First-half Hail Mary TD pass aids Waipahu

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BRUCE ASATO / BASATO@STARADVERTISER.COM

Waipahu’s Isaac Yamashita lunged for the deflected ball in the end zone. He eventually caught it for a touchdown in the final seconds of the first half in a game played at Mililani’s John Kauinana Stadium on Saturday.

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Alfred Failauga rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns as Waipahu outlasted Kaimuki 36-28 on Saturday night in a battle of OIA Division II title contenders.

A robust homecoming crowd of about 1,500 saw Waipahu improve to 5-1 in league play (6-1 overall) and seal a top-two seed in the upcoming playoffs. Kaimuki (4-3, 4-2) could have set up a battle for first place by winning Saturday, but had difficulty stopping Waipahu’s ground attack.

The Bulldogs, comprised of several two-way players, needed a win over Waipahu, and then a win over Pearl City next week for a chance to claim first place outright. It could still happen if Pearl City loses its last two regular-season games and Waipahu drops its game next week against Kalani.

The top four finishers qualify for the playoffs.

Kaimuki sophomore Jordan Solomon passed for 311 yards and three touchdowns.

“We were able to put points up and give ourselves a chance,” Bulldogs coach David Tautofi said. “We had a lot of little, petty mistakes. Busted assignments. Teams like Waipahu will expose that. We had enough chances.”

Kaimuki went ahead 7-0 after Solomon connected with Andries Toussaint (seven receptions, 159 yards) on a 67-yard strike.

Waipahu tied the game on Failauga’s 5-yard TD run with 2:06 left in the first half.

Then came the play that proved to be the difference. Coach Bryson Carvalho let his team run the clock down to three seconds. The fourth-down call from the Kaimuki 39 was a Hail Mary, which Braden Amorozo launched. At the goal line, the ball ricocheted off the hands of Waipahu’s Alika Ahsing, then off the hands of two Kaimuki defenders. Isaac Yamashita made a diving grab of the pigskin for the TD that put Waipahu ahead, 13-7.

“I thought Coach was going to let the clock run out,” said Yamashita, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound junior. “He told us we’re going to go all in and go for it. We got a miracle.”

Amorozo, who passed for 183 yards and two TDs (22-for-31) had Carvalho’s full confidence.

“We never practiced that before. Never. Our line held up and I just threw it up,” he said. “We just had to have trust in our players.”

Waipahu stormed downfield in the opening series of the second half. Amorozo found Cody Andres-Paguirigan for a 17-yard TD strike as the lead opened to 21-7.

Kaimuki got a 25-yard TD pass from Solomon to running back Ieke Seei-Cleveland and a 21-yard scoring toss to Daniel Nguyen early in the fourth quarter. But the PAT kick failed and Waipahu clung to a 21-20 lead.

After Kaimuki’s on-side kick was short, Waipahu drove for another score. A 2-point conversion made it 29-20. After an interception by Kobe Russell, Waipahu got a 15-yard TD run by Breden Natividad for a 16-point lead with 4:29 to go.