Waianae running back Javen Towne carries the ball against Kaiser. Towne scored two TDs, and helped set up another TD and a field goal in the win. Jim Lebeau | Special to SL

Purchase image 1 of 1

Fri, Sep 25, 2015 @ Waianae [ 7:30 pm ]

---

Kaiser

27

Waianae

62

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Kaiser (4-5-0)	0	13	14	0	27
Waianae (9-4-0)	14	16	10	22	62

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Jaren Ulu 109 yd 2 TD

Nicolas Tom 42 yd

Jurick Valdez 70 yd 1 TD

Jensen McDaniel 142 yd 3 TD

Isaiah Freeney 68 yd 1 TD

Jalen Pinks 42 yd

WAIANAE - Ten different running backs combined for six touchdowns and 250 yard rushing and Waianae outlasted Kaiser, 62-27, Friday night at the Seariders' homecoming game.

Running back Javen Towne scored on a four-yard run and a 20-yard pass from quaeterback Jalen Ulu, but contributed to two other scores with long kickoff returns after the relentless Cougars tried to close the gap.

"It was a good game," Towne said. "Both teams kept going back and forth. We just had to keep fighting."

A homecoming crowd of about 2,000 packed Raymond Torii Field to watch the Seariders remain tied with Kahuku at 6-0 and set up next Saturday's showdown for the Oahu Interscholasitc Association Division I Red Division championship, 7:30 p.m. at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium.

This will be the 53rd meeting between the schools. Kahuku, fourth in the Hawaiian Electric Division I Power Rankings, owns a 28-21-3 lead in the series. Waianae, ranked sixth, last beat Kahuku in 2000, only to lose to the Red Raiders that same season for the OIA championship. That jump-started Kahuku's 15-game win streak against the Seariders.

"Feels good," Towne said. "Feel confident about going up against Kahuku.It's going to be a tough game and I'm pretty excited."

Despite the 35-point margin of victory, the Cougars (3-4 overall, 3-3 OIA) were still a threat to the Seariders (6-1, 6-0) because of Kaiser all-purpose player Nicholas Tom and running back Jensen McDaniel. McDaniel led all rushers with 25 carries for 142 yards and three touchdowns. Tom, always a threat with his arm (7 of 10 for 42 yards passing) and legs (11 carries for 66 yards), Just when it appeared Waianae had a commanding 30-7 lead in the second quarter, Tom returned a kickoff 85 yards for a TD to pull the Cougars to 30-13 at the break. He had an 86-yard kickoff return for a TD last week against Castle.

Tom, though, left the game late in the third quarter after taking a hard hit after a 10-yard rush for a first down. Backup Kamalu Simeona finished the game. Simeona completed the series for Tom that eventually ended with McDaniel scorimg class="img-responsive" class="img class="img-responsive"-responsive" his third TD of the game on a 24-yard run to pull the Cougars to 40-27 with 1:52 left in the third quarter.

"We just took him out as a precautionary measure," Kaiser coach Cameron Higgins said. "His ribs were kind of sore and he seemed a little dazed after the hit, so for his safety, we kept him out."

Higgins said Tom "tested really good" on concussion protocols. "The way the game was going and postseason (coming up), it was best to take him out."

But without Tom, the Cougars' offense, worn down because a number of players need to play two ways, were shutdown the rest of way, as the Seariders pulled away three unanswered TDs.

Waianae initiated the scoring with, of all things, a touchdown pass. Ulu hit wide receiver Isaiah Freeney on a fade to the right corner of the end zone to complete a 28-yard scoring play. Tate Ebel's PAT made it 7-0.

Kaiser muffed the ensuing kickoff and Waianae took over at the Cougars' 21. Running back Royce Carrick scored on run on first down to make it 14-0.

Kaiser cut its deficit in half with a 15-play, 62-yard drive that consumed 6:31 off the clock with McDaniel scoring the first of his three TDs with a four-yard run.

Kaiser made a defensive stop at its own 47 when Andrew Kaufusi tackled Towne for no gain on a fourth-and-2 situation. But an interception by Mosiah Brame was recycled into another Waianae score, this time on Towne's four-yard run to make it 21-7.

Things then got worse for Kaiser. A high snap from center in shotgun formation sailed out of the end zone for a safety as the Cougars increased their lead to 23-7.

Worse is the free kick from Kaiser's 20 went out of bounds and Waianae took over from the Cougars' 45.  The Seariders captialized on the short field, scoring on Ulu's 20-yard TD pass to Towne.

But Tom's 85-yard return for a TD on the ensuing kickoff pulled Kaiser to 30-13 and stayed that way until the half.

Towne opened the second half with a 49-yard kickoff return to the Kaiser 31 and the Seariders scored seven plays later on RB Kade Ambrocio's one-yard run.

Kaiser answered back with a 69-yard drive that ended with McDaniel's scoring on a one-yard run to make it 37-20.

Towne's 34-yard return on the ensuing kickoff put Waianae at midfield. It eventually scored on Ebel's 37-yard field goal.

"We tried implementing a new scheme for kick returns," Towne said. "Everybody just made their blocks."

The Cougars' responded with an 84-yard drive - the one that sent Tom out of the game - that culminated in McDaniels' 10-yard TD run that pulled Kaiser to 40-27.

Waianae followed with three unanswered TDs. The first was on RB Jurick Valdez's five-yard run. He followed that by running in the 2-point conversion to make it 48-27.

Later, Kaiser lost a fumble that Brame returned 35 yards to the Kaiser 5. Two plays later, yet another Waianae RB, Nicholas Keliikoa, scored on a one-yard run.

Waianae's final TD was set up in part to a four-yard punt by Kaiser to its own 42. Three plays later, Ambrocio scored on a dazzling 38-yard run to make it 62-27.

"If you look at us, we run 10, 12 (different) backs," Young said. "They're all special. They all help our team out in  many ways."