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After two straight winless seasons on the field, Waialua secured a trip to the OIA playoffs.
Pearl City notched a 29-26 overtime win over the visiting Bulldogs on Saturday night, but Waialua was guaranteed the fourth and final D-II playoff berth following Nanakuli’s loss to Roosevelt at home, negating their defeat against the Chargers.
“I’m happy for the boys,” Waialua head coach Lincoln Barit said. “I’m happy that we came this far. Everything is for the boys so we just gotta do this again next year. They wanted to get to playoffs from the beginning. The 18 boys that came all summer, they’re still here and they got us to where we want to be.”
Waialua (5-5, 4-4) finished tied with Nanakuli, but got the edge due to its win over the Golden Hawks in its season opener.
The Bulldogs’ defense came out in full swing, recording interceptions by senior Justyce Lacar and junior Kai Hoekstra within the first five minutes of the first quarter. Hoekstra returned his pick 56 yards to set up the Bulldogs’ first score of the night with junior quarterback Kyler Dicion connecting with Hoekstra for a 27-yard TD.
Pearl City (3-7, 3-5) responded right away with Maddox Kainuma’s 34-yard TD catch on a pass from quarterback Makana Canyon and junior kicker Landon Chang’s extra point, putting the Chargers in the lead 7-6.
Bulldogs senior running back Storm Quilinderino took a 69-yard pass from Dicion to the house, but Chargers senior receiver Juan Vargas caught a 4-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 13 early in the second quarter.
The back-and-forth scores continued as Lacar grabbed his second touchdown on a 16-yard catch and Chargers receiver Joshua Gleason finished off a 61-yard catch-and-run TD, tying the game at 20-all. Chang booted a 37-yard field goal to give Pearl City the lead with three minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Waialua’s Mahuka launched a 27-yard field goal of his own in the last 30 seconds to tie the game 23-23 and bring it to overtime.
In the OT period, Waialua got the ball first, but Dicion threw three incomplete passes, so Mahuka kicked a 40-yard field goal for a 26-23 lead.
When Pearl City got the ball back, a 15-yard catch by Vargas moved the ball inside the 10 and Gleason caught an 8-yard TD pass from Canyon for the win.
“It was a good win,” Pearl City coach Robin Kami said. “They bended, but they never broke. They pushed through, kept on plugging away, and stayed in the game until they did what they needed to do in overtime.”
Waialua will play defending OIA champion Roosevelt in the semifinals next weekend.
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Pearl City 29, Waialua 26
At Bino Neves Stadium
>> Waialua (5-5, 4-4) 13 0 7 3 3 — 26
>> Pearl City (3-7, 3-5) 7 6 7 3 6 — 29
Waialua — Kai Hoekstra 27 pass from Kyler Dicion (kick failed))
Pearl City — Kainuma Maddox 34 pass from Makana Canyon (Landon Chang kick)
Waialua — Storm Quilinderino 69 pass from Dicion (Kayde Mahuka kick)
Pearl City — Juan Vargas 4 pass from Canyon (kick failed)
Waialua — Justyce Lacar 16 pass from Dicion (Mahuka kick)
Pearl City — Joshua Gleason 61 pass from Canyon (Chang kick)
Pearl City —FG Chang 37
Waialua — FG Mahuka 27
Waialua — FG Mahuka 40
Pearl City — Gleason 8 pass from Canyon
RUSHING — Waialua: Quilinderino 8-106, Dicion 7-0, Lacar 2-(minus 7). Pearl City: Ali’i Gaspar 18-83, Raiden Pabo 1-12, Preston Hong 2-(minus 1), Canyon 4-(minus 13).
PASSING — Waialua: Dicion 13-31-1-200, Lacar 4-6-0-35. Pearl City: Canyon 19-34-3-241, Gleason 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING — Waialua: Hoekstra 6-70, Dylan Yadao 6-67, Quilinderino 2-71, Lacar 2-22, Kayde Mahuka 1-5. Pearl City: Gleason 6-123, Juan Vargas 5-43, Hong 3-6, Kainuma Maddox 2-38, Gaspar 2-22, Adam Puchert 1-9.
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