Nanakuli’s second-half rally stuns Pearl City

The comeback kids of Nanakuli are one step closer to a championship. 

Makaila Haina-Horswill ran for touchdowns of 4, 21 and 34 yards in the second half as the Golden Hawks rallied from a 14-point deficit for a 28-21 win over Pearl City in a showdown of unbeatens on Friday night at Nanakuli’s field. 

The win boosted Nanakuli to 6-0 in OIA Division II with two regular-season games to play. Pearl City fell to 5-1. 

It was a big momentum swing from the first half to the second. Pearl City had Nanakuli’s near-capacity homecoming crowd mostly silent en route to a 21-7 lead at intermission. But Haina-Horswill, who had one of Nanakuli’s three fumbles, erupted in the second half with 93 of his 126 rushing yards. 

Haina-Horswill’s 34-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1 gave Nanakuli the lead for the first time, 28-21, with 2:40 remaining. 

Pearl City marched downfield on the ensuing series and had the ball at the Nanakuli 23-yard line, but quarterback Jordan Taamu dropped the shotgun snap and Haina-Horswill, filling in at linebacker, pounced on the fumble with 31 seconds to play, sealing the win. 

"We made lots of mistakes, but our motto is ‘one and done’, " the senior said. "I saw (Taamu) hesitate and the ball was on the ground. That was an opportunity and I sacrificed my body." 

The win felt much like a huge comeback win two years ago at Kaiser. There was no panic on the Nanakuli sideline despite the errors.

"The great thing is that we didn’t have to tell them much," coach Keala Watson said. "They have a take-no-prisoners attitude." 

Lineman Lyle Tuiloma had two injuries during the game, but returned from both to help anchor the Golden Hawks in the trenches. Nanakuli finished with 170 rushing yards on 30 carries.

"We had to be disciplined. We had to keep the pace up," said Tuiloma, who orally committed to Colorado recently. "We had to play our ballgame." 

Nanakuli finished with 331 total yards. Quarterback Kale Kanehailua passed for 148 yards and ran for another 60, but his touchdown catch in the first half on a trick play was a new wrinkle. 

Pearl City had just 76 yards of offense in the second half and finished with 315. 

"Nanakuli did a good job of adjusting. They really shut down our offense in the second half," Chargers coach Robin Kami said. 

For the Golden Hawks, though, it was a matter of action.

"Our game plan was sound defensively. Our guys just didn’t execute it in the first half. We weren’t containing and we weren’t closing down the inside," Watson said. 

Pearl City’s elusive, bruising running back, Dominic Maneafaiga, rushed for 103 yards in the first half and just 7 after the break. But he also had four catches for 76 yards and pulled ironman duty on defense. 

Taamu had an impressive performance despite the late turnover. He passed for 180 yards and three TDs, all in the first half.

The visiting Chargers, patiently huddling after every play until the final drive, struck for touchdowns on their first two possessions. The first drive was mostly handoff left and right to Maneafaiga. After all his heavy lifting, Taamu found Garrett Kanamu in the corner of the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown with 7:08 left in the opening quarter. 

Nanakuli got flagged on its first three plays from scrimmage and punted. Pearl City then drove 66 yards in 10 plays, scoring on a 12-yard TD pass from Taamu to Maneafaiga with 1:26 left in the first. 

The Golden Hawks got on the scoreboard with a five-play, 69-yard drive. Keanu Momoa threw a 13-yard TD pass to Kanehailua on a well-executed trick play as the Golden Hawks cut the lead to 14-7 with 11:37 to go in the second quarter. 

By halftime, Pearl City had 239 total yards — 124 by air and 115 on the ground, including 103 yards on 17 carries by Maneafaiga. 

Nanakuli now has an eight-game win streak going back to last season. 

Pearl City had won six of the previous eight meetings going back to 2005.

 PC–Garrett Kanamu 14 pass from Jordan Taamu (Joseph Komomua kick)

PC–Dominic Maneafaiga 12 pass from Taamu (Komomua kick)

Nan–Kale Kanehailua 13 pass from Keanu Momoa (Clifford Cunningham kick)

PC–Maneafaiga 40 pass from Taamu (Komomua kick)

Nan–Makaila Haina-Horswill 4 run (Cunningham kick)

Nan–Haina-Horswill 21 run (Cunningham kick)

Nan–Haina-Horswill 34 run (Cunningham kick)

RUSHING–Pearl City: D. Maneafaiga 23-110, Jarrett Sanchez 4-20, Keelan Domingo-Ishikawa 2-12, Komomua 1-5, Isiah Moeone 2-(minus 1),Taamu 8-(minus 11). Nanakuli: Haina-Horswill 17-126, Kanehailua 10-60, Sunshine Anuenue 1-(-1),  team 2-(-15).

PASSING–Pearl City: Taamu 14-24-0-180. Nanakuli: Kanehailua 14-27-0-148, Momoa 1-1-0-13, Brandon Sevellino 0-1-0-0. 

RECEIVING–Pearl City: D. Maneafaiga 4-76, Kanamu 4-42, Keelan Domingo-Ishikawa 3-18, Sanchez 1-31, Moeone 1-8, Israel Kaleo 1-5. Nanakuli: Isain Wong 6-62, Momoa 4-32, Cunningham 2-24, Louis Hulama 1-16, Haina-Horswill 1-14, Kanehailua 1-13.

Junior varsity–Nanakuli 25, Pearl City 12. 

Waialua 20, Kaimuki 14

The Bulldogs rallied with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to defeat the visiting Bulldogs.

 Waialua’s Mila Lele scored the game-winning touchdown on a 15-yard run. 

Wail–Jarrett Felix 22 interception return (kick failed)

Kaim–Billy Masima 42 fumble return (Dathan Lloyd kicked)

Kaim–Sean Noda 12 run (Lloyd kick)

Wail–Jacob Casey 4 run (Royce Tashiro run)

Wail–Mila Lele 15 run (kick failed)

RUSHING–Kaimuki:Noda 18-76, Tevita Lino 4-9, Calton Joseph 1-3, Ieke Seei-Cleveland 1-2, Masima 2-(minus 2). 

Waialua: Elmer Agtina 11-57, Lele 5-45, Tashiro 9-45, Casey 3-24, Christian Paracuelles-Calaro 1-9, Brandon Aceret 1-7, Kymani Ayonon 1-6. 

PASSING–Kaimuki:Lino 5-18-2-49. Waialua: Tashiro 8-22-1-51.

RECEIVING–Kaimuki: Noda 2-27, Seei-Cleveland 1-15, Lloyd 1-9, Nixon Siona 1-(minus 2). Waialua:Aceret 2-35, Tavesi Toia 2-16, Paracuelles-Calaro 2-1, Holten Bjur 1-6, Agtina 1-(minus 7). 

 Also

Radford 40, Kalaheo 7

Roosevelt 2, Anuenue 0 (forfeit)