The Waipahu defense corrals Kaimuki running back Ieke Seei-Cleveland in an OIA Division II contest. Michael Lasquero | SL

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Waipahu sophomore linebacker Fiva Tulafale gets around Kaimuki quarterback Jordan Solomon en route to a 62-yard pick-six. Michael Lasquero | SL

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Sat, Sep 30, 2017 @ Farrington [ 6:30 pm ]

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Waipahu

35

Kaimuki

14

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Waipahu (10-1-0)	7	7	14	7	35
Kaimuki (5-4-0)	7	0	7	0	14

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Jordan Solomon 203 yd

Braden Amorozo 186 yd 3 TD

Ieke Seei-Cleveland 88 yd 1 TD

Alfred Failauga 94 yd 1 TD

Blade Pfeiffer-Kekoa 51 yd

Matthew Fiesta 79 yd 2 TD

KALIHI - After a sluggish early going on offense, defense jump-started Waipahu in its 35-14 win against Kaimuki Saturday night at Skippa Diaz Stadium at Henry Kusunoki Field.

The Marauders, No. 2 in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Division II Football Power Rankings, clinched the top seed for the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II four-team tournament with a game left in the regular season. Waipahu improved to 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the OIA. Having already beat Pearl City, the Marauders have the head-to-head tiebreaker should both finish at 6-1. The Chargers are the second seed, Kaimuki is third and Roosevelt is fourth. Roosevelt has head-to-head tiebreakers against Kalani and Kalaheo.

"Feels good to be No. 1 (seed)," said defensive back Zeondre Benjamin, who had two interceptions for Waipahu. "Now, it's like there's a target on our back, so we have to come out and work hard."

Braden Amorozo passed for 186 yards and three touchdowns, while RB Alfred Failauga rushed for 94 yards and one score for Waipahu.

Jordab Solomon passed for 203 yards and a rushing TD, but he was intercepted four times. Ieke Seei-Cleveland led the Bulldogs with 88 rushing yards and a TD.

Waipahu found itself down 7-0 early and had to punt after its first two series of the game. But a 62-yard intterception return by sophomore linebacker Fiva Tulafale for a TD was the spark the Marauders needed to fight off the Bulldogs.

Just before the half, Waipahu's offense finally got on the board to snap the 7-all game after Braden Amorozo's 41-yard TD pass to Matthew Fiesta.

"They've been stellar all season," Waipahu coach Bryson Carvalho said of his defense. "They played well tonight. Just credit to the whole coaching staff. We meet every Sunday to game plan and the kids just pull through with the plans, so props to them."

Waipahu sophomore linebacker Fiva Tulafale gets around Kaimuki quarterback Jordan Solomon en route to a 62-yard pick-six. Michael Lasquero | SL    Purchase image

Besides Benjamin's two picks and Tulafale's, Dhelton Bandonill also had an interception for Waipahu. On the front side, linebacker Centennial Kulikefu had two sacks, while Kealii Barrett and Zachary Camanse added one each.

Kaimuki, though, tied the game at 14 to start the second half. But the Marauders scored three unanswered TDs, two coming after turnovers.

"I had some concerns earlier in the week," Carvalho said, "and I was right. They're a hell of a team. I'm glad our guys kind of woke up and picked up some blocks they needed to. We made some adjustments at halftime. I was real happy the way they played second half."

Waipahu punted after three downs on its first series, but pinned Kaimuki to it own 17. But QB Jordan Solomon guided the Bulldogs on a 14-play, 83-yard drive that ended with an Ieke Seei-Cleveland 12-yard TD run. Richard Burton' PAT put Kaimuki up 7-0 with three minutes, 41 seconds left in the first period.

Waipahu tied the game on Tulafale's interception return and Amorozo's PAT with no time showing on the clock to end the first quarter.

Later, Waipahu could not capitalize on Bandonill's interception and punted. But the Marauders' offense finally got on the board with 36 seconds left in the half Amorozo's 41-yard TD pass to Fiesta to give Waipahu a 14-7 lead at the half.

Kaimuki wasted little time getting back in the game.  The Bulldogs used a 12-play, 69-yard drive that culminated on a nifty option keeper by Solomon, who faked a dive right and ran a bootleg left unscathed to the end zone at 6:30 in the third quarter to tie the game at 14.

But Waipahu RB Alfred Failauga, who had 17 rushing yards on six carries in the first half, carried the next series, rushing the ball for 21 yards on five carries in the seven-play drive, which ended with receiver Isaac Yamashita's tip-toe catch along the sideline to finish a 36-yard scoring pass from Amorozo. But Naomas Asuega-Fualaau blocked the PAT to keep the game at 20-14.

Benjamin's first of two interceptions was returned 25 yards to the Kaimuki 15. Four plays later, Failauga scored on a 9-yard run. He then ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 28-14.

 The turnovers weren't the only thing hurting Kaimuki. Early in the fourth, a high snap from center in punt formation gave Waipahu possession at the Bulldogs' 15. On first down, Amorozo connected with Fiesta again for another TD to make it 35-14.

"You're never going to win a game with that kind of turnovers," Kaimuki coach David Tautofi said. "Those mistakes, we left too many points off the board tonight. (Waipahu) did exactly what I thought would happen if we didn't do our part. They captialized. They're a great team."

With the seeds all set for the D2 tournament, the teams still have another week of regular season play. On Friday, Waipahu plays McKinley at Roosevelt, Kaimuki will face Kalaheo at Farrington and Roosevelt will travel to Waialua. Pearl City has a bye.

"We just have to be a little more focused and be more engaged," Tautofi said of what his team needs to improve on in the coming weeks. "Especially when you have guys going both ways. It's challenging, but they're used to to it. Physically, it was a good matchup. For the most part, we had our chances."