Like Kaimuki and Roosevelt before it, Kaiser bounced back from its first loss of the season in a big way.
Freshman quarterback Easton Yoshino threw four first-half touchdown passes and brother Mason Yoshino made eight receptions for 146 yards and three scores in the Cougars’ 45-14 win over Nanakuli on Friday night at Kaiser Stadium.
Dre Falls, Jesse Stroede and Kamakana Mahiko added touchdown catches for Kaiser (8-1, 6-1 OIA D-II), which remains in a three-way tie for the lead in OIA Division II with Roosevelt and Kaimuki.
The Cougars had a seven-game winning streak snapped when they were shut out last Friday by Roosevelt, which a week earlier suffered its first loss to the Bulldogs.
>> Click here to see photos of the game between Kaiser and Nanakuli.
Kaiser failed to score at least 33 points in a D-II game for the first time, but got back on track against the Golden Hawks (5-4, 4-3), who despite the loss remain in the hunt for the fourth playoff spot in D-II.
“The kids worked hard and I think we had a good week of practice,” Kaiser coach Tim Seaman said. “It’s that time of year where you really need to step up your game. I think (tonight) it was a real team effort.”
Easton Yoshino was 16-for-23 for 289 yards and had Kaiser in the red zone late in the first half when he was spun down and sacked by Josh Mahuka. Yoshino hit the turf hard face down and didn’t get up for a couple of minutes before eventually walking off under his own power.
Junior Brock Perriera replaced Yoshino at quarterback and threw an 18-yard TD to Mason Yoshino on his first play.
It was the seventh catch of the half for Mason Yoshino, who recorded his third 100-yard receiving game of the season.
“I liked the fact that offensively we moved the ball well, put some points on the board and we looked pretty efficient in the passing game,” Seaman said. “Brock came in and did a good job as we expected him to.”
Nanakuli’s Randen McCabe had an interception in the end zone on defense and Kawika Keopuhiwa picked off a pass in the second quarter to set up the Golden Hawks’ first touchdown.
Quarterback Sedric Crawford converted a fourth down when he hit a wide-open Mahuka for 18 yards on fourth-and-4 and running back Tahj Hauhio scored on a 15-yard run on the next play.
The Golden Hawks are a half-game ahead of both Waialua and Kalani, which play each other tonight at Kaiser Stadium. The winner will be tied with Nanakuli for the fourth and final playoff spot with a week to go.
Nanakuli owns the tiebreaker over Kalani but lost to Waialua to start league play.
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Kaiser 45, Nanakuli 14
At Kaiser
>> Nanakuli (5-4, 4-3) 0 7 0 7 — 14
>> Kaiser (8-1, 6-1) 21 14 10 0 — 45
Kaiser — Dre Falls 9 pass from Easton Yoshino (Kyler Halvorsen kick)
Kaiser — Mason Yoshino 20 pass from E. Yoshino (Halvorsen kick)
Kaiser — Kamakana Mahiko 15 pass from E. Yoshino (Halvorsen kick)
Kaiser — Mason Yoshino 13 pass from E. Yoshino (Halvorsen kick)
Nanakuli — Tahj Hauhio 15 run (Keola Bright kick)
Kaiser — Mason Yoshino 18 pass from Brock Perriera (Halvorsen kick)
Kaiser — Jesse Stroede 9 pass from Perriera (Halvorsen kick)
Kaiser — FG Halvorsen 31
Nanakuli — Bright 50 pass from Sedric Crawford (Bright kick)
RUSHING — Nanakuli: Hauhio 20-73, TEAM 1-(minus 1), Crawford 6-(minus 18). Kaiser: Ethan Lynch 6-28, Hunter Phelps 5-25, Kilohana Lacanilao 7-20, Perriera 1-(minus 3), E. Yoshino 2-(minus 28).
PASSING — Nanakuli: Crawford 7-24-1-106. Kaiser: E. Yoshino 16-23-2-289, Perriera 7-10-0-69.
RECEIVING — Nanakuli: Nainoa Paz 3-18, Josh Mahuka 2-31, Bright 1-50, Randy McCabe 1-7. Kaiser: M. Yoshino 8-146, Stroede 5-97, Falls 3-46, Mahiko 4-53, Lynch 2-21, Xavier Kepa 1-(minus 5).
*JV — Kaiser 33, Nanakuli 6
