Tumbled like dice into the new world of OIA-ILH football, Waipahu and Leilehua rolled snugly into Division I and are meeting expectations as serious contenders for the OIA and state championships.

The Mules and Marauders got a great look at each other Friday night at Waipahu, where Leilehua broke open an intensely close first half with a sprint out of the blocks after the break to turn it into a 50-20 rout in front of a packed Marauders homecoming crowd.

Asked about what second-half adjustments he made, Leilehua coach Mark Kurisu said, “Not much. We stopped making mistakes and really didn’t do anything different. It was a high energy atmosphere, one of the biggest crowds we’ve played in all year. This is a great atmosphere. I think it caught our kids a little off guard. The easiest way to say it is we told them to stop doing your own thing and do your job. Every victory is huge and this is the biggest one (so far). It’s just the next game.”

The Mules (6-2, 5-1 OIA Open) kept pace just behind Moanalua (6-0, 5-0) in the standings.

Leilehua stormed out after halftime and turned a 13-12 deficit into a 47-13 lead by the end of the third quarter. That 35-point spree was helped along on two fumbles by Marauders running back Alfred Failauga to halt serious scoring threats, and it also included two touchdowns by Leilehua linebacker Vitale Afoa — one on a scoop-and-score and the other on an interception return.

“That third quarter was a disaster,” Waipahu coach Bryson Carvalho said. “Turnovers just killed us,. It was very much uncharacteristic for us and Alfred. We were sloppy with the football in the third quarter, and the 35 points are hard to come back from.”

Waipahu also had 201 yards in penalties on the night and failed to score on its second possession of the game despite getting the ball to the Leilehua 2. Three straight false-start penalties doomed that chance.

Failauga finished with 147 rushing yards in the loss. The Marauders (5-3, 4-1) are still very much in the thick of things in OIA D-I.

“We had to trust the process, had to trust our coaches and had to trust in our D-line,” the Mules’ Afoa said.

In a back-and-forth first half, Waipahu held leads of 7-0 and 13-6. Quarterback Cody Marques scored two short rushing touchdowns for the Marauders, but the Mules came right back on both occasions on James McGary’s 9-yard TD run and Max Nichols’ 47-yard scoring pass to Jeremy Evans.

Nichols threw for 251 yards and three TDs.

GAME SUMMARY

Leilehua 50, Waipahu 20
At Waipahu

>> Leilehua (6-2, 5-1) 6 6 35 3 — 50
>> Waipahu (5-3, 4-1) 7 6 0 7 — 20

Waipahu — Cody Marques 3 run (Brycen Amorozo kick)

Leilehua — James McGary 9 run (kick failed)

Waipahu — Marques 2 run (kick failed)

Leilehua — Jeremy Evans 47 pass from Max Nichols (kick failed)

Leilehua — McGary 39 pass from Nichols (Akoni Tom-Makue kick)

Leilehua — Vitale Afoa 11 fumble recovery (Tom-Makue kick)

Leilehua — Nichols 1 run (Tom-Makue kick)

Leilehua — Kalei Akagi 24 pass from Nichols (Tom-Makue kick)

Leilehua — Vitale Afoa 28 interception return (Tom-Makue kick)

Leilehua — FG Tom-Makue 18

Waipahu — Alfred Failauga 8 run (Amorozo kick)

RUSHING — Leilehua: Damarion Smith 8-64, McGary 14-63, Nichols 7-31, Cody Akagi 3-7, Konapiliahi Raymond 1-4, Kekoa Turnagan 2-(minus-4). Waipahu: Alfred Failauga 26-147, Joel Auvae 2-12, Deacon Kapea 5-6, Marques 10-(minus-9).

PASSING — Leilehua: Nichols 15-24-1-251, Turnagan 1-1-0-(minus-2). Waipahu: Marques 9-17-1-151, Jovan Gooman 1-1-0-30, Auvae 0-2-1-0.

RECEIVING — Leilehua: Evans 5-114, McGary 4-45, Masen Reis 4-18, Dorian Furtado 1-50, Akagi 1-24, Raymond 1-(minus-2). Waipahu: Saxon Tote 3-78,Gooman 3-36, Branson Jay Reyes 2-48, Failauga 1-10 Matthew Fiesta 1-9, JV score—Leilehua 30, Waipahu 0