Waianae RB Jeremy Willes rushed for 149 yards and 3 touchdowns against Campbell. Sherwin Acidera | SL

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Fri, Sep 14, 2012 @ Campbell [ 7:00 pm ]

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Campbell

14

Waianae

28

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Campbell (6-4-0)	0	14	0	0	14
Waianae (5-5-0)	0	7	7	14	28

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Kekoa Kaluhiokalani 75 yd 1 TD

Justin Tago-Su'e 148 yd 1 TD

Jemery Willes 149 yd 3 TD

Tristan Pebria 29 yd

Pookela Nakamoto 43 yd

Amosa Amosa Jr. 51 yd 1 TD

'EWA BEACH-It boiled down to discipline on defense.

Waianae, executing its glory days option offense, ran over Campbell, 28-14, Friday night in O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red West football at the Sabers' field.

The Seariders rallied from a 14-7 halftime deficit with quarterback Kekoa Kaluhiokalani deftly engineering the Seariders' option that helped fullback Alakai Kealoha and tailback Jeremy Willes combine for 267 yards rushing and four touchdowns, albeit one was by pass reception.

The win pulled the Seariders into a tie for third with the Sabers, ranked ninth in the ScoringLive/OC 16 Power Rankings, along with Waipahu, all at 2-2. They trail co-leaders Leiehua and Mililani, each 2-1.

The Sabers' defense struggled in adjusting to the Seariders' option in which Willes tallied for 149 yards on a staggering 33 carries, including rushing TDs of 2, 6 and 1 yards, while Kealoha had 118 yards on 20 rushes. Kealoha also caught a 10-yard TD pass from Kaluhiokalani.

Campbell coach Amosa Amosa, a former University of Hawai'i offensive lineman when Paul Johnson was offensive coordinator and used the option, knows that everyone on defense must be disciplined and not stray from his responsibilities. The Sabers would bite on the dive and Kaluhiokalani would pitch to the tailback.

"And even when we got there and had everybody covered, he (Kaluhiokalani) made that quick pitch," Amosa said.

Meanwhile, Waianae was able keep its pass rush disciplined to contain Campbell's scrambling quarterback Justin Tago-Su'e.

"The front four had to do their jobs, keep their rush lanes, keep (Tago-Su'e) in the pocket and apply pressure," Waianae defensive coordinator Jason Hussey said. "We did all those things."

Wreaking havoc as usual was defensive lineman Kennedy Tulimasealii, who registered two tackles for losses, including a sack.

Waianae put the ball in the air only seven times. Kaluhiokalani completed six passes for 75 yards; but the one he didn't complete was returned 54 yards for a touchdown by Campbell's Donovan Poniatowski. his second pick-six of the season. It came after a scoreless first quarter with eight minutes, 25 seconds left in the half. A heavy rush by Campbell forced an under-thrown pass to the Sabers' LB.

The one of a series of mental errors cost the Sabers on the play. They were called for unsportsmanlike conduct on the score and the penalty was applied on the kickoff, which went out of bounds. Instead of taking the ball at 50 (to account for the 15-yard penalty on the kickoff, the Seariders made the Saber re-kick from five yards back to their 20.

Chaz Bollig's 38-yard return to the Sabers' 32 made for an easy eight-play drive that ended with the first of Willes' three TDs, a two-yard run. Jacoby Cid's PAT tied the game at 7 with 4:50 left in the half.

The Sabers were able to answer with nine-play, 85-yard drive, more than a third of it covered on Tago-Sue's 30-yard TD pass to Amosa Amosa Jr. with 1:53 left in the half.

Each team had the ball twice before the half ended, each failing to score, as the Sabers took their 14-7 lead into the break.

Bollig opened the second half with a 35-yard return to midfield. The nine-play drive began with eight runs and culminated with a 10-yard TD pass from Kaluhiokalani to Kealoha to tie the game at 14. The back-breaker of the drive was from mental error by the Sabers. The Seariders faced fourth-and-2 from Sabers' 42. Hoping to draw an encroachment, the Seariders ended up getting an illegal procedure, moving back five yards and deciding to punt instead. But the Sabers were called for an illegal substitution and Waianae, back to fourth-and-2 again, went for it and Willes dove for a two-yard gain and a first down prolonging the drive. But before the play, the Sabers were still on their sideline as the Seariders approached the line of scrimmage, forcing Campbell to call timeout.

"That was our fault," Amosa said.

Toward the end of the third quarter, the Seariders started a series at their 20. With their option, the Seariders used 13 plays and took the lead on Willes' six-yard TD run with 9:07 left in the game. The drive consumed 5:04.

The Sabers' ensuing series ended after five plays, the big blow coming on Tulimasealii's sack. The Sabers lost the ball on downs at the Seariders' 45. Waianae then ate of 6:06 off the clock with another 13-play drive, with the running back tandem sharing touches before Willes scored on a one-yard run with 36 second left in the game to make it 28-14.

"My linemen, it was mostly about their blocking," Willes said of his success.

Although it looked like an old textbook Waianae win with the grinding offense and punishing defense, coach Dan Matsumoto wasn't totally pleased. The Seariders lost the ball four times, three from fumbles.

"Too many turnovers," Matsumoto said. "We're just not focused. We have to get more focused. We're still not the team we should be."

It doesn't get easier for either team next week. The Sabers will celebrate homecoming against Leilehua on Friday, while the Seariders will have their homecoming at 'Aiea. With Waianae's stadium bleachers under renovation, the Seariders are playing all of their games away. Friday's game against Campbell was a Waianae home game.