River Iaea didn’t just want the ball, he demanded it.
With Damien trailing Waipahu in a frantic final minute, the Monarchs lined up for a do-or-die fourth down inches away from the goal line.
Lined up in the middle of a wishbone formation, Iaea — who had been stopped short on first and second down — took another handoff and this time punched it in with three seconds left and the Monarchs edged host Waipahu 13-10 in Friday’s OIA-ILH Division I matchup at Masa Yonamine Athletic Complex.
“That was crazy,” said Iaea, who accounted for both of Damien’s touchdowns, both on 1-yard runs. “That was the experience of my life.”
Iaea might not have had a chance to score if not for sophomore Duke Ho’ohuli coming up with Damien’s third takeaway of the second half with 3:26 left.
Waipahu had jumped ahead when quarterback Cody Marques completed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Saxon Tote, who made a diving grab at the goal line, with 10:27 left in the fourth quarter.
Damien came up empty on its next two possessions and Waipahu drove to the Damien 45 with time winding under four minutes.
Marques threw a quick hitch to Tote, but the ball was knocked loose and Ho’ohuli took it back to the Waipahu 42.
“He just made a great play,” Damien coach Eddie Klaneski said. “We couldn’t even see it from our sideline. We just saw him grab the ball and start running the other way. He’s such a great athlete, and he makes so many plays. He’s only a sophomore and he’s such a smart football player.”
Damien quarterback Jake Holtz then lofted a throw to Lindon Sevilleja for a 24-yard completion and connected with Logan Lauti on a crossing pattern to get to the 2.
Waipahu then stopped Iaea twice and Holtz was denied on a quarterback sneak with 37 seconds left. The clock kept winding during a discussion among the officials and was stopped with 11 seconds showing.
When play resumed, Iaea scored and the clock ran out. But the officials eventually put three seconds back on. After the kickoff went out of bounds, Waipahu’s last pass fell incomplete to end the game.
Both teams struggled to finish drives for much of the game, but Damien’s two conversions proved to be enough.
Brycen Amorozo nailed a 27-yard field goal to give Waipahu the lead in the first quarter and Damien special teams helped spark the Monarchs early in the second. Punter Christian Souza’s punt rolled out of bounds at the Waipahu 2 and two plays later, Damien’s Ezra Kaina pounced on a fumbled handoff at the Waipahu 6.
The Monarchs needed two runs up the middle to take the lead with Iaea scoring from 1 yard out.
Moanalua 42, Kailua 7
TreQuan Henderson had two of Moanalua’s six interceptions, Nick Au threw for 278 yards and five touchdowns, and Na Menehune breezed past the Surfriders.
After a scoreless first quarter, Moanalua exploded for 21 unanswered points in the second. The highlight of the game came in the second quarter when Jacob Copeland took a lateral from Ezra Grace off a hook-and-ladder play and sprinted 39 yards for a score.
Moanalua stymied Kailua in the red zone, coming up with takeaways on four Kailua drives, forcing three interceptions and a fumble.
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GAME SUMMARY
No. 10 Damien 13, Waipahu 10
At Waipahu
>> Damien (3-1, 3-0) 0 6 0 7 — 13
>> Waipahu (3-2, 2-0 3 0 0 7 — 10
Waipahu — FG Brycen Amorozo 27
Damien — River Iaea 1 run (kick blocked)
Waipahu — Saxon Tote 13 pass from Cody Marques (Amorozo kick)
Damien — Iaea 1 run (Christian Souza kick)
RUSHING — Damien: Aperamo Sulu 11-32, Logan Lauti 3-16, Iaea 8-1, Jake Holtz 8-(minus-16). Waipahu: Cody Marques 10-54, Deacon Kapea 5-26, Manuele Pulusila 14-26, Fiva Tulafale 2-1.
PASSING — Damien: Holtz 13-32-2-165. Waipahu: Marques 17-26-2-152.
RECEIVING — Damien: Lindon Sevilleja 5-82, Lauti 2-24, Sulu 2-3, Jarvis Natividad 1-19, Quinn Fukawa 1-15, Alohi Arecchi 1-12, Iaea 1-10. Waipahu: Saxon Tote 7-44, Matthew Fiesta 4-65, Branson Jay Reyes 3-19, Jovan Gooman 2-19, Zeondre Benjamin 1-5.
* JV score — Waipahu 52, Punahou 33
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Moanalua 42, Kailua 7
At Moanalua
>> Kailua (0-5, 0-3) 0 0 7 0 — 7
>> Moanalua (3-0, 3-0) 0 21 14 7 — 42
Moanalua — CJ Paleafei 7 pass from Nick Au (Nick Palalay kick)
Moanalua — Ezra Grace 11 pass from Au (Palalay kick)
Moanalua — Jacob Copeland 39 lateral from (Palalay kick)
Kailua — Brian-Allen Kamanu 10 run (Miguel Alcaraz kick)
Moanalua — Javon Monico 7 pass from Au (Palalay kick)
Moanalua — E. Grace 54 pass from Au (Palalay kick)
Moanalua — Rashod Tanner 58 interception return (Palalay kick)
RUSHING — Kailua: Samson Rasay 11-24, Cole Weber 2-23, Kamanu 4-23, Lahaina Kane 4-3, Ranen Ho-Mook 8-2. Moanalua: Lawsen Lee 6-38, Tim Ungacta 3-12, Rudy Kealohi 2-11, Team 3-(minus-3), Drayden von Oelhoffen 1-(minus 6), Au 2-(minus-12).
PASSING — Kailua: Weber 4-10-3-75, Ho-Mook 7-21-3-71. Moanalua: Au 24-34-0-273, Lee 0-1-1-0.
RECEIVING — Kailua: Isaiah Hopson 1-48, Samson Rasay 1-40, Kale Makaneole 1-22, Kase Oshiro 4-17, Kaniala Williams 1-8, Solomon Farley 1-6, Kamryn Kahoonei 1-5, Kane 1-0. Moanalua: E. Grace 10-143, Paleafei 4-41, Kealohi 3-26, von Oelhoffen 3-13, Ungacta 1-8, Monico 3-3, Copeland 0-39.
