Through four games and nearly four more quarters, not much had gone right for McKinley during the 2019 season.
Then in the closing minutes of a 6-3 win over Kalaheo on Saturday night, the Tigers could do no wrong.
Khert Vincent-Saing’s 1-yard rushing touchdown with 1:28 left broke a three-game scoring drought for McKinley. It was all the points the Tigers (1-4) needed for their first win of the season, while Kalaheo dropped to 0-5.
“I’m glad for the kids,” McKinley coach Pat Silva said. “They work hard, but there’s still a lot of work. That’s just something where we gotta get back to the drawing board and keep working on. It is what it is. We have a young team. That takes time.”
Both teams had just one full possession each in the first quarter as a result of run-heavy play-calling. Kalaheo started to open up its aerial attack in the second quarter, as did McKinley to a certain extent. The Tigers didn’t throw their first pass of the game until quarterback Alexandria Buchanan and Joab Cruz connected for an 8-yard gain midway through the second quarter.
Both squads struggled toward a scoreless tie at halftime. The highlight offensively was Buchanan, who became the first female to throw a touchdown pass in state history as a sophomore against the Mustangs in 2017. She was a perfect 2-for-2 with 31 yards in the opening half.
The third quarter was much of the same. Buchanan completed her third pass for a gain of 6 yards, but McKinley’s offense never truly threatened. Neither did the Mustangs, who were pinned at their own 1 with 3:17 left in the third. That drive carried over into a chunk of the fourth quarter and concluded when Kainoa Ferguson’s 24-yard field goal with 8:43 remaining gave Kalaheo a brief lead.
The Tigers punted after a three-and-out on their next possession, but forced a three-and-out of their own to get the ball back on their own 20 with 4:26 left. Quarterback Kaena Leopoldo and Cruz connected three times to march McKinley down the field. Cruz was the only McKinley receiver to catch the ball more than once, hauling in five passes for a game-high 55 yards.
Buchanan re-entered the game to hand the ball off to Vincent-Saing for the game’s deciding score.
McKinley entered Kailua’s Alex Kane Stadium with an average point differential of negative-37.8 and a season high of six points. The Tigers couldn’t surpass their highest point total, but held the Mustangs one last time when Ferguson’s 55-yard field-goal attempt fell short as time expired. Silva will definitely take it.
“(The defense) gave up some big ones, but they hung in there,” Silva said. “They bent but didn’t break in the fourth quarter. To me, that was the key. They had the long drive, but when they needed to, they came through.”
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McKinley 6, Kalaheo 3
At Kailua High
>> McKinley (1-4, 1-3) 0 0 0 6 — 6
>> Kalaheo (0-5, 0-4) 0 0 0 3 — 3
Kalaheo — FG Kainoa Ferguson 24
McKinley — Khert Vincent-Saing 1 rush (kick failed)
RUSHING — McKinley: Franklin Pham 11-24, Vincent-Saing 6-14, Zion Williams 5-13, Quincy Owens-Barnes 3-10, Kaena Leopoldo 2-9, Alexandria Buchanan 2-(minus 12). Kalaheo: Jordan Neufeldt 16-78, Bryson Johnson 4-21, Jackson Aber 4-11, Isaiah Akiu 2-0, TEAM 1-(minus 2).
PASSING — McKinley: Leopoldo 6-9-0–81, Buchanan 3-5-0–37. Kalaheo: Isaiah Akiu 14-30-0–116.
RECEIVING — McKinley: Joab Cruz 5-56, Owens-Barnes 1-23, Aaron Velasco 1-18, Jayden Victorino 1-13, Zion Williams 1-8. Kalaheo: Izaiah Abordo 6-27, Johnson 4-67, Jonah Lene 3-12, Jordan Neufeldt 1-10.
