After dominating its previous two opponents — McKinley and Pearl City — Kalani came into Saturday’s game against Pac-Five on a roll.
But a stout Wolfpack held the Falcons offense to no points before a meaningless touchdown in the final seconds in a 20-9 victory at Kaiser field.
The defeat was Kalani’s first since Sept. 7 and dropped them to 4-4 overall. The OIA does not use games vs. ILH opponents in its standings, so the Falcons remain at 3-3 in league play. Pac-Five improved to 4-3 — both overall and in its league standings — with the win.
>> Pac-Five ends Kalani’s win streak photo gallery
Junior Kama Espinda is to thank for much of the defensive success. Listed officially as a wide receiver, Espinda made more plays in the Pac-Five secondary, picking off Kalani quarterback Logan Lim twice in the end zone. He also went on to run the ball and catch a pass out of the backfield, proving to be a jack-of-all-trades for the team.
“I’m just trying my best to better the team. I’m out on this field for my brothers,” said Espinda, who added “I used to play (for Kalani), so I had to make them feel me a little bit, but it’s all good. It’s all love at the end of the day.”
Those turnovers proved crucial. Immediately following Espinda’s second interception, wide receiver Ian Cantune took a jet sweep 84 yards to the house. The Falcons, meanwhile, struggled to get anything going, with most of their drives ending in three-and-outs.
While the whole of Kalani’s offense did not perform well, new addition Joshua Oh showed out in his debut for the Falcons. With injuries to multiple starters, Oh was moved up from JV to start in his first game as a member of the varsity. He did not disappoint, racking up 100 yards off of 16 carries.
“I was nervous at first, but after that first play it was just excitement,” said Oh. He later noted that one key difference between JV and varsity was that “[defenses] definitely hit harder, that’s for sure. I got whacked by some of these bigger guys.”
Other than Oh, starting quarterback Logan Lim continued to struggle. Even after defeating his previous two opponents, his stat line over those wins included a 38% completion rate with four touchdowns and three interceptions. His 13 completions on 32 attempts with two interceptions and no touchdowns against Pac-5 did not help Lim keep his job, eventually being subbed out for backup Nicholas Sakimoto on the last drive who threw the only Kalani touchdown to receiver Dillon Cortez.
With offensive woes plaguing the Falcons throughout, the Kalani defense stepped up in the second half in hopes of a comeback. Defensive back Pathan Silva-Garces and line backer Jonah Ottenbacher each nabbed an interception off of Wolf Pack quarterback Chase Hedani in the third quarter. However, neither possession resulted in first downs for the Falcons, as Lim either overthrew or mistimed his open targets.
Now officially out of the running for a state championship, Kalani will still look to end the season on a high note. Oh’s No. 1 priority now for next week is to “take the dub and just do better. That means going 100% during practice.”
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OIA-ILH Division II
Pac-Five 20, Kalani 9
At Kaiser Stadium
>> Kalani (4-4, 3-3) 0 2 0 7 — 9
>> Pac-Five (4-3, 4-3) 7 7 0 6 — 20
Pac-Five—William Reed 26 pass from Chase Hedani (Giovanni Rufino kick)
Kalani—Safety, intentional grounding in the end zone
Pac-Five—Ian Canute 84 run (Rufino kick)
Pac-Five—Angelo Coluccio 9 pass from Hedani (kick failed)
Kalani—Dillon Cortez 18 pass from Nicholas Sakimoto (Kevin Tabuchi kick)
RUSHING—Kalani: Joshua Oh 16-100, Sakimoto 4-50, Jaden Self 1-2, Logan Lim 8-(minus 13). Pac-Five: Ian Canute 6-103, Micah Kong 13-60, Hedani 4-29, Chad Schmidt 6-23, Jake Lee 1-7, Joshua Arcayena 2-5, Rustin Maglasang 1-2, Kama Espinda 1-0.
PASSING—Kalani: Lim 13-32-2-134, Sakimoto 1-2-0-18. Pac-Five: Hedani 8-16-2-128.
RECEIVING—Kalani: Cortez 6-80, Self 3-36, Jevin Matsukado 2-15, Jonathan Cai 1-12, Jaymn Mohika-Poche 1-5, Oh 1-3. Pac-Five: Reed 2-32, Coluccio 2-28, Kong 2-26, Kaala Tam 1-41, Espinda 1-1.
