The Golden Hawks converge on a Molokai ball carrier in the first half of a non-league game Saturday night. Sylvia Lee | SL

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A group of Molokai defenders, led by Vaai Seumalo (left), tackles a Nanakuli ball-carrier in the first half. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Sat, Aug 3, 2019 @ Nanakuli [ 6:00 pm ]

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Molokai

0

Nanakuli

37

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Molokai (4-2-0)	0	0	0	0	0
Nanakuli (5-5-0)	0	21	14	2	37

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Sedric Crawford 255 yd 5 TD

Kaimana Nakayama 39 yd

Sedric Crawford 75 yd

Kaimana Nakayama 33 yd

Nainoa Paz 86 yd 2 TD

Jayden Kaupu 25 yd

NANAKULI — For the first time in a while, the valley was defended.

The Nanakuli football team snapped a 16-game losing streak and earned its first home victory since 2015 with a commanding 37-0 win over visiting Molokai Saturday night in both teams' season opener.

Linebacker-turned-quarterback Sedric Crawford led the charge, shaking off two first half interceptions to throw for 255 yards and five touchdowns while adding 75 yards on the ground in the Golden Hawks' highest scoring game since third-year coach Kili Watson took over the program.

"He's a coachable guy, someone the offense can look to," Watson said of Crawford. "I'm proud for his first showing and full game at quarterback."

The leading receivers for Nanakuli were Nainoa Paz with three catches for 86 yards and two TDs, Kekoa Torres had five grabs for 81 yards and two scores and Tahj Hauhio made six receptions for 81 yards and another TD.

Defensively the Golden Hawks (1-0) controlled the line of scrimmage and allowed just 80 yards of total offense. They recorded 10 tackles for loss while also forcing two interceptions, which were brought down by Clifford Lopes and Wayne Kanda. Senior linebacker Randy McCabe was the leading defender with seven tackles, three for loss, one sack and a fumble recovery.

But Nanakuli, who went 1-25 in the past three years, still had room for improvement. The Golden Hawks were whistled for 14 times for 145 penalty yards. Things also started to get out of hand on the sideline towards the ending of the game.

"Discipline is our foundation, it's something we pride ourselves on, something we preach to the boys everyday. Tonight, despite it being a victory, it's those mistakes that is going to outshine it. It's something we have to work on because we can't allow it," said Watson, who's team moved down from Division I to Division II in the offseason.

A group of Molokai defenders, led by Vaai Seumalo (left), tackles a Nanakuli ball-carrier in the first half. Sylvia Lee | SL    Purchase image

On the other hand, Molokai (0-1) was just thankful for the experience. The Farmers, who competes in the Maui Interscholastic League 8-man format, was playing their first-ever 11-man game in over 50 years.

Molokai coach Mike Kahale, who noted that his team had just 24 players suited up due to injuries and academic restriction, credited his defense for keeping the game close early on.

"We couldn't move the ball offensively. I put my defensive coordinator in a bad situation being out there on the field a whole lot and eventually they were going to score. They played great in the first quarter, had them 0-0."

Kahale added that he liked what he saw in the trenches.

"I saw a lot of great things. On defense, our line looked pretty good. We were struggling at the linebacker situation, but out big boys on the line played pretty well."

Vaai Seumalo led the effort with six tackles, three for loss, and a sack. Nalima Puaa-Aki and Kolee Pedro-Tabilangan also came down with interceptions to power the defense.

Molokai, who will play another 11-man contest against Kamehameha-Maui next Saturday, could make the jump permanently in the near future, Kahale said.

"This is a step, this is definitely a step in that direction if we're going to commit to moving up to that level, so there's a whole lot of ground to make up, but that's still a goal," said Kahale.

Watson came away impressed with the Farmers' effort and is glad that his team could bond with them.

"They had heart and were resilient," Watson said. "With this being their first 11-man game, I think they did an awesome job. I'm just more happy with this team, our boys can relate to them coming from Hawaiian communities. That's what I kind of like more so than this (game), is that our boys are connecting."

Nanakuli will travel to Waialua next Saturday for its OIA D2 regular season opener.