Hawaii East stars hold off Northern California

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JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM

Moanalua quarterback Alakai Yuen of Hawaii East cuts between Deer Valley defensive tackle Jamaar Hardy of Northern California and Central Catholic linebacker Mitchell Montell Bland during the first half.

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Taulia Tagovailoa and Alaka‘i Yuen passed for two touchdowns each as the Hawaii East All-Stars rallied past the NorCal All-Stars 26-14 in the championship game of the JPS Paradise Bowl on Saturday night at Aloha Stadium.

The game was testy from the start, with most of the friction coming from a small number of players, and by the time a second player was ejected in the fourth quarter, the tension broke in the bleachers behind the NorCal bench. Adults went at it, with roughly a dozen people at one point swinging haymakers. It nearly turned into a massive brawl. For a few minutes, it was chaotic and began to spread to onlookers with only one police officer visible in the area.

Coaches from the Hawaii East sideline across the field sprinted to the bleachers and helped to quell the fracas, which led to officials suspending the contest with 2:59 left.

“I know Robert (Faleafine) and JPS worked really hard to put this together,” NorCal coach Victor Galli said. “It only takes a few to escalate things and we’ve had to take this the last two years. Most Hawaii people are great, but the way this (tournament) is, it has to change.”

Hawaii East coach Joe Wong, who also coaches Kailua’s varsity team, didn’t care for the way an ejected NorCal player riled up their fans on the sideline.

“It’s just etiquette. You never see that in Hawaii,” Wong said. “We can’t control what happens outside the field. This shouldn’t be a mark on the game.”

It was quite a game. NorCal running back Ronnie Rivers was sensational, as was mobile quarterback Jordan Brookshire, who magically eluded a dead-to-rights sack and scored on an 8-yard TD run to cut the lead to 20-14 with 3:14 left.

A moment later, all heck broke loose, and it wasn’t a total surprise.

The game was entertaining aside from the multiple personal foul and conduct flags. Andrew Valladares, Kame Kim Choy-Keb-Ah Lo and Isaiah Freeney hauled in touchdown passes, and Mark Lagazo capped it with a 44-yard haul from Yuen, who was knocked out cold on an illegal hit during the play by the NorCal defender who was ejected.