Leilehua's James McGary (14) tore it up on the ground, rushing 26 times for 319 yards and two scores. Spencer Honda | SL

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Leilehua left tackle Bishop Victor points and calls out a pre-play read. Spencer Honda | SL

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Sat, Sep 23, 2017 @ Leilehua [ 6:30 pm ]

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Kailua

14

Leilehua

38

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Kailua (4-5-0)	0	7	7	0	14
Leilehua (6-3-0)	14	17	0	7	38

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Konapiliahi Andres 175 yd 2 TD

Aaron Mejia 74 yd 1 TD

James McGary 319 yd 2 TD

Aaron Mejia 68 yd 1 TD

Jeremy Evans 89 yd 1 TD

Tanner Wright 73 yd

WAHIAWA — Running back James McGary rushed for 319 yards and two touchdowns to help No. 9 Leilehua beat Kailua, 38-14, Saturday night at Hugh Yoshida Stadium.

Not since Adrian Murrell rushed for 332 yards in a non-league game against Waianae in 1987 has Leilehua had a 300-yard rushing game by an individual. Murrell, a 1989 Hall of Honor inductee, went on to play at West Virginia before playing nine NFL seasons.

"It was real good to see what we were able to do today," Leilehua coach Mark Kurisu said. "That's the most amount of yards rushing I've seen since we've been here. Especially out of one person."

More important, though, is the Mules improved to 5-2 overall and 4-2 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I Red, tied for second with Farrington (4-3, 4-2). The Mules will host the Governors Friday in a game that will determine the division's second seed. The second seed gets a first-round bye in the 12-team OIA D1 tournament.

The Surfriders (4-3, 3-3) fell to fourth and close the regular season Saturday at first-place Mililani (6-0), which clinched the Red top seed with its 44-33 win against Nanakuli.

"It felt good," Leilehua left tackle Bishop Victor said of McGary's big rushing day. "Even though we don't get all the credit, it felt good."

Well, McGary knew where the credit belonged.

"It was the O-line doing the job," McGary said. "I loved it."

The Mules' offensive line — center Kenoa Tilmwar, guards Ethan Leui and Austin Michael, and tackles Bishop Victor and Charles Vierra — executed blocks so well that McGary looked as if the Surfriders, dressed in all white, were ghosts as he went though tacklers with little resistance. In all, the Mules rolled up 511 yards in total offense.

To Kailua coach Hauoli Wong, his players could just as well have beeh ghosts in the first half.

"Some guys, you have to give tickets to the game," Wong said. "Some of them didn't show up. It was key times that they didn't show up and we called the right plays for them to be there, but you have to execute."

Leilehua left tackle Bishop Victor points and calls out a pre-play read. Spencer Honda | SL    Purchase image

McGary scored on a 56-yard run on the first play of the Mules second series of the game. He went up the middle unscathed.

McGary also scored on Leilehua's fourth series of the game on a 40-yard jaunt that made it 28-0 with 9:47 left in the first half. 

Leilehua's other two scores came on Konapiliahi Andres' TD passes of 30 yards to Jeremy Evans and 29 yards to Jeremy Ramos.

Just as the offense was having its way against Kailua, the Mules' defense was doing a job on the Surfriders' offense. Kailua was held to 166 yards in total offense. A total of 12 of 28 runnings plays for Kailua resulted in lost yardage. Linebacker Richard Shimasaki accounted for half of those tackles, including a sack.

"As much as everybody sees the good plays, coaches, for some reason, see all the misplays," laughed Kurisu.

He was referring to big plays made by Kailua QB Aaron Mejia, who passed for 74 yards and one TD and rushed for 68 yards on six carries, including a 13-yard TD run.

Mejia's rushing TD before the half came on a fourth-and-6. He dropped back to pass, then dashed his way to the end zone to pull Kailua to 28-7.

The other score came on Mejia's 5-yard TD pass to Samson Rasay in the third quarter. That score was set up by a blocked punt by Alika Teramoto that gave Kailua the ball at Leilehua's 7.

Mejia also made a big play after Kailua blocked a 25-yard field goal attempt by Akoni Tom-Makue, who made a 25-yarder earlier in the game. The Surfriders tried to return the block, but only got to its own 2. But on first down, Mejia rushed for 52 yards to the Leilehua 46. Even though Kailua didn't score, it got itself out of a jam.

"He's so shifty," Kurisu said of Mejia. "We actually had the right blitz called, it's just we didn't hit the gaps. The gap that we didn't hit, a good quarterback notices it and he hit it, so credit goes to him and his coaching staff."

Unfortunately for Kailua, Mejia went down with an injury after the 52-yard gain and Cole Weber finished the game at QB. Mejia and Dakota Kadooka both left the game with undisclosed injuries.

"I can't elaborate on that," Wong said of the injuries. "I don't know (about the severity of the injuries) yet."

Leilehua's Andres finished the game completing 13 of 28 passes for 175 yards.

Kailua's Mejia was 6 of 15 for 74 passing yards; Weber was 5 of 10 for 54 yards.