Pearl City rode the hot hand of Trey Dacoscos in the first half, then held on to beat visiting Kaimuki and wrap up the OIA Division II regular-season title Friday.
Dacoscos completed 21 of 34 passes for 303 yards and four touchdowns and the Chargers scored touchdowns on their first four possessions in 34-27 victory over the Bulldogs.
“Credit goes to the O-line and the skills. They make me look good. Without them, I’m not able to do what I do,” Dacoscos said. “The receivers got open and I just throw them the ball.”
Dacoscos has five career 300-yard passing games, including three this season.
The Chargers (7-0, 6-0) will be the No. 1 seed in the four-team playoffs
The Chargers went on an 11-play, 76-yard drive, capped by Bobby Best’s 4-yard scoring run with 4:23 remaining in the opening quarter.
Pearl City scored much more quickly on its second possession. On the first play after forcing a punt, Dacoscos hit a wide-open Javian Mizuno down the right side for an 82-yard touchdown pass to make it 13-0 with 11 seconds left in the first quarter. Kahai Chang made the PAT kick.
“We had an arrow (route) coming out, and the corner bit on the arrow route and I just went and took it to the house,” Mizuno said.
Kaimuki cut the deficit to 13-6 on Iosefa Letuli’s 2-yard run with 8:24 to go before halftime. The Bulldogs botched the PAT kick.
The Chargers went up 20-6 on Dacoscos’s 14-yard pass to Koalii Torres with 6:20 remaining in the half. The big play of the drive was a 47-yard completion to Lennon Elder, which put the ball at the Kaimuki 18.
The Bulldogs (3-5, 3-3) botched a snap in punt formation, which gave the Chargers the ball at the 8. On the next play, Dacoscos hit Elder in the back of the end zone for a 27-6 advantage with 4:00 to go in the half.
“The first half, the offense was on it,” Pearl City coach Robin Kami said. “The second half it kind of slowed down.”
Kaimuki scored on Letuli’s 9-yard pass to Niutupuivaha Uluave to cut the deficit to 27-13 with 32 seconds left in the half. Hinano Kahawai made the PAT kick.
Dacoscos completed 12 of 15 passes for 222 yards before halftime for the Chargers, who rushed for only 24 yards.
The Bulldogs finished the half with 237 yards of total offense, including 153 passing from Letuli.
Kaimuki scored on its opening possession of the second half on a 6-yard pass from Letuli to Jeremiah White, which cut the Bulldogs’ deficit to 27-20 with 8:18 left in the third quarter.
The Chargers had a fourth-and-goal at the 1 on the next possession, but an incomplete pass gave the Bulldogs possession.
Pearl City forced a three-and-out and Torres returned the punt 20 yards to the 9. Chang wound up missing a 29-yard field goal.
“Whenever you’re in the red zone, you need to score a touchdown or a field goal,” Kami said. “You cannot come up empty-handed two times in a row. We have to work on that and get better for the playoffs.”
The Chargers went up 34-20 on an 8-yard pass on third-and-goal from Dacoscos to Mizuno with 4:54 remaining in the game.
“We needed the touchdown because we were up only one touchdown,” Mizuno said. “Once the ball was thrown all I had to do was catch it and keep my feet in.”
Derek Kusano, who hadn’t caught a pass in the game, had two receptions on third down to extend the Chargers’ drive.
“Derek did a great job on third down and moving the chains,” Kami said. “We have six to eight receivers that we count on.”
The Bulldogs got within 34-27 on Letuli’s 14-yard pass to White with 3:23 remaining.
Kaimuki was unsuccessful on an on-side kick.
Elder hauled in a 15-yard pass on third-and-12 to extend Pearl City’s final drive. An encroachment penalty on third-and-short gave the Chargers another first down and allowed them to go into victory formation.
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At Pearl City
Kaimuki (3-5, 3-3) 0 13 7 7 — 27
Pearl City (6-0, 5-0) 13 14 0 7 — 34
PC—Bobby Best 4 run (kick blocked)
PC—Javian Mizuno 82 pass from Trey Dacoscos (Kahai Chang kick)
KAIM—Iosefa Letuli 2 run (run failed)
PC—Koalii Torres 14 pass from Dacoscos (Chang kick)
PC—Lennon Elder 8 pass from Dacoscos (Chang kick)
KAIM—Niutupuivaha Uluave 9 pass from Iosefa Letuli (Hinano Kahawai kick)
KAIM—Jeremiah White 6 pass from Letuli (Kahawai kick)
PC—Mizuno 8 pass from Dacoscos (Chang kick)
KAIM—White 14 pass from Letuli (Kahawai kick)
RUSHING—Kaimuki: Lukela Hicks 6-42, Iosua Letuli 7-39, Iose. Letuli 9-39, Harmon Sio 3-12, Uluave 1-3, Team 1-(minus 18). Pearl City: Dacoscos 5-52, Best 3-21, Shaeden Talo 3-18, Shaedyn Quemado 7-4, Team 2-(minus 3).
RUSHING—Kaimuki: Iose. Letuli 15-28-0-225. Pearl City: Dacoscos 21-34-0-303.
RUSHING—Kaimuki: White 8-109, Uluave 3-51, Hicks 2-37, Peter Maulolo 1-22, Ezekiel Kuiee-Matias 1-6. Pearl City: Mizuno 5-116, Elder 5-88, Torres 4-37, Derek Kusano 2-29, Tayvon Ching-Harrell 2-28, Tobias Vazquez 3-5.
Junior Varsity—Kaimuki 21, Pearl City 12
