Nanakuli took advantage of four first-half Waialua turnovers to sprint out to a big lead and drub the Bulldogs 43-14 on Saturday night at Toshiyuki Nakasone Stadium on the North Shore.
On the second play from scrimmage, the Golden Hawks’ Isain Wong intercepted a pass and returned it 15 yards to the Waialua 4. Two plays later, Makaila Haina-Horswill bulled into the end zone from 1 yard out for a 6-0 lead.
Later, with 3:19 left in the first quarter, Alexcio Meyers grabbed an interception and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown to give the Golden Hawks a 22-0 lead .
"We came out flat," Waialua coach Lincoln Barit said.
"Our boys were over-excited. In the second half, we did much better. Those interceptions killed us."
Meyers finished with two of the four interceptions by the hard-hitting Golden Hawks (3-0, 3-0 OIA Division II) against Bulldogs quarterback Royce Tashiro.
"I attribute our physical nature to our offseason training," Nanakuli coach Keala Watson said. "They’ve been going nonstop since the end of last season. They have a bitter taste in their mouths because we didn’t make the playoffs."
Waialua struck back for its only score of the first half on an odd play. Jacob Casey’s 28-yard gain pushed the ball deep into Nanakuli territory. Mila Lele took a handoff at the 5 and tried to push it in, but fumbled and lineman Kaimi Kamai of the Bulldogs recovered in the end zone to make it 22-7.
"My brother (Kapono Kamai) got it first, but he lost it and I jumped on it," Kaimi Kamai said. "I got up and I was the happiest boy in the world. I didn’t know what to do. I was all excited."
Nanakuli scored on two long drives and then made Waialua (1-3, 1-3) pay for another interception. This time, Randy Manewa’s pick led to an 18-yard scoring pass from Golden Hawks quarterback Kale Kanehailua to Clifford Cunningham for a 43-7 lead with 2:48 to go in the half.
In an effort to expand on the lead, Cunningham missed on field-goal attempts of 28 and 53 yards in the second half.
Casey’s 74-yard return of the 53-yard missed field goal led to Waialua’s second TD — a 2-yard pass from Tashiro to Caelan Alejandro.
"Nanakuli came out with a bang," Kaimi Kamai said. "It was a wake-up call."
Watson saw room for improvement by the Golden Hawks.
"Everyone likes to look at the positives and that’s OK," Watson said. "But I can think of at least five personal fouls, whether it was a facemask or unsportsmanlike conduct. I call those self-inflicted. We are just hurting ourselves."
| At Waialua |
| Nanakuli (3-0, 3-0) |
22 |
21 |
0 |
0 |
— |
43 |
| Waialua (1-3, 1-3) |
0 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
— |
14 |
Nan–Makaila Haina-Horswill 1 run (kick failed)
Nan–Haina-Horswill 8 pass from Kale Kanehailua (Haina-Horswill run)
Nan–Alexcio Meyers 22 interception return (Keanu Momoa pass from Brandon
Sevellino)
Wail–Kaimi Kamai fumble recovery in Waialua end zone (Thomas Pule kick)
Nan–Kanehailua 1 run (Clifford Cunningham kick)
Nan–Luke Luna-Luuloa 8 run (Cunningham kick)
Nan–Cunningham 18 pass from Kanehailua (Cunningham)
Wail–Caelen Alejandro 2 pass from Royce Tashiro (Pule kick)
RUSHING–Nanakuli: Kanehailua 14-100, Sunshine Anuenue 5-42, Luna-Luuloa 6-36, Randy Manewa 1-23, Haina-Horswill 9-21, Minigame Lapaitagata 2-(minus 8), Team 1-(minus 21). Waialua: Jacob Casey 4-32, Tashiro 4-9, Elmer Agtina 5-7, Brandon Aceret 1-4, Mila Lele 2-3, Team 2-(minus 19).
PASSING–Nanakuli: Kanehailua 7-10-2-128. Waialua: Tashiro 7-22-4-50.
RECEIVING–Nanakuli: Cunningham 2-94, Momoa 2-17, Haina-Horswill 1-8, Lejje Harry 1-5, Anuenue 1-4. Waialua: Aceret 2-25, Alejandro 2-19, Lele 2-2, Pule 1-4.
