WAILUKU >> Kalei Akagi did his best to emulate big brother.

The Leilehua senior scored on a 72-yard reverse to begin the game, and later returned a kickoff 91 yards for a second touchdown as Leilehua outlasted a gritty Baldwin squad 34-7 in the opening round in Division I of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships.

A decade earlier, it was Akagi’s brother, Kamana, who hauled in three TD passes from Andrew Manley in a state-tournament win over Baldwin, also at War Memorial Stadium.

>> Click here to see photos of the game between Leilehua and Baldwin.

“Kamana, he’s a great older brother. I couldn’t ask for anything more. He put big shoes for me to fill and I just want to make him happy, fill those shoes and surpass the standards that he set for me,” Akagi said.

The Mules limited the MIL champion Bears to 231 yards of total offense, allowing one long TD pass early in the second quarter. It was a 14-7 game at halftime, though. Leilehua relied on defense, special teams and a determined ground attack. Sophomore Jemell Vereen and his front five wore down the Bears, who had several two-way ironmen in the trenches.

“Give credit to their defense, man, they made some plays in the secondary. Baldwin forced us to run a lot more. We were just fortunate to go ahead and get the job done running the ball,” Leilehua coach Mark Kurisu said.

Vereen finished with 174 yards on 28 carries against a physical Bears defense.

“They stacked the box, but we picked up the right blocks to give me open holes, and the receivers blocked the linebackers so I could get free a little bit,” Vereen said.

Along with a fourth-quarter pick-6 by Julyan Mebane, the Mules got two TDs from defense and special teams. Mebane’s play thwarted a Baldwin comeback try, opening the lead to 27-7.

“They were running that play all game, so I came down to make (the interception) and it turned out the right way,” Mebane said of the 85-yard interception return. “We kept our minds right and played the right way.”

Leilehua’s defense was intent on containing Baldwin’s dual-threat quarterback, La‘akea Asuega-Stark. He finished with 188 total yards, including 15-for-26 passing (142 yards) with one touchdown and one pick.

“Leilehua is good. They’re aggressive and fast. Every opportunity they had, they tried to get to me. I tried to help my offense out by scrambling, getting a few yards,” Asuega-Stark said.

The Mules exploded from the first snap. Akagi got the ball on a reverse to the left, split the scattered defense and sprinted to the left pylon for a 72-yard touchdown.

Leilehua moved the ball early on, but turned it over on a tipped pass that was picked off by Josiah Sniffen. The senior two-way starter ended the Mules’ next series, nearly intercepting a short pass on fourth down that could have turned into a pick-6.

The Bears took advantage of the opportunity early in the second quarter. Defensive back Jonathan Bacos recovered a fumble by Leilehua freshman Ariez Sylve-Matautia, and on the next play, Asuega-Stark found Kapena Kamai down the right sideline for a 63-yard touchdown. That tied the game at 7 with 10:58 left in the first half.

Akagi answered immediately. He took the ensuing kickoff and split through coverage between the hashmarks for a 91-yard touchdown. The Mules led 14-7 with 10:46 left in the second quarter.

Baldwin came up empty on its next two drives. Leilehua drove to the Bears’ 5, but settled for a 25-yard field goal attempt by sophomore Jonathan Breceda, whose kick was wide right.

The Mules got the ball back at its 49 with 56 seconds left, drove to the 10, and again came up scoreless.

After two incompletions, Nephi Laga, one of Baldwin’s ironmen in the trenches, sacked Leilehua quarterback Kekoa Turangan on third down. Turangan’s fourth-down toss to Jayzon Ramos in the end zone was ruled incomplete when Kamai, the cornerback, pushed him out of bounds before he could land with the ball.

Baldwin then took a knee to end the half, fortunate to be down 14-7 despite Leilehua’s dominance in total offensive yardage.

Baldwin’s first series of the second half got a spark on a fake punt and run by Isaiah Souza. On fourth down, Leilehua’s Vitale Afoa nearly sacked Asuega-Stark, who threw an incompletion.

Five plays later, Leilehua was in the end zone. Vereen carried for 7, 7, 16 and 15 yards before Leilehua quarterback Kekoa Turangan connected with Jayzon Ramos on a 10-yard TD pass. After a missed PAT kick, the Mules led 20-7 with 8:01 left in the third period.

With Baldwin’s offense coming up empty in five consecutive possessions, the visiting Mules gave them a gift. A botched fake punt, with Sniffen and Laga on the sack, gave the Bears the ball at Leilehua’s 33 early in the fourth quarter.

However, Leilehua’s Gabriel Akaki came up with a key sack. Then Mebane picked off a sideline pass and returned it 85 yards for a back-breaking touchdown. Leilehua led 27-7 with 8:12 to go.

Vereen’s 7-yard TD run with 1:31 left capped the scoring.