Neither of the two games involving two top-five teams this season has lived up to the hype.
One was because of a power outage. The other was due to Waianae’s sheer dominance.
The Seariders beat their second ranked team in a row in convincing fashion on Saturday night, scoring 28 unanswered points to roll No. 5 Kapolei 35-14 at the Hurricanes’ field.
Rico Rosario rushed for 117 of Waianae’s 313 total yards on the ground and the Seariders followed up a 26-20 win over then-No. 4 Kamehameha last week with another impressive performance to establish themselves as the biggest challenger to defending state champion Kahuku in the OIA.
“We proved something tonight,” said Rosario, who also caught a 23-yard touchdown pass.
With Saint Louis’ game against Mililani last week called off because of a power outage, Waianae (2-0, 1-0 OIA Blue) owns the two most impressive victories of any team in this young season.
“We’re going to take it a week at a time,” Waianae coach Walter Young said. “The kids will have a celebration and then we’ll get back at it.”
The Seariders shut out Kapolei’s run-and-shoot offense over the final 32-plus minutes and held Hurricanes sophomore Taulia Tagovailoa to 8-for-21 passing in the second half.
Two consecutive three-and-outs by Kapolei (1-1, 0-1 OIA Red) to start the second half allowed Waianae to dominate the time of possession and wear out the Hurricanes.
Kapolei attempted only two running plays all game and Tagovailoa finished 22-for-47 for 234 yards.
“Defensively, we were able to control that passing attack that they have,” Young said. “Our offensive line allowed our running backs to break holes and make things happen.”
Two big plays in the second half signaled the end for the Hurricanes. Rosario, who was hurt on the play, somehow avoided the grasp of a defender in the backfield on a screen pass and turned it upfield, diving for the pylon to score on a 23-yard pass from quarterback Jaren Ulu for a 21-14 lead.
With Rosario and Javen Towne struggling with minor injuries, Waianae turned to Kade Ambrocio.
An option play was bottled up by the Kapolei defense, but at the last second, Ulu jumped into the air and threw an overhand lateral to Ambrocio, who broke free down the sideline and then cut in for a 57-yard touchdown run to make it 28-14.
Ulu capped the scoring with a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter.
“Honestly, (Ulu) was just making his reads and we did the option and he tossed out out to me and I had to do the rest,” said Ambrocio, who finished with 92 rushing yards and two touchdowns. “I’ve always got to be ready and be there for (Ulu) if he’s in trouble.”
Jaymin Sarono scored both Kapolei touchdowns in a 66-second span in the first half and finished with 11 receptions for 87 yards.
Kapolei attempted an onside kick at the Waianae 30 after two Seariders penalties and recovered the ball at the Waianae 19.
That set up a 26-yard touchdown pass from Tagovailoa to Sarono to give Kapolei its only lead.
The two teams combined for 24 penalties in the first half.
“(Waianae) decided they were going to keep our offense off the field and were going to run the ball,” Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said. “We were victimized by our own mistakes, but Waianae had a great game plan. They were going to come out and be physical and milk the clock and keep the ball away from our offense and I thought they did a great job of that.”
Waipahu 44, Kalaheo 21
Braden Amorozo completed 19 of 28 passes for 353 yards and two touchdowns and the Marauders pulled away in the second half against the Mustangs.
Amorozo completed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Cody Andres-Paguirigan in the first quarter and a go-ahead 29-yard scoring strike to Alika Ahsing in the third. Amorozo also scored on a 2-yard run in the first quarter.
Kaimuki 22, Waialua 20, OT
Jordan Solomon threw for 331 yards and connected with Daniel Nguyen for three touchdowns as Kaimuki won the battle of the Bulldogs in its season opener. Solomon completed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Nguyen in the first overtime possession and threw a short pass to Andries Toussaint for the 2-point conversion.
Waialua responded with a 20-yard touchdown on its first play, but quarterback Tevesi Toia overthrew the extra point.
Kaimuki relied heavily on its passing game and rushed just 15 times for a negative 23 yards. Toussaint led the east-side Bulldogs with 107 yards on seven catches.
