Kaimuki top dog against Waialua

Senior running back Chester Sua rushed for 121 yards and three touchdowns and senior quarterback Dallas Reis came off the bench to pass for 167 yards and a score as Kaimuki overpowered Division II rival Waialua 34-9 yesterday at Roosevelt High School’s Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium.

The Bulldogs, known for the bruising running of Sua, who has committed to Washington State, unveiled a balanced attack as they gained 211 yards on the ground and 190 through the air, while their defense limited the Waialua Bulldogs to minus 2 yards rushing and only 118 yards passing.

But it was Waialua that got on the scoreboard first. During the first series of the game, Destry Lunasco picked off a pass by Nahoa Spencer. Lunasco’s 47-yard interception run put the ball on Kaimuki’s 19-yard line. When three runs only gained 4 yards, Kamalei Rosa kicked a 32-yard field goal.

Kaimuki head coach Clint Onigama then inserted Reis into the game. Spencer didn’t look sharp, and he had been sick for a few days, Onigama said. "Dallas gave us the spark we needed. We’ve faith in him. We know he is capable."

It wasn’t until the second quarter when Kaimuki hit its stride, scoring two touchdowns, and then adding two more in the third quarter to take a 27-3 lead.

The turning point came when "the offensive line settled down," Onigama said, opening holes for Sua and the ground game and protecting Reis when he threw. Reis was particularly impressive on the second scoring drive when in three plays he connected with Mason Kualii-Moe for 15 and 32 yards, and then with Justice Sarcedo on an 11-yard touchdown.

Waialua didn’t help its cause when a sickly punt and a fumbled kickoff gave Kaimuki two easy touchdowns in the third. The first came on a 6-yard punt down the right sideline that Siaosi Halaapiapi returned 5 yards to the Waialua 1-yard line. On the next play, Sua rumbled in for the touchdown.

On the ensuing kickoff, Waialua fumbled, giving Kaimuki the ball on the Waialua 20. Four plays later, Sua scored on a 3-yard run. So within a span of 52 seconds, Kaimuki had put 13 points on the board.

Waialua’s lone touchdown came on its last possession when William Sacapulo-Uepa unloaded a 45-yard scoring strike to Rosa, who ran a fly pattern down the left sideline.