Roosevelt’s offense was in quick-strike mode courtesy of an efficient short-passing game, and the Rough Riders dominated the second half Friday against host Waialua.
Ioane Kamanao completed 19 of 31 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns, and Shaeden Sexton scored on three short runs as Roosevelt beat Waialua 48-3 in an OIA Division II game.
“I believe that when me and my boys get in that groove, it’s really hard to stop us,” Kamanao said. “When we use the short ball, it’s easy for them to get the ball and make the moves themselves.”
The Rough Riders (7-2, 6-1) ensured they will finish atop the OIA D-II standings. Castle also is at 6-1 in league play and Kaiser can get there with a victory today against McKinley. In the case of a three-way tie, a coin flip will determine playoff seeding. If McKinley upsets Kaiser, Roosevelt would be the No. 1 seed by virtue of its victory over Castle.
“These kids know they can do better going into the playoffs,” Roosevelt coach Kui Kahooilihala said. “It’s all about competing and getting better every week.”
Two of the Rough Riders’ scoring drives took one play and another took three plays against the Bulldogs (4-5, 3-4).
Jahsiah Souza-Armstead caught nine passes for 172 yards and one touchdown for Roosevelt, which outscored Waialua 34-0 after halftime.
“I was just hungry for the ball,” he said.
Roosevelt allowed only 54 yards of total offense.
“It starts at practice,” Kahooilihala said. “Our defensive guys, it’s all about making plays. Any one of our guys on the defensive side, they’re looking for the ball and they just want to make plays.”
Waialua is still in the hunt for the No. 4 playoff spot. If Kalani beats Kaimuki today, there would be a three-way tie of Waialua, Kalani and Kalaheo for the final berth. A Kaimuki victory would give the berth to Waialua.
The Rough Riders forced a three-and-out on the game’s opening possession, and answered quickly on a 4-yard touchdown run by Sexton with 8:39 left in the first quarter. Journey DePeralta made the PAT kick.
The drive lasted three plays, covered 36 yards and used up 57 seconds.
Roosevelt was driving early in the second quarter, but Kamanao’s pass was intercepted by Germaine Bagasol at the goal line and returned to the Bulldogs’ 26.
On the next play, Waialua’s Emery Abilla was intercepted by Victor Silva at the Bulldogs’ 38.
The Rough Riders cashed in on Sexton’s 1-yard plunge, which made it 14-0 with 4:43 to go before halftime.
The Bulldogs got within 14-3 on Kaies Demello’s 33-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining before halftime.
The drive was set up by Steve Sebetich Line’s strip-sack and recovery by Waialua teammate Jeremiah Clark.
Roosevelt’s average starting field position in the first half was midfield, while Waialua’s average start was its 26.
Roosevelt had 180 yards of total offense before halftime, while Waialua had 23 yards on 23 plays. Abilla was sacked three times for 14 yards by Roosevelt, including two by Spencer Palu on the game’s opening possession.
“Halftime, we came in and we knew we had to get it under control because these past few weeks our coaches have been telling us we’ve worked way to hard for this,” Souza-Armstead said.
Early in the second half, Roosevelt’s Dayten Tilton intercepted a pass and returned the ball to the Waialua 16. On the next play, Kamanao hit Keawe Davis on a slant for a 16-yard touchdown, which made it 21-3 with 9:49 left in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs on their next possession, and the Rough Riders scored on the next play on a 36-yard pass from Kamanao to Souza-Armstead to make it 28-3 with 7:09 to go in the third.
Roosevelt went ahead 35-3 on a 1-yard run by Sexton with 2:23 remaining in the third and 42-3 on Kaeo Bush’s 22-yard scramble with 9:08 left in the game.
The Rough Riders got a defensive touchdown when Ezekiel Lomu strip-sacked Abilla, and Dayten Tilton picked the ball out of the air and returned it 35 yards for a score and 48-3 lead.
“Everybody is good in our division. We never took these guys cheap,” Kahooilihala said. “The kids were frustrated at halftime and the second half they just knew what to do.”
Leilehua 31, Pearl City 8
Cameron Keeve ripped off an 86-yard touchdown run en route to a 226 yard performance as the Mules routed the Chargers.
The Mules (7-3, 6-1) dominated on the ground, totaling 287 yards rushing to just 13 for the Chargers (0-9, 0-7).
With the win, Leilehua clinches the OIA Division I regular season title, with Moanalua playing Nanakuli today. The Mules and Na Menehune would finish tied with a Moanalua win, but Leilehua owns the tiebreaker via a win over Moanalua on Oct. 12.
Castle 20, Kalaheo 14
Kauanehe Kalahiki-Gohier punched in a 1-yard touchdown in overtime, giving the Knights the win over the Mustangs.
Kalahiki-Gohier finished with 126 rushing yards and two touchdowns to lead the Knights (7-3, 6-1). Castle never led in the game until the overtime period, but tied the game with 3:26 left in the fourth quarter on a 5-yard run by Rolly Gamez. Kamalu Jordan led Kalaheo (4-4, 3-4) with 101 rushing yards, and added a touchdown pass to Cody Salas.
With the win, Castle remains alive for the top seed in the OIA Division II playoffs. Both Castle and Roosevelt are 6-1 in league play, and Kaiser can clinch a share of the lead with a win over McKinley today. If all three teams finish tied for first, a coin flip will determine the playoff seeding among the three. With the loss, Kalaheo drops into a tie with Waialua for fourth with a 3-4 record in league play. Kalani can make it a three-way tie with a win today against Kaimuki. A coin flip would also determine that tie.
Leilehua 31, Pearl City 8
Cameron Keeve ripped off an 86-yard touchdown en route to a 226 yard performance as the Mules routed the Chargers.
The Mules (7-3, 6-1) dominated on the ground, totaling 287 yards rushing to just 13 for the Chargers (0-9, 0-7).
With the win, Leilehua clinches the OIA Division I regular season title, with Moanalua playing Nanakuli today. The Mules and Na Menehune would finished tied with a Moanalua win, but Leilehua owns the tiebreaker via a win over Moanalua on October 12.
Castle 20, Kalaheo 14
Kauanehe Kalahiki-Gohier punched in a one-yard touchdown in overtime, giving the Knights the win over the Mustangs.
Kalahiki-Gohier finished with 126 rushing yards and two touchdowns to lead the Knights (7-3, 6-1). The Knights never led in the game until the overtime period, but tied the game with 3:26 left in the fourth quarter on a five-yard run by Rolly Gamez. Kamalu Jordan led Kalaheo (4-4, 3-4) with 101 rushing yards, and added a touchdown pass to Cody Salas.
With the win, Castle remains alive for the top seed in the OIA Division II playoffs. Both Castle and Roosevelt are 6-1 in league play, and Kaiser can clinch a share of the lead with a win over McKinley today. If all three teams finish tied for first, a coin flip will determine the playoff seeding among the three. With the loss, Kalaheo drops into a tie with Waialua for fourth with a 3-4 record in league play. Kalani can make it a three-way tie with a win today against Kaimuki. A coin flip would also determine that tie.
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At Waialua
Roosevelt (7-2, 6-1) 7 7 21 13 — 48
Waialua (4-5, 3-4) 0 3 0 0 — 3
ROOS— Shaeden Sexton 4 run (Journey DePeralta kick), 8:39
ROOS—Sexton 1 run (DePeralta kick), 4:43
WAIL—FG Kaies Demello 33, 0:12
ROOS—Keawe Davis 16 pass from Ioane Kamanao (DePeralta kick), 9:49
ROOS—Jahsiah Souza-Armstead 36 pass from Kamanao (DePeralta kick), 7:09
ROOS—Sexton 1 run (DePeralta kick), 2:23
ROOS—Kaeo Bush 22 run (DePeralta kick), 9:08
ROOS—Dayten Tilton 35 fumble return (pass failed), 5:46
RUSHING—Roosevelt: Sexton 15-59, Bush 1-22, Kamanao 4-20, Ezekiel Soon 2-14, Cameron Jackson 2-1, Team 1-(minus 2). Waialua: Jace Apau 9-8, Nuutea Van Bastolaer 2-6, Sky Hirota 1-5, Konan Riddleberger 1-5, #21 1-3, Jeremiah Kahalewai 1-1, Taylor Calaro 2-(minus 1), Emery Abilla 9-(minus 10).
PASSING—Roosevelt: Kamanao 19-31-1-261, Bush 2-3-0-33. Waialua: Abilla 3-14-2-29, Riddleberger 1-2-1-8.
RECEIVING—Roosevelt: Souza-Armstead 9-172, Davis 6-45, Wiliama Aarona 3-47, Jerry Wu 2-23, Sexton 1-10, Casen Murakami-Awaya 1-(minus 3). Waialua: Cash Manalo 1-19, Germaine Bagasol 1-8, Hayze Ramos 1-7, Hirota 1-3.
LEILEHUA 31, PEARL CITY 8
At Bino Neves Stadium
Leilehua (7-3, 6-1) 14 14 0 3 — 31
Pearl City (0-9, 0-7) 0 0 8 0 — 8
LEIL—Cameron Keeve 86 run (Rodel Alano kick)
LEIL—Tavon Tarpley 14 pass from Bennett Strobel (Alano kick)
LEIL—Keola Seumanutafa-Bryant 4 run (Alano kick)
LEIL—Seumanutafa-Bryant 9 pass from Strobel (Alano kick)
PC—Javian Mizuno 28 pass from Ikaika Torres (Torres pass to Keaton Tomas)
LEIL—FG Alano 40
RUSHING—Leilehua: Keeve 6-226, Dilen-Victor Dilwith 18-58, Trustin Gomes 6-11, Seumanutafa-Bryant 1-4, Tavion McKnight 1-(minus 5), Strobel 1-(minus 7). Pearl City: Caleb Pintor 3-28, Tomas 2-11, Errol Jairus Ricapor 1-3, Lennon Elder 3-1, Torres 4-(minus 14), Jonah Galanto 4-(minus 16).
PASSING—Leilehua: Strobel 6-9-0-88, Gomes 0-4-0-0. Pearl City: Galanto 17- 37-1-192, Mizuno 0-1-0-0, Torres 7-10-0-81.
RECEIVING—Leilehua: Tarpley 5-79, Seumanutafa-Bryant 1-9. Pearl City: Tomas 5-86, Mizuno 7-75, Tayvon Ching-Harrell 6-74, Noah Sullivan 3-23, Elder 1-12, Pintor 1-7, Bronson Abendario 1-(minus 4).
OIA DIVISION II
CASTLE 20, KALAHEO 14, OT
At Castle
Kalaheo (4-4, 3-4) 7 0 7 0 0 — 14
Castle (7-3, 6-1) 0 7 0 7 6 — 20
KALH—Chance Baqui 22 pass from Jude Weber (Loch Moorman kick)
CAST—Kauanahe Kalahiki-Gohier 69 run (Braven Hopkins kick)
KALH—Cody Salas 4 pass from Kamalu Jordan (Moorman kick)
CAST—Rolly Gamez 5 run (Hopkins kick)
CAST—Kalahiki-Gohier 1 run (none attempted)
RUSHING—Kalaheo: Jordan 17-101,
Vance Ramolete 13-36, Salas 1-2, Matthew Pyne 1-0, Weber 2-(minus 5), Team 1-(minus 9). Castle: Kalahiki-Gohier 8-126, Riley Burton 19-89, Aidan Kahele 5-28, Gamez 2-7, Nai Kalauokaaea 2-(minus 4).
PASSING—Kalaheo: Weber 6-18-0-63, Benjamin White 1-1-0-21, Jordan 1-1-0-4. Castle: N. Kalauokaaea 5-16-0-84.
RECEIVING—Kalaheo: Salas 4-39, Jordan 3-27, Baqui 1-22. Castle: Isaiah Felipe 3-60, Christopher Ano 2-24.
