Kaiser's Thomas Leong rushed for a game-high 157 yards and 3 scores against Pearl City. Eugene Tanner | SL

Purchase image 1 of 1

In Kaiser's first O'ahu Interscholastic Association White Championship at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium, the electrifying and versatile Thomas Leong scored three rushing touchdowns to lead the Cougars to a 41-21 victory over the Pearl City Chargers on Friday. 

"He has great blockers such as Parker Higgins and Fitou Fisiiahi blocking for him. He is one of the best athletes in the state, but Thomas has that x-factor, that speed that really ignites the whole team," said Kaiser offensive coordinator Cameron Higgins, who was a standout quarterback at Saint Louis and Weber State University. 

Leong finished the game with 14 carries for 157-yards and three touchdowns. He also led all Kaiser receivers with 5 catches for 61-yards. The Cougars racked up 266 rushing yards for the game and averaged 7.0 yards per carry. 

"That was our main objective", said Higgins, on the running game. "Whoever establishes the run is going to be successful. Once the run happens, then I think it opens up the passing game." 

The Cougars trailed 14-7 in the first quarter and for the first time in a long time, Leong took the hand off from Lii Karratti and rushed for a 24-yard touchdown. The PAT was blocked and the Cougars still trailed, 14-13. 

The next two of Leong's three touchdowns were pivotal and gave the Cougars the lead for good. 

Pearl City's Dominic Maneafiga rushed for a 27-yard touchdown to tie the game at 21. With over 3 minutes in the third quarter, Leong hauled in a 24-yard screen pass from Karratti and on the next play he rushed for a 19-yard touchdown to give the Cougars a slim 27-21 point lead. 

"The offensive coordinator (Higgins) puts me in the right spots. At first I started at defense in the beginning of the season and they saw potential and speed so told me to try out offense. I played running back in the Kalani game and I scored four touchdowns so they kept me on offense. They set me up for the big plays and Coach Cameron came up with it and hooked it up," said Leong, who transferred from Kailua.  

After Canaan Saole stripped Jordan Taamu of the ball and recovered the fumble on Pearl City's 11-yard line, Leong went to work. He started running to his right, but saw his way was impeded and reversed direction and cut back for the score. The touchdown gave Kaiser a 33-21 lead and breathing room for the rest of the game. 

"When I go one way and see something shut down, I reversed it and did what I had to do to use my speed," said Leong. 

Leong had a 67-yard touchdown called back due to a block-in-the-back penalty. Despite the nullified touchdown, he not only displayed great speed, he also has great vision as he made multiple cut backs when running down field. 

Higgins also praised Leong's work ethic and toughness. 

"He has a great desire not to go down, I don't know if you see him run people over and get two or three yards, but those are great runs just like the long runs. He has a strong work ethic during practice and he wants to be better and to make it to the next level. He really put himself on the map tonight," said Higgins. 

In the Kaiser locker room, the music was blaring, the players and coaches were dancing, yelling and having a good time. Coming up short in last year's OIA White semi-finals seems like a distant memory and even the pouring rain at Aloha Stadium couldn't dampen Kaiser's spirits. 

"It's awesome. These guys started training two weeks after the loss to Nanakuli last year, they bought in and to have that kind of work ethic all year long is really impressive and it shows hard work pays off," said Higgins, with a smile.