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Joy and sorrow waged a pitched battle in the minds of all concerned parties watching the on-field clash between Moanalua and Leilehua at Aloha Stadium on Saturday night.
In a wild back-and-forth affair that would remain elusive for all right until Griffin Motas’ extra point split the uprights in double overtime, Moanalua somehow prevailed, 21-20, for Na Menehune’s first OIA Division I title. Blue-clad players and cheerleaders, morose just minutes before when defeat appeared imminent, started doing back flips on the turf.
“This community deserves it. This is amazing,” Moanalua coach Savai’i Eselu said. “Such a blessing. Nothing short of a blessing, nothing short of amazing.”
As for the game itself, Eselu said, “Talk about ups and downs.”
>> Click here to see photos of the game between Moanalua and Leilehua.
Moanalua had to weather the loss of starting quarterback RJ Javar to a first-half injury; backup quarterback and play-making receiver Rudy Kealohi in the second half; and benefitted from three missed attempts (two field goals, one extra point) by Leilehua kicker Konapiliahi Raymond in the frantic endgame.
Down its playmaker at quarterback — Javar was knocked out on a helmet-to-helmet hit while diving to the pylon for a 14-0 lead, causing an ambulance to be summoned — Moanalua was simply trying to hang on in a desperate second half. Its defense made things tough for Leilehua quarterback Kekoa Turangan (16-for-39, 174 yards, TD, four interceptions), but the field-position fight steadily turned against Eselu’s crew nonetheless.
Leilehua, looking for its first OIA D-I title since 2007, turned to sophomore running back Jemell Vereen to carry the workload on this night. Vereen rushed for career highs of 30 carries and 153 yards. He had two touchdowns, including one from 20 yards straightaway in the second overtime to put the Mules up 20-14.
But a missed extra point would leave Moanalua a chance at its moment, too, with a couple of unlikely heroes donning capes. Third-string QB Brayden Faamasino, playing for the first time since mop-up time against Radford on Oct. 4, strung together a 4-yard pass and a 7-yard keeper for a first down at the 9. Then, he tossed a dart into traffic to a man making a crossing pattern — but it tipped off his hands and through those of a couple of Leilehua defenders before settling in the mitts of Dacyres Domingo.
“I made a risky throw, but the receivers, they came in clutch,” Faamasino said.
It was Domingo’s first catch of the game.
“You just have to keep your mind focused on the next play,” Domingo said.
Motas, who had a game-winning field goal against ‘Iolani to start the season, was money.
“I was in distance, so I was mentally preparing. And then my boys had my back on the line, the hold, everything,” Motas said.
It was redemption for Na Menehune, which squandered having the ball at the 1 in the first OT before Faamasino threw a pick to Narwin Luther.
Both teams are bound for the HHSAA D-I playoffs, a fact of significant consolation to the Mules, whose frenzied fans from Wahiawa tasted victory more than once only to have it snatched away. Leilehua got the ball up to the Moanalua 9 and let time tick down to set up a 26-yard field goal at the end of regulation … which clanged off the left upright.
Misses from 33 in the first OT and from 20 on the extra point in the second went well left.
“He hadn’t kicked all these years (listed as a running back),” Mules coach Mark Kurisu said of Raymond, who connected on two extra points earlier in the game. “He was doing a good job for us but it’s hard, these moments. You cannot duplicate these types of feelings and these moments. For him, he’s going to take it the hardest. We want to be there for him, support him and let him know that it’s going to be all right, as a family does. … You always support each other.”
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OIA DIVISION I PLAYOFF
Moanalua 21, Leilehua 20, 2OT
at Aloha Stadium
>> Leilehua (9-2) 0 0 7 7 0 6 — 20
>> Moanalua (10-1) 7 7 0 0 0 7 — 21
Moanalua — Jansen York 76 pass from RJ Javar (Griffin Motas kick)
Moanalua — Javar 8 run (Motas kick)
Leilehua — Jemell Vereen 19 run (Konapiliahi Raymond kick)
Leilehua — Jonathan Vasquez 15 pass from Kekoa Turangan (Raymond kick)
Leilehua — Vereen 20 run (kick failed)
Moanalua — Dacryes Domingo 9 pass from Brayden Faamasino (Motas kick)
RUSHING — Leilehua: Vereen 30-153, Damarion Smith 10-40, Kaleikaumaka Akagi 1-7, Turangan 2-(minus 9). Moanalua: Javar 3-26, York 9-22, Darius Johnson 8-19, Faamasino 1-7, Rudy Kealohi 12-(minus 35).
PASSING — Leilehua: Turangan 16-39-4-174, Jayzon Ramos 1-40. Moanalua: Javar 4-6-0-89, Faamasino 6-13-1-51, Kealohi 4-7-0-39.
RECEIVING — Leilehua: Akagi 9-96, Vasquez 5-67, Ramos 1-34, Raymond 1-13, Cody Akagi 1-4. Moanalua: York 7-126, Lawsen Lee 5-35, Jacob Richmond 1-9, Domingo 1-9.
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