Patrick Nunez heads for the end zone for a 22 yard score off a pass from Kekainalu Simon in Pearl City's win over Roosevelt. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Fri, Aug 19, 2016 @ Roosevelt [ 7:30 pm ]

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Pearl City

27

Roosevelt

0

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Pearl City (5-4-0)	6	6	8	7	27
Roosevelt (2-6-0)	0	0	0	0	0

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Noah Rosa -2 yd

Kekainalu Simon 103 yd 3 TD

Charvis Paia 94 yd

Charles Freitas 91 yd

MAKIKI – No. 10 Pearl City cashed in on turnovers and good field position from special teams play to knock off Roosevelt, 27-0, Friday night in Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II football at Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium.

The Chargers improved to 2-1 overall and 2-0 in the OIA, while the Rough Riders fell to 1-2 and 1-1.

The Rough Riders were without starting quarterback Shastyn Kekahuna, who injured his ankle in last week's 41-14 win against McKinley, coach Kui Kahooilihala said.

"They missed the quarterback a lot," Pearl City coach Robin Kami said of Kekahuna's absence. "He runs that veer to perfection. When you lose a quarterback like him, it's hard to run the offense."

Noah Rosa started and complete 1 of 3 passes for minus-2 yards and was intercepted by Jayden Madriaga.

Roosevelt first-year coach Kui Kahooilihala didn't use Kekahuna's injury as an excuse and complimented Rosa's effort.

"Noah (Rosa) is like a player-coach for us," Kahooilihala said. "He plays multiple position. He's a tight end, he plays slot, running back, so he pretty much knows the offense so we really didn't worry about the offense. Just the mistakes…too much."

Kekahuna, who is deft at running the veer, had difficulty making cuts when he tried to practice during the week, Kahooilihala said.

The Chargers got on the board in the first quarter on 37- and 27-yard field goals by Zameer Khan.

Pearl City QB Kekainalu Simon completed only 4 of 14 passes for 103 yards, but three were for scores. Calvin Mock had two receptions,: 30-yard and 13-yard TDs. Patrick Nunez caught the other, a 27-yard TD.

The Chargers got off to an auspicious start with great field position to start the game. Robert Yamasaki returned the opening kickoff 69 yards to the Roosevelt 15. But after three incomplete passes, two of them dropped, and a false start penalty, Pearl City settled for a 37-yard field goal by Khan to take a 3-0 lead 54 seconds into the game.

Roosevelt punted after a three downs, but Pearl City took over at midfield and later scored on Khan's 27-yard field goal to increase its lead to 6-0 at 4:40 in the first period.

The Rough Riders punted after three downs on their second series and the Chargers took over at their 43. After five consecutive running plays, Simon connected with Mock on a 30-yard TD pass. The 2-point conversion  failed, but Pearl City owned a 12-0 lead with 11:16 left in the half.

Roosevelt threatened early in the second quarter, but lost the first of three fumbles at the Pearl City 14, but the Rough Riders managed to keep the Chargers from doing any more damage.

Roosevelt received the second-half kickoff, but fumbled the ball away on its second play from scrimmage at its 37. This time the Chargers cashed in on the turnover on Simon's 27-yard TD pass on a cross over the middle. Simon then hit Brandon Lin on a pass over the middle for the 2-point conversion to increase the Chargers' lead to 20-0 with 8:52 in the third quarter.

Late in the third quarter, the Rough Riders lost their third fumble at their 46. Again, the Chargers made the Rough Riders pay, this time scoring on Simon's 13-yard TD pass to Mock with 10:01 left in the game.

The Chargers then got an interception by Jayden Madriaga midway through the fourth. Backup Josiah Keliihoomalu-Abregano took over at QB, but just handed off the ball to running backs.

Roosevelt had one more series before the game ended, but it lost the ball on downs at midfield.

"Turnovers, that kind of hurt us," Kahooilihala said. "That and penalties."

The Rough Riders were flagged nine times for 72 yards, including an ejection of LB Austin Suati for targeting. Kahooilihala said he will review tape and consider an appeal.

Meanwhile, Kami was pleased with Simon's performance despite him completing only 4 of 14 passes. The Chargers were not hurt because they established a strong running game. Running back Charles Fretias led the way with 91 yards on 17 carries.

"Charlie Freitas did a great job of running the ball hard," Kami said. "We tried to rotate him because he was getting tired. The other backs came in and did a great job."

Defensive end Matthew Banez provided some highlights for Roosevelt with two sacks.

Pearl City will play Kalaheo next Friday at Kailua High, while Roosevelt will play Kaimuki at Kaiser next Saturday.