Waianae completes journey to state tourney

The Waianae Seariders are back in the state championships.

Rico Rosario rushed for touchdowns of 27 yards in the fourth quarter and 3 yards in overtime as Waianae rallied past Campbell 29-21 on Saturday night. The win gave Waianae third place in Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I, and the league’s final spot in the upcoming First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships Open Division.

The Seariders will meet OIA champion Kahuku in the state-tourney semifinal round next weekend.

Waianae didn’t complete a pass, but ground away with its offensive line.

“All we try to do when the game gets close is we tell the kids that we need to stick together, that we need to encourage each other,” Seariders coach Walter Young said. “They did what they had to do.”

“Way to finish. Way to fight back,” Sabers coach Darren Johnson said. “Hats off to Waianae. Both teams came out playing good football, both teams were coached well. Somebody’s got to lose.”

Campbell, a relatively young team, pushed Waianae to its limits.

“A couple of weeks ago, I sprained my ankle bad at practice. It’s still sore,” said Rosario, who finished with 66 rushing yards on 12 carries. “We just didn’t want to end our season, us seniors. Hats off to Campbell. They’re a hell of a team.”

For the Seariders, who lost their first three games against a gauntlet of Top 10 foes, it’s been a long, winding road.

“It feels amazing. I know it’s been a tough ride, and we have to give props to our guys in the trenches,” linebacker Kana‘i Mauga said. “They really proved themselves this year and hopefully they keep up the good work.”

It almost didn’t happen. Even with Rosario resting the injured ankle in the first half, Waianae’s ground-and-pound wing-T attack controlled the line of scrimmage. Up 13-0 at the half, the Seariders didn’t seem to need Rosario. Campbell had minus-22 rushing yards before the break and 54 yards of total offense, but never gave up.

Campbell junior Krenston Kaipo caught fire after intermission, finding two-way standout Poki‘i Adkins-Kupukaa for a 17-yard TD to cut the lead to 13-7 with 4:46 left in the third quarter.

A fumble on a punt return by Adkins-Kupukaa gave Waianae a chance to build on its lead, but the Seariders stalled out and missed a field-goal attempt from 37 yards out.

Waianae defensive tackle Zefften Avilla-Johnson had two of his three sacks in the second half, but Campbell kept surging. Kaipo directed the Sabers 86 yards in three plays, all on completions, and hit Jalen Henderson on a post route for a 42-yard TD. Ariel Villanueva’s PAT kick gave Campbell its first lead, 14-13, with 8:18 left.

After Waianae punted with six minutes left, it was up to the defensive unit to make the stop. The Seariders pushed Campbell backward. Punting out of their end zone, the Sabers gave Waianae a short field. The Seariders drove 35 yards in just three plays, getting Rosario’s first TD run on a third-and-2, power-I blast. After Mauga scored on a 2-point conversion run, Waianae led 21-14.

Kaipo delivered on the ensuing drive, taking his offense 66 yards in eight plays. On fourth-and-6, he lofted a spiral to the left corner, where Tyrese Tafai made a diving catch for a 14-yard TD with 1:07 left. That sent the game into OT.

Campbell won the coin toss and elected to play defense first. Waianae went back to its power-I and Rosario rumbled for 12 yards, 5 yards, and then scored from the 3. He scored again on the 2-point conversion.

Kaipo completed his first-down pass for 6 yards, but his next two tries fell incomplete, and on fourth down, his sideline pass was picked off by Kalena Sione to end the game.

OIA THIRD PLACE

WAIANAE 29, CAMPBELL 21, OT

At Aloha Stadium

Campbell (7-5) 0 0 7 14 0 — 21

Waianae (7-4) 13 0 0 8 8 — 29

WAI—Justin Tacgere 1 run (Tate Ebel kick)

WAI—Kaimana Swann-Merritt 45 interception return (kick failed)

CAM—Poki’i Adkins-Kupukaa 17 pass from Krenston Kaipo (Ariel Villanueva kick)

CAM—Jalen Henderson 42 pass from Kaipo (Villanueva kick)

WAI—Rico Rosario 27 run (Kana’i Mauga run)

CAM—Tyrese Tafai 14 pass from Kaipo (Villanueva kick)

WAI—Rosario 3 run (Rosario run)

RUSHING—Campbell: Team 1-(-9), Krenston Kaipo 6-(-11), Sky Lactaoen 5-12, Viliami Vaimoui 1-(-3), Tafai 1-1. Waianae: Skyler Kaleohi 8-7, Tacgere 6-24, Eteuati Lui 7-42, Xaistin Kamealoha 4-51, Zefften Avilla-Thompson 1-3, Kaai Tamboan-Kaeo 4-9, Elijah Lujan 4-9, Rosario 12-66.

PASSING—Campbell: Kaipo 16-36-4-226. Waianae: Tacgere 0-13-1-0, Kaleiohi 0-1-0-0,

RECEIVING—Campbell: Jalen Henderson 4-84, Poki’i Adkins-Kupukaa 4-64, Vernon Etrata-Daite 5-45, Dylan Ursua 1-10, Tafai 1-14, Gabriel Colon-Valentin 1-9. Waianae: None.