Nanakuli bounced back from a loss to defeat visiting Kalani 28-21 on Friday night.
Junior WR Tahj Hauhio ran wild in the fourth quarter, inching closer toward the end zone before finally scoring Nanakuli’s final TD of the night on a 5-yard rush.
Kalani had two minutes to try to tie the game, but senior defensive lineman Kadin Kaohu intercepted Falcons quarterback Logan Lim’s pass and secured the Golden Hawks’ first win of the regular season. Nanakuli lost to Waialua last week after beating Molokai in its opener. Kalani suffered its first loss of the season after opening with two victories.
Kalani took the lead quickly after Lim, a sophomore, ran the ball into the end zone on back-to-back TDs. However, Nanakuli fought to finish the first quarter on a 1-yard scoring rush by senior quarterback Sedric Crawford.
The Golden Hawks continued scoring as Crawford notched two more TDs to end the half with a 21-13 lead.
Multiple Nanakuli penalties led to a Lim TD and sophomore WR Noah Ah Sam successfully nailed a 2-point conversion before the third quarter clock ran out.
Hauhio finished with 159 rushing yards and a TD on 31 carries.
—
Nanakuli 28, Kalani 21
At Nanakuli
>> Kalani (2-1, 1-1) 13 0 8 0 — 21
>> Nanakuli (2-1, 1-1) 7 14 0 7 — 28
Kalani — Nathaniel Balangitao 9 pass from Logan Lim
Kalani — Nathaniel Balangitao 4 pass from Logan Lim (Tabuchi kick)
Nanakuli — Sedric Crawford 1 run (Keola Bright kick)
Nanakuli — Sedric Crawford 1 run (Keola Bright kick)
Nanakuli — Sedric Crawford 4 run (Keola Bright kick)
Kalani — Logan Lim 4 run
Kalani — Noah Ah Sam 3 run 2 pt conversion
Nanakuli — Tahj Hauhio 5 run (Keola Bright kick)
RUSHING — Kalani: Nathaniel Balangitao 19-99, Noah Ah Sam 3-20, Rayce Manriki 1-10, Logan Lim 4-(minus 9), team 6-(minus 55). Nanakuli: Tahj Hauhio 31-159, Keola Bright 3-95, Sedric Crawford 19-85, Kekoa Torres 3-57, Ikaika Kuaiwa 1-3, TEAM 8-(minus 85).
PASSING — Kalani: Lim 8-33-1–79. Nanakuli: Crawford 14-26-1–124.
RECEIVING – Kalani: Jake Lee 3-41, Noah Ah Sam 2-14, Dillon Cortez 2-21, Jonathan Cai 1-3. Nanakuli: Nainoa Paz: 4-47, Tahj Hauhio 4-37, Royce Wilms 3-27, Gavin Vea-Flint 2-2, Dominic Manuwa 1-11.