Kaimana Lale-Saole and the Aiea Na Alii will visit Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium Friday for an OIA Division I showdown against Kamuela Kaaihue and the Roosevelt Rough Riders. ScoringLive photo illustration

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Fri, Oct 29, 2021 @ Roosevelt [ 7:00 pm ]

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Roosevelt

13

Aiea

14

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Roosevelt (2-4-0)	0	3	3	7	13
Aiea (4-3-0)	7	0	7	0	14

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Ezekiel Olie 145 yd 2 TD

Kayman Lewis 84 yd 1 TD

Kaimana Lale-Saole 81 yd

Silas Kekahuna 11 yd

Rico Figueroa 62 yd 1 TD

George Matsunaga 27 yd 1 TD

The first game for both the Aiea and Roosevelt football teams played out quite similarly last weekend. 

Na Alii and the Rough Riders each jumped out to an early lead, fell behind, then reclaimed the lead in the second half, only to see Moanalua and Castle, respectively, rally to win it with the final score of the game. 

The teams will cross paths Friday night, with each squad looking to rebound and avoid starting the season at 0-2 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I race. 

"It was a tough loss last week," said Aiea coach Wendell Say, whose team fell, 28-25, at Moanalua last Friday. 

Na Menehune got the game-winning score on an 18-yard touchdown pass with two minutes and 17 seconds remaining in the game. 

Say's squad — which includes just nine seniors — shot themselves in the proverbial foot a number of times in defeat. 

"We had critical penalties, like offsides and stuff that just hurt us and we shouldn't have put ourselves in a situation where it came down to the last touchdown, but we showed our youth. I think if our kids played well all the way, if we cut down the penalties it wouldn't have been as close as it was," Say said. 

"Take nothing away from Moanalua, they're a good team. I think every team in our division is gonna be a challenge," he added. 

Despite the result, Na Alii's defense proved to be up to the task. It held Moanalua to 219 total yards and forced six total turnovers, including five interceptions. Two of those resulted in pick-6s: Bishop Foumai's 33-yard return for TD that opened the scoring midway through the first quarter and Aizik Mahuka's 20-yarder that evened the score at 22 in the third quarter. 

"Yeah, they played well, (but) I think we still need a lot of work," Say noted. "I think tackling was atrocious at some points but again, it was our first game and I think we're slowly getting back to where we were before we stopped (for seven-plus weeks in early August to late September), because in August the kids were playing real well until they stopped football for a couple months and now we're just slowly getting back."

The situation is very much the same for the Rough Riders, who moved up from Division II to the middle tier. 

"For us, it's still a working process and the kids understand that you gotta put in work if you want to get better and if you want to win games," said Roosevelt coach Kui Kahooilihala, whose team came up short against Castle, 18-14, at home Saturday night.

"Nobody wants to lose, but hey, you gotta work to win," he added. "You gotta work hard."

The defenses dominated the game between the Rough Riders and Knights, with the teams combining for nine turnovers. Castle had just 129 yards of total offense; Roosevelt managed a few more: 131 total yards. 

"Castle is a great team and now that we're in the D1, the kids gotta understand all the teams in our division are good and every game is like a playoff game to us, so we gotta be ready. Everybody's gotta be ready to go, but with the kids every game is gonna be a learning thing," Kahooilihala said. 

Both Roosevelt touchdowns against Castle last week were credited to Kamuela Kaaihue. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound junior caught a 14-yard TD pass from quarterback Kayman Lewis for the first score of the game with about five minutes left in the first quarter. Kaaihue also found the end zone while on defense with his 83-yard interception return for touchdown at the 2:16 mark of the third quarter. 

"That young man is gonna be a good one," Kahooilihala said of Kaaihue. "Athletically, he's got all the tools, he's a great player, he brings it every week at practice and he's one of our leaders, one of our captains and he has that ability to make things happen on the field."

While Kaaihue is among a core group of bona fide leaders for the Rough Riders, Aiea is still in search of some leadership. 

"That's the part; we only have nine seniors so it's gotta come from the them, but I tell the kids that it doesn't matter if you're a freshman, a sophomore, junior or senior, you can be a leader. If you're not a vocal leader, lead by example and hustle, but we're trying to look to our seniors for leadership," Say said. 

Part of the issue for Na Alii can be traced to attrition. 

"We had like ninety kids in August and we've got half of that now, so it's a little different but it is what it is," Say said. "Our kids gotta step it up and our seniors gotta be leaders. They gotta put themselves in a leadership position where they don't wait, because if you wait it's gonna be a short season — I mean, very short."

Roosevelt's roster lists 51 players, just a handful fewer than Aiea. Kahooilihala is appreciative of the buy-in he was received from his players and coaches alike. 

"It's been great, everybody is on board. Even from after that postponement the kids were excited to get back on the field and so they were just anxious to get the season going, even our coaches, so it's been great. The kids, everybody's been buying into what we need to do," he said. 

Say has taken notice of the Rough Riders' ability this season. 

"They're a good team, I watched them. Mistakes and penalties hurt them, just like us, and again all the teams in our conference are challenge and the team that makes the least mistakes and wants it more is gonna win," said Say, who pointed out that both the Roosevelt and Aiea JV teams played for a division championship in 2019. 

"So they probably got a good nucleus of kids. It's one of those unknowns where not playing for two years and you don't know how much a kid has developed in that year and a half or two years, but the scary part is that the foundation is there," he said. 

Ultimately, Say's doing his best to keep his players focused on themselves come Friday night. 

"We just gotta execute. Our kids gotta execute their assignments, play responsible football, same basic stuff and Roosevelt is probably looking at the same thing; no missed assignments, playing mistake-free ball. I look at it being a good game this week. We had a tough loss and Roosevelt had a tough loss, so it'll be a big game for both of us," Say said. "It's gonna be an exciting game for the spectators and hopefully things can fall in place for us," Say said. 

Kahooilihala offered his take on this week's opponent. 

"They're quick. They've got a good quarterback, they got good, quick skill guys on that side of the ball and their defense, too. They play good, solid defense and we don't expect anything less from these guys," he said. "They're gonna be a tough one and they're gonna bring it, so we gotta just make plays and understand that, moving forward for us, everybody gotta be on the same page and we gotta play consistent football."

Kickoff between Na Alii (0-1) and the Rough Riders (1-1) is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium. All tickets must be purchased online and no tickets will be sold on a walk-up basis.