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Kaimuki’s two out-of-league games haven’t gone its way this season.
Where it matters most, however, the Bulldogs remain perfect.
Junior quarterback Jonah Fa’asoa threw for a program-record 435 yards and three touchdowns and Kaimuki improved to 5-0 in OIA Division II with a 46-21 win over Kaiser on Friday night at Skippa Diaz Stadium.
Sophomore Kobe Moananu added a Bulldogs-record 185 receiving yards and Naomas Asuega-Fualaau scored three touchdowns for the Bulldogs (5-2 overall), who won their first game played against Kaiser (3-3-1, 3-3) in a decade.
“Getting the ball to the playmakers, letting them do their thing, the linemen giving me time — it’s not just me, it’s everybody,” Fa’asoa said of the record. “It’s a team record.”
Kaimuki, which was shut out 13-0 by St. Francis last week and lost a two-point game to Sierra Vista in Las Vegas earlier this month, moved into a first-place tie with Pearl City in OIA Division II.
The teams will play each other in two weeks to end the regular season.
“We’re just trying to get us in a good position for the playoffs,” Kaimuki coach David Tautofi said. “It was homecoming week and we were able to use that as an incentive to get them fired up again. It’s usually tough and a work-in-progress after a loss.”
Fa’asoa broke the school record on a 65-yard touchdown pass to Asuega-Fualaau in the third quarter after Kaiser cut a 19-0 halftime deficit to 26-21 on Jesse Stroede’s 75-yard interception return for a touchdown.
He then put the game away with all three of his touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to break Jordan Solomon’s previous record by more than 100 yards.
“I had to step it up. Those two picks were unacceptable,” Fa’asoa said. “Dumb plays by me and I had to bounce back and help everybody out.”
Moananu, who began the season as the starting quarterback on the junior varsity team, was called up for the game in Las Vegas earlier this month that the Bulldogs lost by two points.
He caught a 60-yard pass on the second play from scrimmage and added a 45-yard touchdown reception. His 185 receiving yards came on six catches.
“He just expands (our offense) a lot more,” Tautofi said. “We know where our strength is on the ground, but to have the kind of weapons we have with the wideouts is huge.”
Two players were ejected in the third quarter after a scuffle broke out following a late hit by a Kaiser offensive lineman.
Noah Matsumoto added a 1-yard touchdown run and sophomore Mason Yoshino caught a 59-yard touchdown pass for the Cougars, who remain the frontrunner for the fourth playoff spot in the OIA Division II.
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GAME SUMMARY
Kaimuki 46, Kaiser 21
At Skippa Diaz Stadium
>> Kaiser (3-3-1, 3-3) 0 0 21 0 — 21
>> Kaimuki (5-2, 5-0) 7 12 7 20 — 46
Kaimuki — Jonah Stephens 1 run (Chrisna Chann kick)
Kaimuki — Filipo Afoa 17 pass from Kaulana Kaluna Jr. (kick blocked)
Kaimuki — Naomas Asuega-Fualaau 9 run (pass failed)
Kaiser — Mason Yoshino 59 pass from Koa Tom (Kyler Halvorsen kick)
Kaimuki — Asuega-Fualaau 6 run (Chann kick)
Kaiser — Noah Matsumoto 1 run (Halvorsen kick)
Kaiser — Jesse Stroede 75 interception return (Halvorsen kick)
Kaimuki — Asuega-Fualaau 65 pass from Jonah Fa’asoa (pass failed)
Kaimuki — Kobe Moananu 45 pass from Fa’asoa (Chann kick)
Kaimuki — Kaluna Jr. 22 pass from Fa’asoa (Chann kick)
RUSHING — Kaiser: Matsumoto 8-41, Cavin Lime 7-14, team 1-(minus 1), Tom 3-(minus 9), Yoshino 2-(minus 10). Kaimuki: Asuega-Fualaau 15-84, Afoa 3-6, Stephens 5-4, Fa‘asoa 4-(minus 7).
PASSING — Kaiser: Tom 14-35-2-172. Kaimuki: Fa’asoa 19-33-2-435, Kaluna Jr. 1-1-0-17.
RECEIVING — Kaiser: Yoshino 3-63, Ethan Doman 3-33, Matsumoto 3-17, Ethan Nakamura 2-12, Stroede 1-29, Lime 1-13, Aizayah Ho 1-5. Kaimuki: Kobe Moananu 6-185, Elijah Lemalu 4-24, Alex Lemalu 3-52, Asuega-Fualaau 2-84, Kaluna Jr. 2-71, Afoa 2-27, Blade Pfeiffer-Kekoa 1-9.
* JV — Kaiser 35, Kaimuki 7
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