Led by a resurgent offense, Aiea came to life in the second half to outlast Kailua 13-7 in a game that came down to the very last play.
“It’s always in our minds, the flow of our offense,” Aiea quarterback Ezekiel Olie said of the team’s slow start. “It starts with me as the quarterback. I had my head down in the first half. But we stayed positive coming into the second half, and we came away with a few touchdowns.”
Missing several starters early for disciplinary reasons, Na Alii were able to put their first half struggles behind them, scoring twice in the second half to earn a victory on Saturday night at John E. Velasco Stadium.
“We started off slow,” Aiea coach Wendell Say said. “We benched three starters at the beginning for breaking team rules, and that hurt. We have to make sure our kids are held accountable. Even if it’s a very small infraction, we make sure our kids are held accountable. And it affects the team, so we tell the kids we’re one team, we have to make sure nobody makes the same mistakes.”
Perhaps no player better exemplified Aiea’s first-half troubles and subsequent second-half resurgence than receiver Jayden Chanel. Chanel had some key drops in the first half, but bounced back in the second to finish with 90 yards on six grabs, including the go-ahead touchdown. Chanel, along with yardage leader Geronimo Ulgaran, led the Na Alii passing attack that ultimately clinched the win. Ulgaran finished with a game-best 114 yards on five catches.
Olie benefited from his receivers’ strong performance, completing 22 of 35 passes for 275 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Both teams managed to put together some extended drives in the first half, but neither squad was able to turn them into points. Five of the drives ended with punts, while the other three ended on turnovers.
Kailua came tantalizingly close to breaking the tie. The Surfriders put together a 12-play, 77-yard drive that carried into the second quarter. But the promising drive ended after Koyo Kekauoha fumbled on the 6-yard line. Aiea’s Elijah Nahoopii-Makakona scooped up the loose ball to keep the game scoreless.
Aiea had its own close brush with the end zone a few drives later. With starting field position near midfield, Aiea drove down the field on seven plays. A well-placed 25-yard pass from Olie was dropped in the end zone by Chanel, Na Alii turned the ball over on downs on the next play to keep things scoreless.
Na Alii raced out of the halftime break an entirely new team. Aiea took control of the game with back-to-back scoring drives. The first, a nine-play, 75-yard drive, featured first-down completions from Olie to Ulgaran and Chanel. The drive was capped by a 19-yard touchdown connection between Olie and Chanel. On its next drive, Aiea moved the ball 85 yards in seven plays, resulting in Olie’s 10-yard touchdown strike to Ulgaran.
On Kailua’s next drive, the Surfriders got on the scoreboard on Kekauoha’s 5-yard touchdown run. Aiea had a chance to push its lead back to two scores, but Bryson Boyea-Quiton’s 20-yard field-goal attempt was blocked. Kailua had one final chance to steal a win at the very end of the game, but time ran out with the Surfriders just 22 yards away from a potential winning score.
“It was a tough game. Kailua’s a tough team,” Say said. “They always play us tough. Every year we play them it always comes down to the last play. Always. Last year, this year, I think the year before too. They’re always an excellent team, coached very well. No excuses. We have to be better by next week.”
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AIEA 13, KAILUA 7
At John E. Velasco Stadium
Kailua (1-2-1, 1-1) 0 0 7 0 — 7
Aiea (4-1, 2-0) 0 0 13 0 — 13
AIEA—Jayden Chanel 19 pass from Ezekiel Olie (Bryson Boyea Quiton kick)
AIEA—Geronimo Ulgaran 10 pass from Olie (run failed)
KAIL—Koyo Kekauoha 5 run (Kai Fraser kick)
RUSHING—Kailua: Kekauoha 17-63, Clayton Quidashay 6-31, Maa Fonoti 6-20. Aiea: Kaimana Lale-Saole 14-48, Noah Spencer 2-8, Ulgaran 2-7, Kane Lorenzana 1-4, Rico Figueroa 1-1, Olie 6-(minus 16).
PASSING—Kailua: Fonoti 15-22-1-164. Aiea: Olie 20-35-0-275.
RECEIVING—Kailua: Jathan Bejarano 6-62, Nainoa Smith-Akana 5-45, Solomon Keanui-Demello 2-35, Kekauoha 2-22. Aiea: Ulgaran 5-114, Chanel 6-90, Figueroa 4-42, Jheremie Cacpal 2-17, Hiki Kim Choy-Keb-Ah Lo 2-6, Lale-Saole 1-6.
Junior Varsity: Kailua 42, Aiea 7
