GAME NIGHT 11/10: Kahuku/Waianae

The Division I-Open semifinals of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships happen tonight with a doubleheader at Aloha Stadium, beginning with OIA champion Kahuku against OIA third-place Waianae.

The Red Raiders have won 19 straight against the Seariders and haven’t allowed a point in the last 20 quarters against Waianae.

WAIANAE SEARIDERS (7-4)
Head coach: Walter Young
Seariders roster
VS.

KAHUKU RED RAIDERS (10-1)
Head coach: Makoa Freitas
Red Raiders roster

Kahuku 10, Waianae 7

Defensive leaders
Waianae: Kana’i Mauga 12 tackles, 2 TFL, 2 pass breakup, 1 FF; Toto Mailo, 10 tackles, 1 FR; Tony Cabral 3 tackles, 1 INT, 1 FF, 1 FR
Kahuku: Lauina Falatea 9 tackles, 1 TFL; Samson Reed 7 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 FF; Nalu Emerson 2 tackles, 2 INT.

BOX SCORE
at Aloha Stadium
Waianae (7-5) 0 0 0 7 — 7

Kahuku (11-1) 0 0 3 7 — 10

Kah—FG Duke Heffernan 31
Wain—Skyler Kaleiohi fumble recovery in end zone (John Gilbert-Ramos kick)
Kah—Heffernan 8 pass from Maiava (Heffernan kick)

RUSHING—Waianae: Rico Rosario 25-86, Kana’i Mauga 1-14, Justin Tacgere 4-7. Kahuku: Wes Alo-Maiava 9-39, Sol-Jay Maiava 9-37, Toalei Lefau 6-32, Enoch Nawahine 10-31, Thorton Alapa 2-14, Sione Mahe 3-4, team 3-(minus 30).
PASSING—Waianae: Tacgere 7-23-3-53. Kahuku: Maiava 10-36-1-166, Alapa 0-1-1-0.
RECEIVING—Waianae: Keoki Davis 2-32, Skyler Kaleiohi 2-11, Kaai Tamboan-Kaeo 1-5, Mauga 1-3, Michael Lujan 1-2. Kahuku: Heffernan 3-90, Alo-Maiava 3-35, Peter John Mataira 2-28, Kaonohi Kaniho 1-7, Nawahine 1-6.

Nalu Emerson with his second pick of the game and that will end it. Three straight state final appearances for Kahuku.

Waianae ball on its 21 (:54). Tacgere stumbles dropping back and is down for a loss of 7. Incomplete pass and clock stops with :26 to go.

OH NO. Rosario on the return and he stumbles at the 21 and goes down before anyone got there and he’s down. Rosario has to be carried off the field by teammates.

Kahuku ball on the Waianae 45 with 1:47 left. Maiava to Alo-Maiava for 5 yards to the 40. Pass to Mataira for 8 yards. Second-and-10 at the 32. 1:25 to go. Maiava buys time has all day and now he takes off, Maiava down to the 16 and a face-mask penalty at the end. That should put the ball at the 8 and it does. First-and-goal with 1:13 to go. Waianae calls timeout. Pump-and-go and Maiava has Nawahine for six but overthrows him. Second down. Maiava rolls out to his right and then throws back across the middle. IT’S CAUGHT. Duke Heffernan 8-yard TD reception. Red Raiders take 10-7 lead with 58 seconds to go.

Seariders ball on their 10 with 3 minutes to go. Kahuku with two timeouts. Reed stops Rosario for a loss of 2. Timeout Kahuku with 2:05 on the clock. Waianae third-and-11. Rosario with a 6-yard run to the 15. Kahuku uses its last timeout at 1:58. Waianae will punt. Kahuku should get good field position.

Mahe returns the punt 13 yards to the Waianae 34 with 4:19 left on the clock. Third-and-12 as Maiava loses 2 yards on the keeper. Flare to Alo-Maiava out of the backfield and he’s down right at the marker. They will measure. Kahuku gets the first down by an inch. Second unbelievably close measure of the game. First-and-10 at the 24 (3:57). Pass incomplete. Second down. Alo-Maiava for 1. Third-and-9. Maiava finds Alo-Maiava wide open out of the backfield. Alo-Maiava to the 5. FUMBLE. Tony Cabral with the strip and recovery. Waianae ball.

Waianae will start from its 10 with 7:04 to go. Seariders jump early and then Samson Reed tackles Rosario for a loss of 1. Third-and-9 now. Clock under 6 minutes. Injury timeout. Now a Kahuku timeout. Tacgere with a QB sneak for 3 yards just to give the punter some room. Waianae punts from its 9 with less than 5 minutes to go.

Kahuku starts on its 35 (8:17). Wes Alo-Maiava with a 12-yard run and a 2-yard gain before two Maiava incompletions. Kahuku will punt with 7:14 to go from its 49.

Waianae ball on the Kahuku 12 (8:29). Tacgere takes off and he’s hit by Emerson as he crosses the goal line but Skyler Kaleiohi recovers it in the end zone. Touchdown Waianae. The Seariders’ first points in 24 quarters against Kahuku is the go-ahead TD with 8:17 remaining. XP by John Gilbert-Ramos is good. 7-3 Seariders.

Mauga with 10 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble.

Less than 10 minutes left. Maiava back in and he’s stopped for a loss of 12 on the keeper. Kahuku calls timeout. Third-and-18. Maiava back to pass and he’s hit by Mauga. Sack and fumble. Mailo recovers for Waianae at the Kahuku 12.

Waianae will have it third-and-6 at the Kahuku 38 to start the fourth quarter. Atuaia called for encroachment. Mauga in at RB and he goes off tackle for 14 yards to the 19. A false start and a hold moves Waianae back. Tacgere with a deep ball is caught by Keoki Davis at the 5. He fights to the 2 but Kaluna Nihipali rips the ball out. Aveau with the recovery and he returns it out to the 21. Seariders got within 2 yards of scoring but it’s Kahuku ball after the turnover. What a play.

Wes-Alo Maiava with an 18-yard run to the 5. Alapa at QB. Selu Cook stops Maiava for a loos of 5. Play-action pass is a 10-yard TD from Alapa to Lefau but Kahuku is whistled for an illegal receiver downfield. Alapa is picked off by senior Tony Cabral, who returns it 56 yards to the Kahuku 42.

Seariders start on their 23 (2:37). Rosario can’t handle the handoff and Frisco Aveau recovers a fumble for Kahuku.

Kaniho with a return of 34 yards to the Waianae 33 but a flag is on the field. Kahuku called for a block in the bank. Red Raiders start on their 34 (5:31). Sione Mahe‘s first two carries net zero yards. Third-and-10. Heffernan is wide open behind the defense and Maiava hits him for 39 yards. Alapa in at QB on third-and-7. QB draw gets to the 9 but a holding call on Kahuku. Waianae takes the penalty. Maiava back in. Maiava takes off and gets 3 after a low snap as Toto Mailo makes the tackle and now Maiava is on a knee after walking back to the middle of the field. Maiava has to be helped off. That right ankle has been bothering him all game. Heffernan to try a 31-yard field goal and it’s GOOD. 3-0 Kahuku, 2:45, Q3.

Waianae will start on its 17 (7:28). An incomplete pass is followed by a Rosario run for 6 yards, but he’s stuffed for no gain on third down. Punt.

Kahuku starts on the Waianae 48 (8:55) after another impressive tackle by Mauga on special teams. Two Lefau runs for 5 yards and incomplete on third down. Punt.

Seariders start on their 4 (10:50). Ah You remains out for Kahuku. Third-and-3 after two Rosario runs. Tacgere pass incomplete. Punt.

Red Raiders will start on the Waianae 49 after a nice kick return. Kahuku goes three-and-out as Maiava contained to a 1-yard scramble on third down. Punt is downed at the Waianae 4.

Kahuku will get the ball to start the second half. Maiava noticeably limping on the Kahuku sideline. Ah You has his helmet on.

Nick Abramo reports from the sideline that Kahuku LB Miki Ah You is not playing and does not seem happy about it.

HALFTIME BOX
at Aloha Stadium
Waianae (7-4) 0 0

Kahuku (10-1) 0 0

RUSHING—Waianae: Rico Rosario 12-60, Justin Tacgere 1-0. Kahuku: Sol-Jay Maiava 3-32, Enoch Nawahine 9-28, Toalei Lefau 2-13, Wes Alo-Maiava 4-12, Thorton Alapa 1-10, team 2-(minus 28).
PASSING—Waianae: Tacgere 6-16–2-22. Kahuku: Maiava 4-21-1-76.
RECEIVING—Waianae: Skyler Kaleiohi 2-11, Kaai Tamboan-Kaeo 1-5, Kana’i Mauga 1-3, Michael Lujan 1-2, Keoki Davis 1-1. Kahuku: Duke Heffernan 1-43, Peter John Mataira 1-20, Kaonohi Kaniho 1-7, Nawahine 1-6.

Red Raiders catch a break and will start on their 33. 2:59 to go in half. Third-and-13 and Maiava scrambles for 14 yards. That has been Kahuku’s best play in the first half. A pass interference on Waianae gives Kahuku a first down in Waianae territory with 1:39 to go. Maiava forces a ball into coverage and it’s picked off by Braiden Ayala, who returns it 83 yards to the Kahuku 11 with 29 seconds to go. Refs missed a face-mask penalty at the end that should have put the ball inside the 6. Seariders have to call their final timeout however. Fade to Mauga and it’s ripped out of his hands at the last second to save a TD. Fade on third down and Kaniho makes the INT.

Waianae with a 12-yard return on the punt and will start in Kahuku territory at the 43. LB Fatu Atuaia explodes through the line to tackle Rosario for no gain. Third-and-3. They try a slant to Mauga and it’s incomplete. Fourth down and Waianae goes for it. Rosario gets the handoff and he’s down right at the marker. We will measure. He is short by an inch. It could not be any closer. Kahuku ball.

High snap and Maiava is nearly picked off. Then he gets called for taunting. 15-yard penalty. Kahuku goes three-and-out. Maiava now 2-for-15 passing.

Seariders start on their 17. Quick three-and-out.

Kahuku will start on the Waianae 48 after a 9-yard return on the punt. Third-and-1 after two runs. Wes-Alo Maiava picks up 2. Third-and-7 on the 34 and a Waianae pick is called back by two penalties, one on each team, although an iffy PI call in my opinion. That looked like a great play. Third-and-7 again. Maiava forced to throw it away and it’s fourth down but some chippy play after the play ends and Waianae’s Zefften Avilla-Thompson throws a punch right in front of the referee. Everyone in the stadium was watching. Avilla-Thompson is ejected and it’s a first down Kahuku. Thorton Alapa in at QB and he runs a QB draw for 10. First-and-goal at the 9. Maiava back in and he throws high again. High snap goes for a loss of 23 as Maiava can only jump on top of the ball. Third-and-goal from the 32. Maiava with another overthrow by 10 yards and Kahuku goes from first-and-goal to punting.

Waianae ball on its 16. Tacgere has back-to-back passes dropped that should have gone for a first down and Waianae will punt.

Kahuku will face second-and-4 at the Waianae 39 to start second quarter. Two errant throws from Maiava who is now just 2-for-9 passing and Kahuku will punt.

Kahuku starts on its 20. Maiava scrambles on second down and has an open man but a textbook hit by Mauga jars the ball loose for an incomplete pass. Maiava has nobody open on third down but takes off for the marker and gets 9 yards and a first down. Lefau with an 11-yard run as Kahuku pops its first designed run for big yardage.

Ill-advised throw to the end zone is easily picked off by Nalu Emerson.

Jayce Gonsalves BLOCKS the punt and Waianae takes over on the Kahuku 16.

Maiava again high on a throw on third down and Kahuku is three-and-out. Seariders’ defensive front getting the job done early. Four carries for Kahuku RB Enoch Nawahine all go for 3 yards or less.

Seariders start on their 34. Rico Rosario makes his first appearance and takes his first carry up the middle for 15 yards. Third-and-3 and Waianae brings in David Feleti Jr. at fullback and he paves the way for Rosario to get 3. Rosario with his second run of 15 yards and Waianae is finding some holes. Rosario for 10 more to the 15. He looks fresh. Rosario with 52 rushing yards on his first six carries and Waianae is at the Kahuku 10. Seariders call timeout third-and-5 on the 10. Kaonohi Kaniho comes up to tackle Rosario at the 8 and save a first down. Waianae will go. Rosario stuffed for no gain. Turnover on downs.

Second play for Kahuku is a run fake and throw deep to Duke Heffernan for 43 yards. Fourth-and-7 at the Waianae 34. Deep drop for Maiava and his throw is high. Turnover on downs.

Kaluna Nihipali drops what could have been a pick-six on Waianae’s second play. Kaai Tamboan-Kaeo with a 5-yard reception on third down but he’s stopped short. Three plays — all passes — by the Waianae offense.

Kahuku wins the toss and will defer. Waianae will get the ball first.

TEAM CAPTAINS
Waianae: Kana’i Mauga, Atui Valu
Kahuku: Miki Ah You, Samson Reed, Sekope Latu, Sol-Jay Maiava