One overtime extra-point kick sailed through the uprights. One went wide right.
That’s how Nanakuli scratched past Pearl City for a 37-36 victory Friday night in the OIA Division II championship game at Aloha Stadium.
For the Golden Hawks (10-0), it’s the first OIA football title since 1983.
"This is all about the work these kids put in," Nanakuli coach Keala Watson said. "They put more into it than anyone I’ve ever seen. They have a passion for football and a passion for the bigger picture of what all of this means to the people of Nanakuli."
After regulation time ended in a 30-all tie, Nanakuli struck first in overtime, when Kale Kanehailua zipped a pass to Isain Wong in the left corner of the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown and Clifford Cunningham kicked what turned out to be the winning extra point.
On Pearl City’s overtime possession, Jordan Taamu tossed a 25-yard scoring pass to Keelan Domingo-Ishikawa.
But then a delay-of-game penalty pushed the extra-point try back 5 yards, and Dominic Maneafaiga, who scored two rushing touchdowns and caught 10 passes for 143 yards, lined up for the kick to tie, but missed.
"We played a great game and it came down to that extra point," Pearl City coach Robin Kami said. "Nanakuli is a second-half team and they did it again. They’re tough. At least we have a second life."
The two teams could meet for a third time in the upcoming state tournament. The Golden Hawks fought back for a 28-21 win in the teams’ first encounter on Sept. 26.
"It’s unexplainable," Nanakuli linebacker and defensive back Alexcio Meyers said. "The city (Nanakuli) was here for us on our journey and I want to thank everybody out there. This means a lot to get that banner up in the gym."
Pearl City (8-2) led 15-13 at the half and went up 22-13 on Maneafaiga’s 2-yard TD run early in the third quarter.
But the Golden Hawks persevered and immediately cut the gap to 22-21 on Luke Luna-Luuloa’s 95-yard kickoff return and Makaila Haina-Horswill’s 2-point conversion run.
A safety gave Nanakuli a 23-22 edge before Taamu patiently drove the Chargers 72 yards and found Dante McGee with a 13-yard TD pass and Israel Kaleo with a 2-point toss to make it 30-23 early in the fourth quarter.
Haku Kamai capped a 71-yard Golden Hawks drive with a 2-yard TD run with 6:12 left, knotting it at 30.
Maneafaiga broke down in tears after his miss and was consoled by a trainer for a few minutes as the Chargers somberly went to the lockers.
The scene on the Nanakuli sideline was the opposite. Players piled on each other after the extra-point miss and fans whooped it up long after the final play.
Trailing 15-0 in the second quarter, Meyers sniffed out a Taamu cross-field, overhand lateral to Maneafaiga, intercepted it and returned it 34 yards to the Pearl City 8.
Two plays later, Haina-Horswill broke five tackles on his way for a 10-yard touchdown to make it 15-7 with 5:03 to go in the half.
Then, the Golden Hawks’ defense stiffened big-time, stopping Taamu for no gain on a fourth-and-1 from the Chargers’ 42.
Relentlessly, Nanakuli attacked. Somehow, Haina-Horswill stood up through what appeared to be seven tackles for a 14-yard gain, but a high shotgun snap on the next play resulted in a 24-yard loss, and the Golden Hawks let the time tick down to one second before calling timeout.
Kanehailua scrambled, picked up a monster block from Kalae Wong and drilled a scoring bullet to a leaping Keanu Momoa, making it 15-13 at the break. Nanakuli barely missed on a 2-point conversion pass to tie.
"This team will strive and work hard to get better," Watson said. "I’m 100 percent sure of that."
| At Aloha Stadium |
| Pearl City (8-2) |
9 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
6 |
— |
36 |
| Nanakuli (10-0) |
0 |
13 |
10 |
7 |
7 |
— |
37 |
PC–Israel Kaleo 10 pass from Jordan Taamu (Dominic Maneafaiga kick)
PC–Safety: Nanakuli penalized for holding in its end zone.
PC–Dominic Maneafaiga 10 run (kick failed)
Nana–Makaila Haina-Horswill 10 run (Clifford Cunningham kick)
Nana–Keanu Momoa 40 pass from Kale Kanehailua (pass failed)
PC–Maneafaiga 2 run (Maneafaiga kick)
Nana–Luke Luna-Luuloa 95 kickoff return (Haina-Horswill run)
Nana–Safety: Pearl City punt snap out of own end zone.
PC–Dante McGee 13 pass from Taamu (Kaleo pass from Taamu)
Nana–Haku Kamai 2 run (Cunningham kick)
Nana–Isain Wong 27 pass from Kanehailua (Clifford Cunningham kick)
PC–Keelan Domingo-Ishikawa 25 pass from Taamu (kick failed)
RUSHING–Pearl City: Taamu 6-39, Maneafaiga 8-22, MJ Keopuhiwa 8-17, Jarrett Sanchez 2-(minua-3). Nanakuli: Haina-Horswill 22-85, Brandon Sevellino 1-2, Kamai 2-1, Kanehailua 9-(minus-12), TEAM 1-(minus-24).
PASSING–Pearl City: Taamu 22-37-2–274, Kavossie Mason 1-1-0–25. Nanakuli: Kanehailua 12-17-0–149.
RECEIVING–Pearl City: Maneafaiga 10-143, Garrett Kanamu 4-22, McGee 3-41, Kaleo 3-28, Domingo-Ishikawa 2-62, Keopuhiwa 1-3. Nanakuli: Momoa 6-57, Wong 3-63, Louis Hulama 2-19, Cunningham 1-10.
