Kalani heard an inspiring pregame message from its ailing coach on Friday, then went out and picked up an emotional victory.
Sonny Iaea rushed 24 times for 168 yards and three touchdowns as Kalani beat Kalaheo 30-14 at Kaiser in the OIA Division II regular-season finale.
Prior to Kalani’s alma mater, a message from Falcons coach Radford Dudoit was played for the team’s players, fans and coaches. Dudoit, who has been hospitalized since June after complications from open-heart surgery, thanked everyone for their support and for carrying on without him, and encouraged the Falcons to play their hardest.
“Battery charged to 100% right there. A lot of the kids were tearing up and they were ready to roll after that,” Kalani interim coach Quinn Griffiths said.
Said Iaea: “Hearing his voice and knowing he’s still with us, his presence is still there. Even though he’s not here physically, we always know he’s with us in our hearts.”
The contest was postponed from Oct. 7 when game officials didn’t show up due to a scheduling error. OIA executive director Raymond Fujino issued an apology following the incident.
At that time, Kalani and Kalaheo were both in contention for playoff berths. They entered Friday eliminated from the postseason.
Prior to Friday’s game, Fujino apologized to the crowd.
“I’m just glad it got rescheduled and we got to play and give these seniors a good sendoff tonight,” Griffiths said.
The Falcons (4-4, 3-4) snapped a four-game losing streak. Three of their losses were by a combined 10 points.
The Mustangs (2-5, 2-5) lost their last four games. Three of their losses this season were by seven points.
Kalani scored first on a 44-yard field goal by Ryan Bulseco early in the second quarter.
The Falcons went up 10-0 on Iaea’s 16-yard run up the middle and Bulseco’s PAT kick with 7:38 left before halftime. The score was set up by Aiden Trinidad’s punt block, which put the ball at the Mustangs 22. Iaea scored two plays later.
Kalaheo cut the deficit to 10-7 on Kamalu Anoba-Jordan’s 6-yard run and Reilly Campbell’s PAT kick with 3:02 to go in the half. Marcus Sasaki extended the drive with a 5-yard run on fourth-and-2, which put the ball at the Falcons’ 19.
Iaea rushed 10 times for 109 yards for Kalani in the first half. Kynan McCartney threw one pass before halftime — a Hail Mary attempt into the end zone on the final play of the half.
Kalaheo had 75 yards of total offense before halftime.
Kalani’s homecoming, which was scheduled for two weeks ago, was held during halftime.
The Falcons scored on the opening possession of the second half on an 18-yard run by Iaea with 6:43 left in the third quarter. Duke Corso made the PAT kick.
The Mustangs answered with Anoba-Jordan’s 9-yard run off the left side, which cut their deficit to 17-14 with 2:04 remaining in the third quarter.
Kalani extended its advantage to 23-14 on a 1-yard run by Iaea with 23 seconds left in the third.
The Mustangs had chances to score thereafter, but just couldn’t execute.
Kalaheo drove to the Kalani 9 midway through the fourth but lost a fumble.
The Mustangs forced a three-and-out, and Anoba-Jordan had a 17-yard punt return to the Falcons 23. Kalaheo wound up turning the ball over on downs.
The Falcons went up 30-14 on a 65-yard pass from McCartney to Silas Soberano with 4:15 remaining.
Kalaheo drove to the Kalani 1, but an errant snap in wildcat formation doomed the drive and the Mustangs wound up turning the ball over on downs.
“Stellar job from them,” Griffiths said of his defense. “We had some last-minute changes to things, so I didn’t know how it would go. But they dug deep and found it within themselves to get the stops for us.”
Kalani’s McCartney finished 7-for-12 for 178 yards. Soberano had four catches for 104 yards.
Anoba-Jordan had 13 rushes for 68 yards for Kalaheo.
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‘Iolani 55, Kamehameha I-AA
At Eddie Hamada Field
Kamehameha (2-6) 0 0 0 0 — 0
‘Iolani (7-2) 14 28 13 0 — 55
IOL—Ronin Fanelli 4 run (Marcos King kick)
IOL—Jadon Anzai 2 run (King kick)
IOL—Keon Preusser 3 pass from CJ Villanueva (King kick)
IOL—Reyn Shimabuku 64 int return (King kick)
IOL—Hyram Horita 22 pass from Villanueva (King kick)
IOL—Kahi Apao 13 pass from Villanueva (Matthias Kagawa kick)
IOL—Anzai 61 run (kick blocked)
IOL—Anzai 38 run (Kagawa kick)
RUSHING—‘Iolani: Anzai 4-107, Fanelli 12-40, Brady Minami 6-20, Villanueva 1-8. Kamehameha: Ryan Peters 3-34, Zion Morris 9-11, Rylan Reiny 6-9, Heenalu Akiona 3-4, Taylor Helm 2-(minus 1).
PASSING—‘Iolani: Villanueva 18-21-0-227, Kualau Manuel 3-4-0-11. Kamehameha: Reiny 10-21-5-75.
RECEIVING—‘Iolani: Horita 6-65, Jaeden Park 3-60, Apao 4-46, Preusser 3-41, Kaiaka Lau Kong 2-16, Fanelli 2-15, Jalen Kashiwabara 1-(minus 5). Kamehameha: Bless Cabrera-Hopkins 6-43, Dalen Ng 1-16, Gabriel Kinoshita 2-14, Keanu Santiago-Fernandez 1-2.
Kalani 30, Kalaheo 14
At Kaiser Stadium
Kalaheo (2-5, 2-5) 0 7 7 0 — 14
Kalani (4-4, 3-4) 0 10 13 7 — 30
KALN—FG Ryan Bulseco 44
KALN—Sonny Iaea 16 run (Bulseco kick)
KALH—Kamalu Anoba-Jordan 6 run (Reilly Campbell kick)
KALN—Iaea 18 run (Duke Corso kick)
KALH—Anoba-Jordan 9 run (Campbell kick)
KALN—Iaea 1 run (kick failed)
KALN—Silas Soberano 65 pass from Kynan McCartney (Corso kick)
RUSHING—Kalaheo: Anoba-Jordan 13-68, Marcus Sasaki 16-62, Toalagi Tevaga 3-4, Matthew Pyne 3-0, Jude Weber 4-(minus 6), Chance Baqui 1-(minus 7). Kalani: Iaea 24-168, Jordan Amalato 4-20, McCartney 2-1, Team 1-(minus 1), Soberano 1-(minus 1).
PASSING—Kalaheo: Weber 10-23-0-77, Tevaga 0-1-0-0. Kalani: McCartney 7-12-0-178.
RECEIVING—Kalaheo: Tevaga 2-24, Sasaki 2-17, Pyne 1-13, Baqui 1-12, Anoba-Jordan 3-6, Vinny Bandini 1-5. Kalani: Soberano 4-104, Kai Kobayashi 2-71, Aiden Trinidad 1-3.
