They say that whenever you pass, three things can happen and two of them are bad.
That’s OK for Waianae’s Kekoa Kaluhiokalani. He only needed a good thing to happen once.
Kalauhiokalani passed for one touchdown and ran for another and No. 9 Waianae opened its season at home with a 33-14 win over No. 4 Farrington.
Kaluhiokalani didn’t have the best of nights except for his two big plays. His team was nursing a 7-6 lead in the second quarter despite his overthrowing receivers five times and gifting Farrington with its first score when Motu Heimuli picked his attempt at a screen pass at the 5-yard line and waltzed into the end zone. Kaluhiokalani threw five more incomplete passes before hitting the one pass he needed.
Kaluhiokalani saw Pookela Noa-Nakamoto break free on a slant, hit him in the gut and watched him do the rest of the work for a 52-yard touchdown pass and 14-6 lead. The Governors would threaten the Seariders later in the game, but they never took the lead.
“I needed that one,” Kaluhiokalani said. “The offensive line was giving me enough time, but I was excited and letting my team down. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to make that pass and I had to make it.”
Kaluhiokalani, a three-year starter, finished 5-for-16 for 85 yards and two interceptions. But his running game and defense kept his team on top.
Jemery Willes was the big ground gainer for Waianae, chewing up 78 yards on 11 carries with two touchdowns. The first one was from 10 yards out and gave Waianae the lead. The second was from 49 yards away and extended the lead to 21-6 just before halftime.
Sanele Lavatai moved Farrington within a score with a 12-yard touchdown run, but Waianae’s defense made it moot when defensive back Ronald Matautia picked off a Montana Liana pass and took it 92 yards to the house, running off-balance along the sideline for the last 40 yards.
Kaluhiokalani added the final score for Waianae with a 55-yard run with 3:46 left in the game.
Farrington earned a safety in the final minute when it sacked Waianae backup quarterback Ioane Kaluhiokalani in the end zone.
Liana finished the game 10-for-21 for 85 yards. He handed the ball to Siaosi Pakileata five times for 61 yards.
Waianae hadn’t beaten Farrington since 2007, which is also the last time it opened a season with a win. The Seariders seemed to enjoy a tough test to begin each campaign. They had lost to Farrington twice, Kahuku twice and Saint Louis once in season openers since.
For all of the positive momentum, Waianae coach Danny Matsumoto is thinking about all of the things that went wrong.
Both teams turned the ball over three times, and they weren’t exactly forced errors.
When asked about Kekoa Kaluhiokalani’s scoring strike, Matsumoto had other things on his mind.
“To be honest, I don’t even recall that pass,” Matsumoto said. “We made so many mistakes, it just overrides everything we did. We have to focus on playing better.”
Farrington had won five straight openers since that loss to Waianae in 2007.
If the two coaches can agree on one thing, it is that they will be glad to get back to practice.
“Both offenses were kind of sloppy,” Farrington coach Randall Okimoto said. “We need a lot more practices, but give credit to Waianae, they made some big plays. Give them credit.”
At Waianae
| FARRINGTON (0-1) |
6 |
0 |
8 |
2 |
— |
16 |
| WAIANAE (1-0) |
0 |
14 |
7 |
12 |
— |
33 |
Farr—Motu Heimuli 5 int return (kick failed)
Wain—Jemery Willes 10 rush (Stanton Spencer kick)
Wain—Pookela Noa-Nakamoto 52 pass from Kekoa Kaluhiokalani (Spencer kick)
Wain—Jemery Willes 49 rush (Spencer kick)
Farr—Sanele Lavatai 12 rush (Montana Liana rush)
Wain—Ronald Matautia 92 interception return (Kick failed)
Wain—Kekoa Kaluhiokalani 55 rush (kick failed)
Farr—Safety, Quarterback sacked in endzone
RUSHING—Farr: Sanele Lavatai 6-42, CJ Liana 7-19, Bugsy Tui 1-4, Siaosi Pakileata 1-3, Montana Liana 13-(minus-18). Wain: Jemery Willes 11-78, Kekoa Kaluhiokalani 12-63, Mahven Tau 5-12, Trentsen Spragling 5-0, Stanton Spencer 1-0, Ioane Kaluhiokalani 2-(minus 8).
PASSING—Farr: Montana Liana 10-21-0-86. Wain: Kekoa Kaluhiokalani 5-16-2-85.
RECEIVING—Farr: Siaosi Pakileata 5-61, DJ Chaffin 3-12, Manu Masalosaolo 2-13. Wain: Johnothan Napierala-Rose 2-20, Pookela Noa Nakamoto 1-52, Joshua Searle 1-10, Mahvan Tau 1-3.
JV—Waianae 20, Farrington 14
