Kailua dominates Roosevelt for first victory of season

Somebody was going to emerge from the ranks of the winless in Friday night’s contest between Kailua and Roosevelt.

The Surfriders served notice early at Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium that they would be the ones leaving that group. Kailua picked up its first victory of the season emphatically in a 49-0 defeat of the Rough Riders.

After being tormented by turnovers in its first three games, Kailua flipped the script for the much-needed Oahu Interscholastic Association Red East win, forcing four giveaways and getting two more scores off special teams returns.

The victory was vital for the beleaguered Surfriders (1-3, 1-1 OIA Red) in the immediate sense — they play powerhouse Farrington next week — and also possibly in the long term if tie-breaking scenarios come into play in the OIA playoff race.

"Turnovers are a big, key factor, and we’d been giving it up in the first three games," Kailua coach Gary Rosolowich said. "Fortunately the ball went the other way today and we were able to capitalize."

Jarrin Young gave the Surfriders’ spread offense balance with 106 yards on 10 carries, including two touchdowns. He had the offensive play of the game, a 22-yard jaunt in the second quarter in which he made several defenders miss on a cutback from the left sideline at about the 10, then evaded a final man before the goal line on his way to paydirt and a 28-0 halftime lead.

"The O-line did their job up front, Kahaku (quarterback Iaea) took care of the ball; all in all we did well as a team. Special teams came up big," Young said.

For a moment it seemed the Surfriders would again succumb to costly mistakes. But Iaea rebounded after tossing an interception in the end zone on his first attempt of the game. He finished a serviceable 13-for-24 for 144 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

After Kailua recovered a Roosevelt fumble on the Riders’ 14, Iaea hit Kaliko Kaimana on a crossing pattern for the game’s first score.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Surfriders forced a fumble by the return man and Bobby Spencer went 16 yards on the scoop-and-score for a two-touchdown lead.

"We’ve been shooting ourselves in the foot and having to try to play catch-up ball," Roosevelt coach Pat Silva said. "The other thing we need to do is sustain drives and punch it in. It’s been tough; we get something going and we break down here and there."

Kailua completed the first-quarter onslaught with a 44-yard bomb from Iaea to Kila Zuttermeister, who made an outstanding twisting grab over his head at the front right pylon for a 21-0 advantage.

The Surfriders padded their lead in the fourth quarter with a spectacular effort on special teams. The Rough Riders (0-3, 0-1), seeking their first points of the season on a 41-yard field-goal attempt, instead had their kick blocked by junior Kai Gonda, who scooped up the ball and ran it back 59 yards for another score.

It was that kind of night for shorthanded Roosevelt, which had to scrape to keep players on the field.

Roosevelt was without its starting quarterback of the first two games of the season for disciplinary reasons, and no one found a groove as a replacement. Four different signal-callers were used in the second half as backup quarterback Kepa Fuentes was knocked out with a concussion.

Kailua established running clock in the fourth quarter, and both teams were eager to look ahead to their next opportunity.

It could only get worse for Roosevelt; the next two teams on the schedule are OIA Red East beasts Kahuku and Farrington.