Waianae quarterback Kekoa Kaluhiokalani gets set to let a pass fly against Waipahu. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Waipahu's Christian Paulino carries the ball against Waianae. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Waianae running back Jemery Willes tries to break free from a Waipahu defender on a carry. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Fri, Sep 20, 2013 @ Waianae [ 7:30 pm ]

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Waipahu

0

Waianae

39

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Waipahu (2-7-0)	0	0	0	0	0
Waianae (6-3-0)	0	24	6	9	39

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Kekoa Kaluhiokalani Jr. 27 yd 1 TD

Kai Mercado-Aiona 16 yd

Jemery Willes 61 yd

Kai Mercado-Aiona 55 yd

Pookela Noa-Nakamoto 54 yd

Tama Iosefa 12 yd

WAIANAE – It took the Seariders' engine an entire quarter to get going, but once it did, they were firing on all cylinders.

Waianae broke open a scoreless first quarter with 24 points in the second en route to a 39-0 shutout win over Waipahu. The win was a combined effort as the home team got contributions from all three facets of the game. Waianae's offense accounted for 18 points with the Seariders' defense and special-teams combined to score 21.

"Finally things went our way," said Waianae head coach Danny Matsumoto.

The Seariders (5-2 overall, 3-2 Red West), ranked eighth in the ScoringLive/OC 16 Division I Power Rankings, handed the Marauders (2-4, 1-3) their third loss in the Red West.

"That was a real tough loss to Campbell," said Matsumoto referring to the 32-24 loss to the Sabers a week ago. "We knew it was going to be a rough game; as far as motivation, we really needed this one."

Waipahu was missing four offensive and three defensive starters due to grades or injury. This forced strong safety Tama Iosefa to play receiver and linebacker Mark Failauga to play fullback. The Marauders also didn't do themselves any favors as they turned the ball over five times and committed 13 penalties.

"We weren't really prepared for this week," admitted Waipahu coach Eric Keola. "We didn't have a good week of practice. What happen on the field pretty much showed what kind of practices we were having this week."

The score was all zeroes heading into the second quarter. Both teams were piecing together solid drives in the first quarter before turning it over on fumbles.

"We got to get more consistent and be ready to start the game from the get go," said Matsumoto.

After the first quarter though, everything went Waianae's way. On a crucial 4th down and two at the Waipahu 3-yard line, Waianae quarterback Kekoa Kaluhiokalani completed a sneaky play-action touchdown pass to Mahvan Tau for the first points of the game. Stanton Spencer's PAT was good and the score was 7-0, Waianae, just one play into the second quarter.

Waipahu couldn't get anything going offensively on their next possession and was forced to punt. Marauder punter Sword De Asis had his punt blocked by linebacker Ronald Matautia which was recovered by Matautia for a special-teams score.

"The punt block was just a matter of going 100-percent," explained Matautia. "I felt like the game was going slow, like everyone was sleeping. I just came in on the right side 100-percent and I was able to block it."

The Seariders next score came on defense with eight minutes and 37 seconds remaining in the first half. Defensive tackle Nathan Kuresa was able to force a fumble on Marauder quarterback Kai Mercado-Aiona on a poorly executed misdirection play. Justice Jardine scooped up the loose ball and took it 25-yards to the house. Spencer's kick was good, giving Waianae a 21-0 lead, the third touchdown scored in under three minutes and 30 seconds. Spencer also added a 32-yard field goal near the end of the first half to give the Seariders a 24-point lead heading into the break.

Matautia and Emil Muraoka added rushing touchdowns in the second half while the defense forced a safety when a Marauder fumble rumbled into the back of the end zone.

With new faces on the offense, the Marauders faced difficulties trying to move the ball down the field. The offense only mustered 127 yards of total offense while also committing six false start penalties. The Marauders' best offensive threat in the game was Mercado-Aiona who rushed for 55 yards and passed for only 16.

The Seariders close out the regular season next week with a homecoming game against No. 7 Kapolei while the Marauders travel to No. 6 Campbell to fight for the Cane Knife trophy.

"This win gives the team a lot of momentum," said Matautia. "It brings confidence to our team to help us move forward."