Jurick Valdez left Torii Field limping but smiling on Saturday night.
The fullback had a career-high 191 yards, with touchdown runs of 50, 44 and 78 yards as Waianae rallied for a 42-26 playoff win over Aiea.
Waianae (6-3, 5-3 OIA) advanced to the quarterfinal round and will meet Farrington next weekend. Aiea, the sixth-place team from the OIA Red, finished 2-6.
Valdez and his punishing offensive line made the difference against an Aiea defense that was rugged and relentless for a good portion of the battle. In the end, though, they wore down as Waianae quarterback Ioane Kaluhiokalani operated cleanly out of the wing-T attack.
The Seariders ran the ball 62 times for 418 yards with only one lost fumble. Kaluhiokalani completed only three of eight passes for 43 yards, but each completion went for a first down. Two were play-action tosses to tight end Nayton Kuresa.
Valdez’s previous best was a 73-yard, two-TD game against Moanalua in the season opener. On a picture-perfect, breezy Saturday night, fellow running backs Royce Carrick (48 yards), Javen Towne (33) and John Barbieto (29) ran hard off tackle all night. That helped set up Valdez, who was opportunistic with his eight carries.
The first touchdown came on the game’s opening series, one snap after starting quarterback Jorell Pontes was sacked.
"Our blockers, they fired out and did their assignments and I was gone," Valdez said.
The Seariders opened the lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter after a 15-play, 87-yard drive. A first-down completion from Kaluhiokalani to Kuresa on third-and-9 was crucial. Carrick’s 4-yard TD run on the left side came with 10 minutes to go in the first half.
Aiea quarterback Kobe Kato made it three scoring drives in a row with a 52-yard drive to begin the second half. He connected on four passes in a row, including a 23-yard laser to Ramiak Lorak, setting up a 1-yard blast into the end zone by Kodi Ongory-Mathias. Aiea led 20-14 with 10:25 left in the third quarter.
Then came four Waianae touchdowns in a row. Kaluhiokalani scored on a 1-yard sneak to give the Seariders a 21-20 lead with 5:23 to go in the third.
Valdez ripped through the heart of Aiea’s defense for a 45-yard TD late in the third quarter.
Three plays after an Aiea punt, Valdez took a handoff, bounced outside and roared through a crease for a 78-yard scoring jaunt. That gave Waianae some breathing room at 35-20 with 10:18 to play.
"I was trying to look for the hole, the guy who fired out quick. My wide receiver, Robby Delenia, blocked the guy," said Valdez, whose hamstring cramped up at the end of the run.
At Raymond Torii Field
AIEA (2-6, 2-6) |
0 |
14 |
6 |
6 |
— |
26 |
WAIANAE (6-3, 5-3) |
7 |
7 |
14 |
14 |
— |
42 |
Wain—Jurick Valdez 50 run (kick failed)
Wain—Royce Carrick 4 run (Niko Kala-Mahiai run)
Aiea—Lincoln Tappe 5 pass from Kobe Kato (Micah Peters-Valdez kick)
Aiea—Tappe 29 pass from Kato (Peters-Valdez kick)
Aiea—Kodi Ongory-Mathias 1 run (kick failed)
Wain—Iolane Kaluhiokalani 1 run (Kala-Mahiai kick)
Wain—Valdez 45 run (Kala-Mahiai kick)
Wain—Valdez 78 run (Kala-Mahiai kick)
Wain—Kaluhiokalani 27 run (Kala-Mahiai kick)
Aiea—Ramiak Lorak 72 pass from Kato (kick failed)
RUSHING—Aiea: Ongory-Mathias 7-34, Rexy Kolone 6-5, Kato 7-2, Cory Walton 2-(-3). Wain: Valdez 8-191, Kaluhiokalani 15-68, Carrick 15-48, Javen Towne 7-38, Kala-Mahiai 6-35, John Barbieto 5-29, Nicholas Keliikoa 3-8, Kuresa 1-3, Triston Wilbur 1-2, Jorell Pontes 1-(-4).
PASSING—Aiea: Kato 16-31-0-240, Jordan Liilii 1-3-0-5. Wain: Kaluhiokalani 3-8-0-43.
RECEIVING—Aiea: Lorak 4-116, Derreyl Ogawa-Staples 5-49, Tappe 3-35, Rahmod Johnson 3-31, Jarod Alama 1-9, Austin Hartbarger 1-5. Wain: Kuresa 2-29, Valdez 1-14.
OIA DIVISION II
NANAKULI 48, KALANI 35
Makaila Haina-Horswill rushed for 211 yards and scored on runs of 80, 35 and 71 yards to help the Golden Hawks beat the Falcons at Kaiser Stadium and complete an unblemished 8-0 regular season.
It’s the Hawks’ first football title of any kind since 1983, when Nanakuli won the OIA and lost to Saint Louis in the Prep Bowl.
Nanakuli and Kalani meet again next week in the first round of the playoffs, with the Hawks hosting.
The Falcons (4-4) got as close as six points, 41-35, late in the game. Kalani’s Ace Faumui rushed for 280 yards, with TD runs of 69, 6, 88 and 4 yards.
At Kaiser Stadium
NANAKULI (8-0, 8-0) |
7 |
27 |
7 |
7 |
— |
48 |
KALANI (4-4, 4-4) |
7 |
7 |
7 |
14 |
— |
35 |
Nan—Makaila Haina-Horswill 80 run (Clifford Cunningham kick)
Kaln—Juwan Bohannon 29 pass from Tyler Ching (Marc Teshima kick)
Nan—Kale Kanehailua 3 run (Cunningham kick)
Nan—Haina-Horswill 35 run (Cunningham kick)
Nan—Nakanaela Kipi 50 interception return (Cunningham kick)
Kaln—Ace Faumui 69 run (Teshima kick)
Nan—Kanehailua 2 run (kick failed)
Kaln—Faumui 6 run (Teshima kick)
Nan—Haina-Horswill 71 run (Cunningham kick)
Kaln—Faumui 88 run (Teshima kick)
Kaln—Faumui 4 run (Teshima kick)
Nan—Kanehailua 1 run (Cunningham kick)
RUSHING—Nanakuli: Haina-Horswill 15-211, Kanehailua 11-57, Randy Manewa 1-7, Brandon Sevellino 1-0. Kalani: Faumui 32-280, Kai Reed 5-15, Blaise Manabe 6-11, Ching 1-4, Quinn Griffiths 1-1, Brandon Nahina 3-(minus 1), Tyson Tagami 1-(minus 3).
PASSING—Nanakuli: Kanehailua 11-28-0—118. Kalani: Ching 6-12-2—56, Griffiths 1-2-0—4.
RECEIVING—Nanakuli: Cunningham 6-48, Sevellino 2-56, Haina-Horswill 2-10, Isain Wong 1-4. Kalani: Bohannon 2-33, Reed 2-18, Manabe 2-9, Faumui 1-0.
Junior varsity—Nanakuli 21, Kalani 12
FRIDAY’S LATE RESULTS
ROOSEVELT 26, KAIMUKI 16
At Roosevelt
KAIMUKI (2-7, 2-7) |
0 |
13 |
3 |
0 |
— |
16 |
ROOSEVELT (4-5, 4-5) |
6 |
0 |
14 |
6 |
— |
26 |
Roos—Sheadon Kalei 15 run (kick failed)
Kaim—Sean Noda 27 run (kick failed)
Kaim—Sean Noda 54 run (Dathan Lloyd kick)
Kaim—FG Dathan Lloyd 37
Roos—JD Walker 1 run (Zachary Lono kick)
Roos—Chaston Marcos 15 pass from Mana Kahooilihala (Lono kick)
Roos—Kalei 50 run (kick failed)
RUSHING—Kaimuki: Noda 28-58, Lloyd 2-21, Billy Masima 2-3. Roosevelt: Kalei 9-162, Chaus Paia 6-33, Kahooilihala 2-4, Walker 2-8.
PASSING—Kaimuki: Tevita Lino 9-23-2-122. Roosevelt: Kahooilihala 8-21-1-68.
RECEIVING—Kaimuki: Nixon Siona 3-36, Ieke Seei-Cleveland 2-27, Noda 1-39, Calvin Henry 1-8, Calton Joseph 1-7, Lloyd 1-5. Roosevelt: Keanu Furtado 3-12, Marcos 2-15, Ethan Okimoto 2-15, Randy Eusebio 1-26.
Junior varsity—Roosevelt 12, Kaimuki 7