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The Waialua Bulldogs didn’t let a slow first quarter get them down, dominating the next two quarters to earn a blowout 42-7 win over visiting McKinley on Saturday’s senior night.
“The boys played hard. They did it for the seniors,” Waialua head coach Gary Wirtz said after the win. “They went out there and just didn’t quit.”
After conceding the opening touchdown, the Bulldogs scored 42 points unanswered. Waialua failed to score just once throughout the second and third quarters, scoring on six out of seven drives to bring its season record back to .500 for the first time this season.
“We just made the adjustments that we needed to make, and the boys really stepped up,” Wirtz said. “It’s the last home game for a lot of them. They wanted the W.”
“The first quarter we were just down, we weren’t playing our hardest,” Bulldogs senior quarterback Tyson Apau added. “Second quarter came and we wanted to win on this field one last time, so that’s what we did. We played our hearts out.”
Apau’s versatility and athleticism were on full display. Apau led the team in both the pass game and the run game. He finished with 199 all-purpose yards, completing 4-for-16 passes for 94 yard while also rushing for 105 yards on 18 carries. He added four rushing touchdowns and one passing touchdown. His final stats didn’t tell the whole story, however, as his receivers dropped at least three deep passes that would have been surefire touchdowns.
“He’s a beast,” Wirtz said about his quarterback. “He sees the guys and knows what he needs to do to get the ball there. He doesn’t get down on them, he doesn’t get down on himself. He just keeps working and keeps pushing his boys.”
“It helps that I can move out of the pocket and throw, or I could run,” Apau said about his dual-threat ability. “It makes it harder for the defense to read our offense.”
With both their quarterbacks missing for personal reasons, the McKinley Tigers didn’t throw a single pass. Instead, the Tigers ran the ball 42 times. Their leading rusher was Makana Williams, who racked up a game-best 126 yards on 22 carries.
The first three drives of the game ended without scores. McKinley broke the pattern with a quick four-play scoring drive. The Tigers opened the game with 14 straight runs for a turnover on downs to start, and the second drive was more of the same. On the fourth straight run of the drive, Williams was stuffed in the middle of the field, before bouncing out left and taking off for a 33-yard opening score.
The rest of the first half would be all Waialua. After going scoreless in the first quarter, the Bulldogs rattled off 35 unanswered points in the second quarter. Waialua scored on five straight drives, beginning with a nine-play drive that started in the first quarter. The 47-yard drive ended with Apau’s 12-yard touchdown run.
Waialua scored again on their next drive. This time it was Makoakai Fiero who found pay dirt, running the ball into the end zone from 15 yards out to wrap up a seven-play drive. The Bulldogs got the ball back two plays later when Gabriel Wirtz recovered a McKinley fumble. Apau only needed two plays to score, with a 19-yard carry quickly followed by a 10-yard touchdown run.
With momentum on their side, the Bulldogs decided to push their advantage. The ensuing onside kick was recovered by Wirtz, setting Waialua up in McKinley territory. Brushing off a holding penalty on the first play, Apau connected with James Zara for a 45-yard touchdown to cap off the two-play scoring drive.
Wirtz picked up the hat trick with his third fumble recovery on the next McKinley drive. Apau was called upon again. He officially scored a 5-yard touchdown, but really ran close to 35 yards for the score after a high snap.
The Bulldogs scored just once in the second half on Apau’s 7-yard carry, but it was enough to enact the mercy rule and end the game. Apau later had a 97-yard touchdown run wiped away by a blindside block penalty on what turned out to be his final play of the game.
Kaiser 46, Kalaheo 12
Kaiser quarterback Easton Yoshino threw for 371 yards and five touchdowns and the defending OIA Division II champion Cougars clinched a playoff berth by beating the Mustangs.
Makana Naleieha had seven catches for 179 yards and three touchdowns for the Cougars (4-3, 4-2), who will be the No. 3 seed and play Pearl City in the semifinals of the OIA D-II playoffs.
Yoshino, who has thrown for at least 331 yards in four straight games, became the 18th quarterback on Oahu to top the 6,000-yard passing mark in a career. In 25 career games, Yoshino, who missed out on a sophomore season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, has thrown for 6,268 yards and 73 touchdowns.
Kamalu Anoba-Jordan caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Alika Amasiu to give the Mustangs (1-7, 1-5) the early lead over the Cougars.
Kalaheo led 7-0 after the first quarter before Kaiser rattled off 46 straight points. Kalaheo’s Carlos Fraticelli scored on a 9-yard TD run in the final minute for the final score.
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Waialua 42, McKinley 7
At Toshiyuki Nakasone Field
McKinley (0-7, 0-6) 7 0 0 0 — 7
Waialua (4-4, 3-3) 0 35 7 0 — 42
MCK—Makana Williams 33 run (Noa Hattori-Crozier kick)
WLUA—Tyson Apau 12 run (Makaokai Fiero kick)
WLUA—Fiero 15 run (Fiero kick)
WLUA—Apau 10 run (Fiero kick)
WLUA—James Zara 45 pass from Apau (Fiero kick)
WLUA—Apau 5 run (Fiero kick)
WLUA—Apau 7 run (Fiero kick)
RUSHING—McKinley: Williams 22-126, Samisoni Mafi 7-61, Preston Note 10-29, Darrick Rufes 2-15, Jalen Lauvao 1-3. Waialua: Apau 18-105, Fiero 6-44, Jack Amancio 2-6, Riley Jacob Pascua 1-3, Silas Suenaka-Manner 1-2.
PASSING— McKinley: none. Waialua: Apau 4-16-0-94, Jack Amancio 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING— McKinley: none. Waialua: Zara 1-45, Dayton Gaboya 1-28, Ryz Miranda Perreira 1-15, Fiero 1-6.
KAISER 46, KALAHEO 12
At Kailua
Kaiser (4-3, 4-2) 0 18 21 7 — 46
Kalaheo (1-7, 1-5) 6 0 0 6 — 12
Kalh—Kamalu Anoba-Jordan 31 pass from Alika Amasiu (pass failed)
Kais—Keagan Lime 9 pass from Easton Yoshino (kick failed)
Kais—Dillon Reis 10 run (kick failed)
Kais—Lime 25 pass from Yoshino (pass failed)
Kais—Makana Naleieha 41 pass from Yoshino (Ian Shearer kick)
Kais—Naleieha 13 pass from Yoshino (Shearer kick)
Kais—Naleieha 63 pass from Yoshino (Shearer kick)
Kais—Kai Strawn 14 run (Shearer kick)
Kalh—Carlos Fraticelli 9 run (kick blocked)
RUSHING—Kaiser: Strawn 7-70, Kai Blackston 7-15, Di. Reis 3-13, Yoshino 1-0, Team 1-(minus 1). Kalaheo: Elijah Taylor 12-57, Amasiu 7-22, Gaige White 3-18, Da’Shone Will 5-15, Fraticelli 4-13.
PASSING—Kaiser: Yoshino 21-31-1-371, Brody Maeda 2-3-0-21, Kaholokai Cunha 1-1-0-7. Kalaheo: Amasiu 13-26-1-141, Jude Weber 2-5-2-31, White 2-4-0-10, Vinny Bandini 1-1-0-6.
RECEIVING—Kaiser: Naleieha 7-179, Jesse Shinagawa 5-76, Lime 4-56, Rayne Sumida 2-22, Di. Reis 1-15, Zach Miyoshi 1-12, Blaze Kodama 1-12, Mason Nelson 1-10, Dillion Panoke 1-9, Caleb Hamasaki 1-8. Kalaheo: Anoba-Jordan 8-86, Toa Tevaga 3-49, E. Taylor 4-25, Zayden Napulou 1-18, Joshua Taylor 1-5, CJ Loomis 1-5.
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