Leilehua found its long-distance passing game at the end and was able to pick up a 27-27 tie Friday against host Kailua.
Pono Arindain threw a 77-yard TD pass to Timothy Arnold with 9:39 left in the game and then connected with Kama Hoeppner-Corales on an 80-yard score on a pump-and-go with three minutes remaining to tie the game. The PAT kick was blocked.
The Mules drove to the Surfriders’ 11 on the game’s final possession, but Riis Weber intercepted Arindain as time expired in the nonleague game.
“Pono has only been a starting quarterback for eight games. He didn’t play his freshman year, and didn’t play his sophomore year because of COVID,” said Leilehua coach Mark Kurisu. “He switched roles with our other starting quarterback and he’s behind, but he shows glimpses of being great.”
Arindain passed for 264 yards, while Kailua counterpart Maa Fonoti threw for 227.
The Surfriders scored first on a 30-yard run by Ikaika Quidashay with 3:47 left in the first quarter.
Fonoti’s 9-yard TD pass to Quidashay put Kailua up 14-0 with 3:24 remaining in the first. The score was set up by Weber’s 33-yard interception return and penalty against the Mules at the end of the play, which put the ball at the 10.
Leilehua scored on a safety when a snap by Kailua went over the punter’s head and out of the end zone with 10:59 left in the second quarter.
The Mules got within 14-8 on Cole Northington’s 3-yard run with 7:11 left before half.
The Surfriders regained the momentum on a 16-yard TD pass from Fonoti to Weber, who out-jumped a Mules defender in the end zone to make it 21-8 with 5:32 left in the half.
Kailua started the final drive on the first half at the Leilehua 36. Fonoti rushed for 8 and 13 yards before a holding penalty moved the ball back to the 26 with a few seconds on the clock. On the final play of the half, Fonoti scrambled to his left and juked defenders on his way to the end zone with no time on the clock, which pushed the Surfriders’ lead to 27-8.
Leilehua recovered an on-side kick on the second-half kickoff. During the drive, a Mules receiver was hit over the middle on an incompletion, which led to a Surfriders penalty. A long delay followed as players shoved each other, more penalty flags flew, coaches talked to their players about settling down and a Kailua player slammed his helmet down to draw another flag.
“The first game the animosity is very high and everybody wants to go nuts on each other,” said Kailua linebacker/running back Matty Malepeai.
Leilehua capped the drive on a 14-yard pass from Arindain to Hoeppner-Corales to make it 27-14 with 8:57 left in the quarter.
Then came the two long scoring strikes by Leilehua in the fourth quarter to tie it.
“We got a little complacent with our lead,” Malepeai said. “We got too comfortable where we were.”
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LEILEHUA 27, KAILUA 27
At Kailua
Leilehua 0 8 6 13 — 27
Kailua 14 13 0 0 — 27
Kail—Ikaika Quidashay 30 run (Kai Fraser kick)
Kail—Quidashay 9 pass from Maa Fonoti (Fraser kick)
Lei—safety, ball snapped out of end zone
Lei—Cole Northington 3 run (kick failed)
Kail—Riis Weber 16 pass from Fonoti (Fraser kick), 5:32
Kail—Fonoti 26 run (kick failed)
Lei—Kama Hoeppner-Corales 14 pass from Pono Arindain (kick failed)
Lei—Timothy Arnold 77 pass from Arindain(Zackary Sutcharitkul kick)
Lei—Hoeppner-Corales 80 pass from Arindain (kick blocked), 3:00
RUSHING—Leilehua: Northington 9-36, Arindain 6-34, Camren Flemister 9-21, Ryder Gonsalves 10-15, Ali’iolani Kahanu 1-5, Arnold 1-2. Kailua: Fonoti 8-57, Quidashay 15-48.
PASSING—Leilehua: Arindain 19-41-3-264. Kailua: Fonoti 18-39-0-227.
RECEIVING—Leilehua: Arnold 9-128, Flemister 2-15, Gonsalves 1-12, Jacob Gamponia 1-18, Hoeppner-Corales 4-97, Trevin Po’opa’a 1-(minus 2), Arindain 1-(minus 4). Kailua: Na’inoa Smith-Akana 5-48, Solomon Keanui-Demello 4-64, Aizek Kaanoi 4-59, Jathan Bejarano 3-31, Weber 1-16, Quidashay 1-9.
JV—Kailua 28, Leilehua 0
