Roosevelt rallies from 17-0 first-quarter deficit to defeat Kalaheo

It was a tale of two halves for the victorious Roosevelt Rough Riders, who scored 24 unanswered points for a 24-17 comeback win over the Kalaheo Mustangs at Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium on Thursday night.

“We practice the way we play. These kids, they work hard every week. They showed resilience to pull through as a team,” Roosevelt head coach Kui Kahooilihala said.

The Rough Riders, who were the designated visiting team despite playing at their home stadium, trailed 17-0 at the half. Roosevelt sent sophomore receiver Taimane Souza-Fautanu behind center after halftime.

“We told the kids (at halftime), they’re doing what we’re telling them,” Kahooilihala said. “We had some mental breakdowns. We just have to run our plays, take care of what we can on our side. We’re still in the game. And they played their best half in the second half.”

Souza-Fautanu responded to the call, stepping up with 147 rushing yards out of the quarterback spot with two touchdowns on the ground. He added another score through the air to Dayten Tilton.

“I just want to win. I want to do whatever I can to help the team,” Souza-Fautanu said. “We couldn’t get it rolling so I stepped in. I took over and did my thing, but it wasn’t just me. The offensive line up front, the receivers, and my coaches put me in a position to succeed. Just a great overall team win.”

“He’s a good kid, a player. He wants to be on the field, he wants to be in the game. He doesn’t want to come out,” Kahooilihala added. “He gave us that spark that we needed in the second half.”

Just as responsible for the dramatic turnaround was the Rough Riders defense. The unit shut Kalaheo down in the second half, hounding Mustangs quarterback Jude Weber into three second-half interceptions. Defensive back Victor Silva had two of those picks, while Nainoa Aguiar had the other.

“The coaches tell us to play until the last whistle the whole game,” Silva said. “It was 17-0 in the first half, and we came back to win 24-17. The coaches kept our heads in the game.”

“Our coach always preaches: be on the same page, be one unit, as a team and as a defense,” Silva said. “We were communicating. Me, the safeties, the linebackers, the defensive line. We were all on the same page.”

“The defense did a hell of a job. Kalaheo is a great team, they put up points,” Kahooilihala said. “These kinds of teams make our defense step up a notch.”

Roosevelt opened the game with a nine-play drive. The way the drive ended would be an indicator for how the rest of the first half would go for the Rough Riders. A low snap on the punt was recovered by Roosevelt for a turnover-on-downs.

On their next possession, Roosevelt’s punt snap was again low, this time rolling past the punter and was recovered by Kalaheo’s La’ikukalewa Tevaga for the game’s opening touchdown.

On the next play, Roosevelt quarterback Braden Sarahina was sacked and coughed up the football. Connor Nauta picked up the ball and ran it 5 yards for a touchdown.

The Mustangs got the ball right back after forcing a Roosevelt three-and-out. Kamalu Anoba-Jordan provided a good change of pace for Kalaheo with 24 yards on three runs to start the drive. Jude Weber completed his first pass of the game, a 23-yard completion to Bubz Pyne, to lead the Mustangs into the redzone. The 10-play drive ended with Reilly Campbell’s 29-yard field goal to push Kalaheo’s lead to 17-0 at the half.

With the addition of Souza-Fautanu in the second half, the Rough Riders offense took on a new identity. Souza-Fautanu got Roosevelt on the scoreboard with his arm, throwing a 25-yard strike to Tilton in the end zone. But it was his legs that spurred the comeback bid.

After a short Kalaheo punt, Souza-Fautanu scored his first rushing touchdown. He juked several Mustangs defenders en route to an impressive 29-yard score, then followed that up with a run for a 2-pt conversion.

Roosevelt tied the game up with half of the final quarter gone, as Journey DePeralta hit a 21-yard field goal to make it 17-17.

With under two minutes to play, Souza-Fautanu again got it done with his legs. Souza-Fautanu capped off a quick four-play scoring drive with the eventual game-winning score, a 5-yard TD run.

ROOSEVELT 24, KALAHEO 17

At Roosevelt

Roosevelt 0 0 6 18 — 24

Kalaheo 17 0 0 0 — 17

Kalh—La’ikukalewa Tevaga fumble recovery in end zone (Reilly Campbell kick)

Kalh—Connor Nauta 5 fumble return (Campbell kick)

Kalh—FG Campbell 29

Roos—Dayten Tilton 25 pass from Taimane Souza-Fautanu (run failed)

Roos—Souza-Fautanu 29 run (Souza-Fautanu run)

Roos—FG Journey DePeralta 21

Roos—Souza-Fautanu 5 run (DePeralta kick)

RUSHING—Roosevelt: Souza-Fautanu 17-145, Kaleikaumaka Akiona 6-13, Malakai Paia 6-11, Zion Kalauwa-Haupu 2-(minus 10), TEAM 4-(minus 33), Braden Sarahina 8-(minus 36). Kalaheo: Marcus Sasaki 16-40, Kamalu Anoba-Jordan 5-21, Bubz Pyne 1-0, Jude Weber 2-(minus 3), Zayden Napulou 2-(minus 14).

PASSING—Roosevelt: Sarahina 4-5-0-58, Souza-Fautanu 4-10-1-47. Kalaheo: Weber 6-22-3-63.

RECEIVING—Roosevelt: Souza-Fautanu 3-19, Tilton 2-35, Keawe Davis 2-12, Reece Poscablo 1-39. Kalaheo: Toalagi Tevaga 1-26, Pyne 1-23, Anoba-Jordan 1-12, Vinny Bandini 1-8, Sasaki 1-(minus 2), Napulou 1-(minus 4).