For a half, the Kalani Falcons were a team in search of an identity.

Consider the Falcons searching no more. Ace Faumui rushed for 180 yards, including 162 in the second half, as Kalani rallied from a 13-point deficit to edge Kaimuki 21-20 on Saturday night at Kaiser Stadium.

Kalani improved to 4-2 in OIA Division II play and took one step toward a playoff berth. Kaimuki dropped to 1-4 despite hearty efforts from several two-way players.

Faumui had six carries for 18 yards before halftime, when Kaimuki had a 13-0 lead. But coach Greg Taguchi decided to go ground-and-pound with Faumui, a big back who wore down the ironmen going both ways for Kaimuki.

"I just thought I should push harder because God works in mysterious ways. My head coach said we would run more," Faumui said.

Faumui had 19 carries in the second half, accounting for more than 60 percent of Kalani’s total plays after intermission. The former linebacker didn’t play running back until Kalani’s third game, and though he piled up big numbers, Faumui hadn’t carried the ball more than 14 times in a game until Saturday.

"I just prayed during halftime. We were just pushing each other and we came together as a team, and it all worked out," he said.

Quarterback Tyler Ching, another converted linebacker, finished 9-for-13 (39 yards) but was asked to throw just once in the second half. Kalani had just one turnover in the game and ran on 41 of its 54 plays, a far cry from the aerial delights of the Ron Lee era, but this is the formula that works for the 2014 Falcons.

"I think we try to balance out our offensive game. We tried to throw the ball first half, but we ended up running in the second half. We tried to take advantage of their numbers, but Kaimuki’s a tough team," Taguchi said. "Ace wants to touch the ball, so it doesn’t take much encouragement."

It was a heartbreaking loss for Kaimuki, which got 95 hard-earned yards on the ground from Sean Noda, one of their two-way starters who also returns kicks.

"We couldn’t stop the run," Noda said, promising that the Bulldogs will keep moving forward. "We’ll practice hard, condition hard."

The Bulldogs got two touchdown passes from quarterback Tevita Lino, but Kaimuki mustered just 86 total yards in the second half against the deeper Falcons.

Kaimuki scored on its game-opening drive, going 77 yards in 15 plays, mostly on the ground out of a pistol-offset I formation. Noda did the heavy lifting before Lino scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak.

That opening series took nearly five minutes off the clock as the Bulldogs and their thin roster wisely, patiently ate up the clock — the un-hurry-up offense.

The Bulldogs defense was stellar, limiting Kalani to 38 total yards of offense in the first half. That included a monsters-of-the-midway, flying sack of Ching by sophomore Daniel Laufenberg.

The Bulldogs added a second touchdown before halftime, as Lino found Noda open for a 23-yard gain off a tip. Lino then aired out a deep pass to Nixon Siona, who made a beautiful diving catch in the back of the end zone for a 24-yard touchdown. However, the Bulldogs missed the PAT kick.

The Falcons drove 53 yards with the opening drive of the second half, handing the ball to Faumui five times in a row as he picked up all the yardage. He bounced off two tacklers and scored on a 15-yard run to cut the lead to 13-7 with 9:44 left in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs scored on the ensuing series. Noda was big again with a 24-yard run, and Lino found Sloan Fuller on a rollout pass for a 17-yard TD for a 20-7 lead with 6:03 to go in the third.

Kalani had the formula, though, especially with Kaimuki showing signs of fatigue. Faumui carried much of the load, but Sean Silas scored on a 1-yard end-around as the Falcons cut the lead to 20-14 with 3:35 left in the third.

After gaining just 18 yards in the first half, Faumui picked up 117 on the ground (and seven more by air) in the third quarter alone.

The Falcons pounded their way to a go-ahead TD. Faumui gashed the Kaimuki defense before Ching scored on a 1-yard keeper to cap a 37-yard drive.

According to the history books, Kalani had not beaten Kaimuki since 1997, losing six in a row to the Bulldogs.

Kaim–Tevita Lino 1 run (Dathan Lloyd kick) Kaim–Nixon Siona 24 pass from Lino (kick failed) Kaln–Ace Faumui 15 run (Takahrio Kosins kick) Kaim–Sloan Fuller 17 pass from Lino (Lloyd kick) Kaln–Sean Silas 1 run (Kosins kick) Kaln–Tyler Ching 1 run (Kosins kick)

RUSHING–Kalani: Faumui 25-180, Blaise Manabe 6-48, Silas 2-17,  Kai Reed 2-14, Ching 6-(minus 8). Kaimuki: Sean Noda 17-95, Lloyd 4-12, Billy Masima 2-9, Lino 7-(minus 5).

PASSING–Kalani: Ching 9-13-0-39. Kaimuki: Lino 7-18-0-117.

RECEIVING–Kalani: Faumui 4-8, ,Juwan Bohannon 2-20, Manabe 2-4, Reed 1-7. Kaimuki: Siona 4-64, Fuller 2-30, Noda 1-23.

Junior varsity–Kalani 14, Kaimuki 6.

OIA RED

Waipahu 28, McKinley 12 Blaise DeAsis and Jordan Taylor connected for four touchdowns to lead the Marauders over the Tigers. Taylor matched his season high with 10 catches for 146 yards in Waipahu’s first win of the season.

Waip–Jordan Taylor 11 pass from Blaise DeAsis (Storm DeAsis kick) Waip–Taylor 11 pass from B. DeAsis (S. DeAsis kick) McK–Malik Kuhia 4 pass from Keanu Pratt (kick failed) Waip–Taylor 22 pass from B. DeAsis (kick blocked) Waip–Taylor 46 pass from B. DeAsis (Jacob Anae pass from Gavin Marques) McK–Micah Kerisiano 1 run (run failed)

RUSHING–Waipahu: Maurcell Melton 7-8, Kobie Russell 1-0, Taylor 2-(minus 2), B. DeAsis 9-(minus 19). McKinley: Nino Mitchell 4-41, Kerisiano 9-39, Darrin Lafaele 8-22, Christian Lettelier 1-21, Solomone Lopes-Liutolo 8-13, Pratt 5-(minus 27).

PASSING–Waipahu:B. DeAsis 19-28-0-283. McKinley: Pratt 7-13-1-47, Kerisiano 3-7-0-26.

RECEIVING–Waipahu:Taylor 10-146, Russell 4-39, Melton 2-46, Lariyah Fuentes 2-39, S. DeAsis 1-13. McKinley: Kuhia 3-19, Kaimi Kini 2-25, Kerisiano 2-9, Conin Rellin 1-9, Kevin Mancia 1-6, Lafaele 1-5.

Junior varsity–Waipahu 20, McKinley 0