The last time Waipahu won a state championship, ‘Iolani was an able adversary along the way.
That route, in 2018, required a narrow 20-19 win over the Raiders at Masa Yonamine Athletic Complex in the semifinal round. Then Waipahu routed Hilo 42-22 for the Division I koa trophy.
On Saturday afternoon, there was much less suspense. In its first postseason matchup since ’18, Waipahu rode the prowess of Tama Uiliata again in a 35-10 runaway win over top-seeded ‘Iolani at Eddie Hamada Field.
OIA champion Waipahu (11-1) will meet Konawaena this Saturday in the D-I final of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships at Mililani’s John Kauinana Stadium.
Even as more and more eyeballs are on Uiliata, defenses remain helpless to stop him. Playing safety and quarterback and returning kicks — he is also the holder on all PAT and field-goal tries — Uiliata passed for 169 yards and two TDs, rushed 22 times for 199 yards and two more TDs, and returned an interception out of the end zone for 21 yards. He also had 40 yards of return yardage.
“I actually wanted to go in for defense for the drives I missed. I wanted to be present for the team because I know me in the backfield would make great impact,” Uiliata said. “Everybody on our team, in every aspect, they know what to do. That just shows that we’re that disciplined.”
Running back Anieli Talaeai rushed for 110 yards and one TD out of Waipahu’s backfield. The Marauders finished with 336 rushing yards on 52 carries, and 505 yards of total offense.
It was a 7-3 game early in the second quarter. By then Waipahu had turned the ball over on downs twice out of its first two possessions.
“The one thing I told our O-line was just call where No. 9 (Ha‘aheo Dela Cruz) was. No. 9 was killing it. I just wanted to know where he was,” Uiliata said. “He did a great job. I know the ending of the first half, the D-ends were containing. They weren’t really moving. The middle linebacker, No. 3 (Jacob Gaudi), QB spied on me. We watched film and we knew these guys kind of struggle with scrambling quarterbacks, so Coach Bryson (Carvalho) went ahead and put me in at quarterback.”
From that point on, Uiliata took command as Waipahu scored TDs on four of their next five possessions. With his innate ability to feel pressure in the pocket and maximize every opportunity in open space.
“He’s the trump card,” ‘Iolani defensive coordinator Delbert Tengan said. “You can have guys assigned to him, but he’s elusive, he scrambles, almost gets sacked, makes a pass for a first down. We almost sack him by the sideline, he throws for another first down. It’s kind of how Patrick Mahomes plays. Defensively, those are back-breakers.”
The loss ended ‘Iolani’s 20-game win streak. The Raiders had not lost a game since the D-I state final in 2019.
Waipahu began the game with freshman Elijah Mendoza at quarterback, then moved Uiliata from wide receiver to QB. On his first snap in the shotgun, Uiliata sliced through the middle for a 37-yard gain, but the Marauders eventually turned the ball over on downs.
‘Iolani had a rare field goal miss by senior Allison Chang, whose 38-yard try glanced off the left upright and onto the end zone grass.
Uiliata’s 49-yard play-action bomb to Tai Aipia-Barrett gave Waipahu a 7-0 lead with 2:27 left in the first quarter.
Chang’s 23-yard field goal got ‘Iolani on the scoreboard with 10:05 to go in the first half.
A sack by Anjay Kelemete stalled ‘Iolani’s next series, giving the Marauders the ball at the Raiders’ 41-yard line after a fair catch. Uiliata was in peak form, scrambling for 14 yards and completing a key 10-yard pass on third down while on the move to the right sideline. His 3-yard keeper up the middle for a TD opened Waipahu’s lead to 14-3 with 3:29 to go in the first half.
After ‘Iolani’s three-and-out, Waipahu marched 50 yards in seven plays. With more than 10 seconds to scan the field from the pocket, Uiliata found Jayvren Pinera all alone on a post route for a 30-yard TD. The Marauders led 21-3 with 46 seconds before intermission.
‘Iolani brought CJ Villanueva in to play QB to begin the second half, but Waipahu’s defense forced another three-and-out. Uiliata guided the Marauders to pay dirt with a 12-play, 95-yard dive. His 2-yard keeper extended their lead to 28-3 with 7:03 remaining in the third quarter.
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WAIPAHU 35, ‘IOLANI 10
At ‘Iolani
Waipahu (11-1) 7 14 7 7 — 35
‘Iolani (9-1) 0 3 7 0 — 10
Waip—Tai Aipia-Barrett 49 pass from Liatama Uiliata (Xavier Transfiguracion kick)
Iol—FG Allison Chang 23
Waip—Uiliata 3 run (Transfiguracion kick)
Waip—Jayvren Pinera 25 pass from Uiliata (Transfiguracion kick)
Waip—Uiliata 2 run (Transfiguracion kick)
Iol—Keao Kawaakoa 46 rush (Chang kick)
Waip—Anieli Talaeai 16 rush (Transfiguracion kick)
RUSHING—Waipahu: Uiliata 22-199, Talaeai 17-110, Braeden Togafau 6-14, Chazen Rodillas-Vesido 3-12, Aipia-Barrett 3-2. ‘Iolani: Kawaakoa 13-58, Jones Vierra 2-0, Micah Hoomanawanui 3-(minus 5).
PASSING—Waipahu: Uiliata 10-22-0-169, Elijah Mendoza 0-1-0-1. ‘Iolani: Hoomanawanui 15-25-1-151, CJ Villanueva 3-7-1-38.
RECEIVING—Waipahu: Aipia-Barrett 5-101, Pinera 2-40, Rodillas-Vesido 2-21, Talaeai 1-7. ‘Iolani: Kawaakoa 7-87, Nela Taliauli 5-54, Tristan Martinez 4-15, Tyger Hayashi 2-33.
