Pearl City blocks out hope of a Kaimuki takeover

Pearl City’s Zion Tupuola-Fetui blocked Richard Burton’s 25-yard field-goal attempt to preserve a 17-15 victory over Kaimuki on Saturday night at Skippa Diaz Stadium.

“It hit right here on my chest,” Tupuola-Fetui said about the winning play. “I was scared that it still went through, so I was so thankful that it was blocked at the end.”

Tupuola-Fetui credited the surge of his line to get penetration before Burton’s kick could elevate.

Chargers coach Robin Kami was relieved that his team held off the comeback. He’s been the victim of some last-second losses the past few seasons and knew it was really close to happening again.

“It was crazy,” Kami said. “And it feels real good to finally win a close, last-second drama game.”

With 3:30 left, Kaimuki cut a 17-7 deficit to 17-15, thanks to Kaulana Kaluna Jr.’s fumble recovery. That allowed quarterback Jordan Solomon to direct a scoring drive. Solomon kept the march going with a 17-yard scramble on fourth down and then hit Elijah Lemalu with a 19-yard touchdown pass just before getting hit hard. Solomon then rolled to his left and tossed to Lemalu for the 2-point conversion.

“It was very disappointing (to lose),” Solomon said. “We gotta make those plays count. There’s a very good chance we’ll see them in the playoffs and we’re coming back for them.”

The Chargers (5-1, 5-0) are tied with Waipahu at the top of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II standings, one game ahead of the Bulldogs (4-2, 4-1).

After the ensuing kickoff, the Chargers punted and Kaimuki adeptly worked the two-minute drill in an effort to go ahead. Running back Ieke Seei-Cleveland had gains of 11 and 15 yards and Solomon completed three passes to push the ball to the Pearl City 4, but after a loss and two no-gains, Burton came on for the field-goal attempt with 35 seconds left. The snap came at about 0:19 and the whole play — after Tupuola-Fetui’s block — ended with 0:12 left.

“Kaimuki is a quality team, man,” Tupuola-Fetui said. “In my eyes we’re the best and all we have to do is prove it to everybody else. It’s such a huge blessing.”

Added Pearl City quarterback Isaiah Asinsin, who scored on two 1-yard touchdown runs: “The defense pulled through and didn’t give up.”

Seei-Cleveland, who rushed for 150 yards on 28 carries for the Bulldogs, said, “We have to focus on keeping our composure at the end. When we’re down, we gotta keep our heads up. I know we have the potential to play them in the playoffs.”

The Chargers’ Makoa Cooper nearly matched Seei-Cleveland’s night rushing, going for 145 yards on 19 carries.

Zameer Kahn’s 31-yard field goal gave Pearl City a 10-7 lead early in the third quarter, and Asinsin’s second TD put the Chargers ahead 17-7 early in the fourth.

More photos of the game between Pearl City and Kaimuki.