Kailua left no doubt on a soggy Saturday afternoon, steamrolling Aiea 37-13 to secure a playoff berth in OIA Division football on a huge day by senior wide receiver Stoney Pocock.
The Surfriders closed regular-season play in third place with a 5-2 league record (5-5 overall). A loss would have dropped Kailua into a three-way tie with Waianae (4-3) and Radford (4-3), triggering a tiebreaker formula to determine the third and fourth seeds. Instead, Kailua secured the three seed and Waianae claimed the fourth and final playoff berth because of its head-to-head edge over Radford. The Seariders defeated the Rams 24-15 on Friday, which means Radford’s season is over.
Kailua will play second-seeded Moanalua in the playoffs. Top seed Leilehua will play Waianae. The winners will earn state-tournament berths and meet for the OIA D-I title.
Aiea finished sixth with a 2-5 league mark (4-5 overall).
The game got chippy in the second half, with players from both teams heaved by officials. Kailua coach Joe Wong didn’t see any of his players do anything warranting ejection — and a mandatory one-game suspension — and plans to present video evidence in an appeal.
“I’m happy about the game, but I lost a couple of kids on calls. I wish it didn’t end that way. There was a whole lot of scuffling going on. I hope that with the camera view that we can appeal it for my guy because I didn’t see him doing anything. I saw a lot of things being done to him. Hopefully, it works out in our favor.”
With quarterback Elijah Mendoza, Aiea presented challenges for foes all season.
“They don’t have anything to play for playoff-wise, but they have nothing to lose at the same time. I feel we came out how we wanted to. We could’ve executed better (offensively) in the second half, but our defense played really good and held them to a late score at the end.”
Doogie Kalama, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound two-way player, was a menace defensively as Kailua’s pass rush tormented the talented Mendoza.
Pocock, a 5-9, 180-pound senior, was at his best with TD hauls of 54, 53 and 64 yards for Kailua — despite the muddy field and wet conditions.
“It looked like it didn’t bother him. It looked like it bothered some guys sometimes,” Wong said. “But for Stoney today, he had a hell of a game.”
Pocock wears soccer cleats to play football regardless of weather.
“It’s a little more straight, soccer cleats. Football cleats are a little more spikey,” he said. “I like the flat (sole). We had to come out here and do what we do. We’re coming together as a team. Trusting each other and we’ve got each other’s back.”
On a soggy field at Alex Kane Stadium, the Surfriders stormed to a 16-0 first-quarter lead, sparked by a tackle for a safety by Atunaisa Tongotea. Benjamin Honebein, a 6-3, 275-pound tight end/defensive lineman, hauled in a 12-yard TD pass from Isaiah Keaunui-Demello. The southpaw then connected with Pocock on a 53-yard TD before the first quarter ended.
Aiea got within 16-7 on a TD pass from Mendoza to Jhermie Cacpal, then had the ball near mid-field after a Kailua turnover.
Aiea got within 16-7 and had the ball near midfield after a Kailua turnover. However, the home team forced another Aiea punt, and Romeo Ortiz found Pocock on a deep seam route. Pocock eluded a tackler and raced home for a 53-yard touchdown, his second, to open Kailua’s lead to 23-7 with 5:33 to go in the first half.
Linebacker Jonah Sua put the finishing touch on a big blue first half by returning an interception 30 yards to the end zone with three seconds left. The Surfriders led 30-7.
At halftime, the Surfriders’ football team and cheer squad gave outgoing athletic director Ramona Takahashi flowers and hugs.
Aiea’s backup quarterback, sophomore Evan Mendoza, was ejected after his team was whistled for illegal procedure on fourth and 2 at the Kailua 5-yard line early in the fourth quarter.
Pocock had another thrilling play with a 64-yard TD — a short catch and burst down the right sideline — to give Kailua a 37-7 lead with 4:42 remaining.
After the ensuing kickoff, the game was halted for 10 minutes after an Aiea player punched a Kailua player near midfield after the whistle blew. Officials apparently did not see the punch, but a slew of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties were called. Kailua kicked off from the Aiea 15-yard line for the easiest touchback of the day.
On the following snap, Aiea was called for a personal foul (late hit) after a Kailua player made a tackle.
Na Alii tacked on a 4-yard TD pass from Elijah Mendoza to Jeremiah Hill with 53 seconds remaining.
The OIA playoff schedule has not been released yet. The First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships will kick off on Nov. 15 in Open Division, and Nov. 16 in Divisions I and II.
The Open state final is scheduled for Nov. 29. The finals for D-I and D-II are set for Nov. 30.
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KALANI 49, KAIMUKI 7
at Kaiser Stadium
Kaimuki (0-7, 0-7) 7 0 0 0 — 7
Kalani (3-6, 3-4) 13 22 7 7 — 49
KAIM—Iosua Letuli 10 run (Bryant Tacotaco Meyerhofer kick)
KALN—Nicholas Segawa 1 run (kick failed)
KALN—Segawa 76 punt return (Ryan Bulseco kick)
KALN—Segawa 11 run (Bulseco kick)
KALN—Segawa 3 run (Kingston Tachibana pass to Elau Hoopai-Waikoloa)
KALN—Segawa 4 run (Bulseco kick)
KALN—Brennan Takara 8 run (Bulseco kick)
KALN—Kotaro Aizawa 2 run (Bulseco kick)
RUSHING—Kaimuki: Letuli 10-38, Zechariah Kuratsu-Cook 11-32, Marbert Ungeni 4-3, Zephania Flaisek 1-(minus 2). Kalani: Segawa 9-106, Takara 10-69, Elau Hoopai-Waikoloa 3-36, Takeo Eckart 4-25, Aizawa 6-14, Sam Stowers 1-(minus 3), Team 1-(minus 4), Maiki Uda 3-(minus 4).
PASSING—Kaimuki: Ungeni 10-19-1-78. Kalani: Hoopai-Waikoloa 8-10-0-72, Team 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING—Kaimuki: Talan Domingo 5-48, Ezekiel Kuie-Matias 3-14, Jame Hanis 1-7. Kalani: Segawa 5-60, Kaisten-Paul Ching 2-17, Laakea Nishimoto 1-(minus 5).
Also:
Kaiser 42, McKinley 7
Moanalua 40, Nanakuli 22
