Kaimuki celebrated its homecoming in dramatic fashion, winning 13-12 over the Kalani Falcons on Saturday night at Farrington’s Edward Skippa Diaz Stadium.

Up 13-10 with 1:35 left, the Bulldogs took a big risk by taking a safety to make it 13-12 rather than kicking the ball away from the end zone. Kaimuki head coach Reid Yoshikawa’s big gamble paid off, as Ezekiel Kuiee-Matias picked off Kalani quarterback Kynan McCartney’s deep pass attempt in the end zone to seal the win.

“Our long snapper hadn’t had the best game. So we were thinking if the snap is muffed, Kalani could pick it up for a touchdown,” Yoshikawa said about the decision. “Going into the wind, with some rain, you see what can happen. I’m also a baseball coach, I like to deal with percentages. The coaches were telling me this might give be a better percentage, and I agreed with them.”

The game-sealing pick was one of two fourth quarter interceptions for Kuiee-Matias, both of which came in the final four minutes of the game. Jeremiah White, who made an impact all over the field for the Bulldogs, also had an interception.

“Last time out against Kalaheo, a lot of kids were playing individually, not trusting each other. Tonight, they trusted each other,” Yoshikawa said about the defensive improvements. “They followed their assignments, and I’m proud of them. They finally started to click as a team.”

Kaimuki quarterback Iosefa Letuli rebounded from a slow first half to finish with 152 yards on 9-for-21 passing and a pair of touchdowns.

“First half, everybody was excited for homecoming. He was over there overshooting everything, just trying to do too much. So at halftime I told him, just have fun. It’s your last homecoming game, just go out there and have fun with it,” Yoshikawa said about Letuli. “Just sling it. Whatever comes will come.”

“At the locker room talk, we really clicked. They told us the score was still 0-0, so we have to come back out and work,” Letuli added about the second half turnaround. “I told the boys this morning, the work that we put in this past week, we have to get something out of it. We put in so much work, and it paid off. It was a good team win.

White caught the first of Letuli’s touchdowns, while Kuiee-Matias caught the second on an 84-yard completion. Kuiee-Matias finished with 124 yards on two catches. White also completed a pass for 40 yards and caught seven passes for 50 yards and a touchdown.

Letuli led all rushers with a game-high 70 yards on 17 carries.

“A lot of people think I can’t run the ball at my size,” the 6-foot-5 Letuli said about his dual-threat ability. “I use my speed that God blessed me with to do whatever the team needs.”

The first quarter ended in a stalemate. Three out of four drives ended on turnovers, and one ended with a punt.

The Falcons called on an unlikely source to break up the early stalemate. With fourth down looming on the edge of punting territory, Kalani sent out freshman kicker Ryan Bulseco. In just his second game with the team after being called up from the junior varsity squad, Bulseco calmly nailed a 49-yard field goal for the first score of the game.

Bulseco’s field goal turned the tide for Kalani. On the very next play, the Falcons forced a fumble with a hard hit on the Kaimuki kick returner. Duke Corso picked it up and returned it to the Bulldogs 5-yard line. The offense took over from there, scoring two plays later on Jordan Amalato’s 3-yard run.

With time running out, Kaimuki managed to put together a response on offense. dialed up a bit of trickeration. White took in the backward pitch, then threw the ball downfield for a 40-yard completion to Kuiee-Matias. Two plays later, White finished the drive with an 8-yard touchdown catch from Letuli.

Late in the second half, Kaimuki was pinned on its own 1-yard line by a 71-yard Kalani punt. Strangely enough, that turned out to be the Bulldogs’ best offensive drive. Kaimuki drove the length of the field to score the go-ahead touchdown, an 84-yard connection between Letuli and Kuiee-Matias.

Kuiee-Matias picked up his first interception with less than four minutes to play. It came on fourth-and-7 at the Bulldogs’ 21-yard line. Instead of trying a 38-yard field goal by Bulseco, who was good from 49 yards earlier, the Falcons elected to go for it trailing by three.

On the following drive, Kaimuki made a choice that would decide the outcome of the game. With the ball on its own 7-yard line, the Bulldogs took a knee in the end zone, bringing the deficit down to 13-12 along with a chance to kick the ball deep. Kalani managed a big return back to the Kaimuki 30-yard line, but McCartney’s desperate heave was picked off by Kuiee-Matias in the end zone.

“All year we kinda questioned our defense, because we were not playing together,” Yoshikawa said about the defense’s late heroics. “Tonight they showed up big time, and it made me so proud. It makes me so excited if we have a formidable defense. Offense wins games, and defense wins championships. Hopefully we can get to that point.”

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At Skippa Diaz Stadium

Kalani (3-2, 2-2) 0 10 0 2 — 12

Kaimuki (2-4, 2-3) 0 7 6 0 — 13

KALN—FG Ryan Bulesco 49

KALN—Jordan Amalato 3 run (Bulesco kick)

KAIM—Jeremiah White 8 pass from Iosefa Letuli (Hinano Kahawai kick)

KAIM—Ezekiel Kuiee-Matias 84 pass from Iose. Letuli (pass failed)

KALN—Team safety

RUSHING—Kalani: Sonny Iaea 14-47, Kynan McCartney 6-19, Amalato 1-3. Kaimuki: Iose. Letuli 17-70, Iosua Letuli 9-40, Zechariah Kuratsu-Cook 10-16, Harman Sio 1-4, Team 5-(minus 13).

PASSING—Kalani: McCartney 10-32-2-106. Kaimuki: Iose. Letuli 9-21-1-152, White 1-1-0-40.

RECEIVING—Kalani: Silas Soberano 4-73, Jonah Barnhill 1-13, Brennan Takara 2-9, Iaea 2-8, Laakea Nishimoto 1-3.

Kaimuki: Kuiee-Matias 2-124, White 7-50, Iosu. Letuli 1-18.