OIA Football
No. 6 Waianae rolls by No. 7 Kailua, 37-22


  



Fri, Oct 16, 2015 @ Waianae [ 8:00 pm ]


Final 1 2 3 4 T
Kailua (7-3-0) 7 7 0 822
Waianae (9-4-0) 0 21 2 1437
Jaren Ulu 55 yd
Noah Auld 169 yd 3 TD
Martin Tigilau 74 yd 1 TD

WAIANAE – Waianae's defense came up with four turnovers and several crucial stops to down Kailua, 37-22, in a quarterfinal of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I tournament Friday at Raymond Torii Field.

The Seariders (7-2), sixth in the Hawaiian Electric Division I Power Rankings, advance to the semifinals for the first time 2010, when they lost to Mililani, 38-28, but went on to reach the state final, losing to Saint Louis, 36-13. Waianae will play the winner of Saturday's quarterfinal between Moanalua and Mililani.

"Feels great," said senior defensive back Alexander Quijano, whose interception set up a Waianae TD, of reaching the semifinals. "Everybody's hyped."

"We haven't been in this position for a while," Waianae first-year coach Walter Young said. "It's one step farther than we went the last couple years. We're looking forward to it; it's kind of exciting."

The No. 7 Surfriders (7-3) end their season having yet to beat their postseason nemesis since the 1999 semifinals.

"We can't afford to give those away," Kailua coach Joe Wong said. "We have to make those count. We were in the red zone many times."

Waianae amassed 362 yards of offense, 307 by rushing, including four touchdowns. Running back Jorell Pontes-Borge led 10 different rushers with 100 yards on seven carries, most coming on a 90-yard TD run.

But Waianae's defense came up with three interceptions, including a 28-yard return for a score by Toto Mailo, and a fumble to stall Kailua.

"The defense played a hell of a game," Young said. "We made them uncomfortable and (quarterback Noah Auld) made some bad decisions."

After the teams exchanged punts to start the game, they each turned over the ball on their second series. Defensive end Christian Mejia intercepted a screen pass from Jaren Ulu near midfield gave Kailua the ball at its 46. Two plays later, Kailua cashed in the turnover on Noah Auld's seven-yard TD pass to Dalton Kalama. Jonovan Lee's PAT gave Kailua a 7-0 lead with 3:48 in the first quarter.

Waianae wasted little time getting back, using a 10-play, 69-yard drive that ended with running back Javen Towne's two-yard TD run. Tate Ebel's PAT was blocked, so Kailua still led, 7-6, at 10:28 in the second period.

Kailua's next series ended with Alexander Quijano's interception at the Waianae 10 on a long pass by Auld. On first down, Pontes-Borge scored from 90 yards on a trap play through the heart of the Surfriders' defense. Towne ran in the 2-point conversion and Waianae took a 14-7 lead with 7:51 in the half.

The teams again exchanged punt, but Isaiah Damo-Agcaoili' 56-yard return to the Waianae 10 set up Auld's 10-yard TD fade pass to Martin Tigilau. Lee's PAT tied the game at 14 with 4:21 in the half.

The Seariders came back. Aided by a 30-yard pass completion from Ulu to Isaiah Freeney on third-and-8 at midfield, Waianae scored on the next play on Towne's 20-yard run to make it 21-14 with 1:58 in the half.

An interception by Mosiah Brame before the half gave Waianae another opportunity to add on to its lead, but the Seariders ended up punting. Kailua ran out the remaining 12 seconds before the half.

Waianae received the second-half kickoff, but wound up punting. Makana Roque-Gonzales' 44-yard punt pinned the Surfriders at their 1. On first down, Kalama was tackled in the end zone for a safety to make it 23-14.

Still within reach, Kailua got into the red zone. A 23-yard catch by Tigilau from Auld put Kailua at Waianae's 10. But on first down, Dylan Keliikoa dropped Gabriel LeLesch for a four-yard loss. After an incomplete pass, Brame made a nice play to knock away a pass intended for Tigilau. On fourth-and-goal at the 14, Keliikoa nearly sacked Auld, who escaped, but threw an incomplete pass to end the drive.

Waianae, keeping in tradition of its running game from 1960s to 1990s, took 17 plays to travel 86 yards – using 9:44 in the process – scored RB Kade Ambrocio's three-yard run to make it 30-14 with 5:17 left in the game.

Ten seconds later, Mailo's 28-yard interception return to the end zone sealed the game for Waianae at 37-14.

Kailua did not quit, scoring on its next series on a 13-yard TD pass from Auld to LeLesch with 4:01 in the game. Auld passed to Tigilau for the 2-point conversion to pull Kailua to 37-22 with 4:01 left.

Kailua's ensuing onside kick failed, but Waianae ended up losing the ball on downs at Kailua's 37 with 1:49 left. The Seariders just ran five straight running plays as time ran out.

"It's unfortunate the season had to end," Wong said. "We had a hell of season. Too bad it had to come to an end."

 

 



Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at [email protected].




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