year. They've been in tight situations, they know how to compete and when it gets to the fourth quarter, that's when it's time for our guys to step up," he added.

"We still haven't played our best football, but we definitely stepped it up today. This was gonna be a hard game but we all knew it," said sophomore running back Jayvian Smith, who ran for a season-high 130 yards on 20 carries in the win.

Kaiser will be the No. 2 seed in the upcoming OIA D2 tournament and will face third-seeded Roosevelt in a semifinal game in two weeks.

Kalaheo was eliminated from playoff contention with the loss, its third in a row.

The Mustangs will close out the regular season Friday night against Kalani at Kaiser Stadium.