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Kalani’s familiarity with the East Oahu wind helped the Falcons earn a 17-6 homecoming victory over Pearl City on Friday at Kaiser Stadium.
Going with the wind blowing down from the mountains through Hawaii Kai, the Falcons scored on their first three possessions and the defense shut out the Chargers in the second half as Kalani improved to 4-3 overall and 3-3 in OIA Division II play.
At Kaiser
Pearl City (2-5, 2-4) 0 6 0 0 — 6
Kalani (4-3, 3-3) 10 7 0 0 — 17
Kal—FG Kevin Tabuchi 31
Kal—Jonathan Cai 24 pass from Logan Lim (Tabuchi kick)
Kal—Nathaniel Balangitao 28 pass from Lim (Tabuchi kick)
PC—Kody Kikuyama 4 pass from Isaiah Cruz-Ameperosa (kick failed)
RUSHING—Pearl City: Ali’i Gaspar 12-69, Adam Puchert 3-2, Victor Atkins 1-1, Raiden Pabo 1-(-1), Rastin Tobosa 10-(-47), Team 4-(-33).
Kalani: Balangitao 11-51, Lim 11-23, Jake Lee 1-(-1), Tyler Matsumoto 5-(-2), Nicholas Sakamoto 4-(-6).
PASSING—Pearl City: Tobosa 12-24-1-110, Puchert 1-6-1-16, Cruz-Ameperosa. 1-2-0-4.
Kalani: Lim 9-24-2-132.
RECEIVING—Pearl City: Joshua Gleason 7-81, Stanton Hong 2-16, Kainuma Maddox 1-16, Cruz-Ameperosa 2-11, Kikuyama 1-4 Preston Hong 1-2.
Kalani: Jaymn Mohika-Poche 1-34, Cai 2-30, Lee 4-29, Balangitao 1-28, Dillon Cortez 1-11.
JV—Pearl City 28, Kalani 14
Kevin Tabuchi opened the scoring with a 31-yard field goal and Kalani quarterback Logan Lim threw touchdown passes on the Falcons’ next two drives to open up a 17-0 lead.
“Logan is getting a lot better week to week, controlling the game, knowing when to throw the ball or when to run the ball and controlling the clock,” Kalani coach Scott Melemai said.
Pearl City quarterback Makana Canyon, who set a school record with 372 passing yards in a 35-34 overtime loss to Nanakuli last week, did not suit up for the game due to an ankle injury. Junior Rastin Tobosa got the start, and heading into the wind the Chargers (2-5, 2-4) spent the entire first quarter on their side of the 50 while Kalani rode the breeze to the early lead.
“It’s tough, Kalani did a great job getting out and scoring on us, especially with this wind factor,” said Pearl City coach Robin Kami, who remains one win shy of becoming the program’s leader in coaching victories.
After Tabuchi’s field goal, the Falcons converted on three fourth-down situations on their second possession, with Lim capping the 11-play march with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Cai on fourth-and-10.
“We just had to execute,” said Lim, who threw for 132 yards. “It was amazing getting (Cai) his first touchdown.”
Kalani forced Pearl City’s third punt of the quarter and called a timeout with four seconds left to force the Chargers to kick into the wind. The punt was downed at the Pearl City 27, and after a loss of 1 Lim tossed a middle screen to running back Nathaniel Balangitao, who followed a wall of blockers to the end zone and the Falcons took a 17-0 lead.
Pearl City’s first opportunity with the wind led to a drive deep into Kalani territory. On a fourth-and-goal, quarterback Adam Puchert pitched the ball back to receiver Isaiah Cruz-Ameperosa, who pulled up and threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Kody Kikuyama.
The Falcons shut out the Chargers from there with three takeaways in the fourth quarter.
“The defense is doing really great this season,” Melemai said. “I think all the scheming we do and all the work they put in shows. That keeps us in games and is the heart of our team.”
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