Things were getting desperate for Pearl City toward the end of the Mililani Judo Invitational championship match Saturday. The Chargers needed to win their final three individual bouts convincingly to have a chance at the boys title.

Somehow, they got it done. Elijah Turell and Matthew Keopuhiwa won by ippon at 198 and 220 pounds to set the stage for the day’s final showdown, between Pearl City’s Kaniala Kaohe and Kapolei’s Johnny Morrison at 285. With his Chargers teammates cheering wildly, Kaohe came up with the ippon — as Morrison landed with a bang on the throw — to catapult his team to a 50-47 victory at the Mililani gym.

Prior to those final three matches, Kapolei held a commanding 47-20 lead.

“It came down to how hard we practice for each other,” Kaohe said. “I didn’t come here to win. I came here to walk away knowing I did my best for the team. I felt everybody’s energy, all cheering for me. They’ve got my back.”

Chargers coach Lynnsey Puahala was all smiles afterward, knowing her big boys got it done in 1-2-3 fashion. She talked about Keopuhiwa and Kaohe’s immense efforts when the pressure was the greatest: “Matthew has so much heart and has come such a long way. He doesn’t win pretty, but he finds a way, no matter what. Kaniala worked so hard for this. He’s been working in Jackson’s (Fuamatu) shadow and it is paying off.”

Prior to this season, Kaohe, a four-year judoka, trained with and was a backup behind Fuamatu, a team captain who won a state wrestling crown.

In a controversial match, Kapolei’s Cole Heanu defeated Pearl City’s Kyson Yoshimura. After discussion, the referees ruled that Heanu scored with a counter, even though those on the Chargers side felt Yoshimura scored with the ippon.

John Domingo also helped Pearl City’s cause with a win over the Hurricanes’ Dylan Ramos at 121 pounds.

In the girls title match, Roosevelt held on for a 42-21 victory over Pearl City. Much like in the boys match, the Chargers won the final three matches after falling into a 42-12 deficit, but the wins by Sarah Kaaiakamanu, Jacqueline Fuamatu and Michelle Tanuvasa were all by shido (three points) and not enough to complete a comeback.

“It feels really good because we were really nervous coming into this,” said the Rough Riders’ Haylee Fujioka, who beat Pearl City’s Faith Boa by ippon at 115. “It was our first tournament of the year and we fell short last year at this same tournament. It’s good to see that our hard work is paying off. I trusted my teammates to go out and get a win, so I wanted to do my best to win my match.”

Roosevelt’s Anjelyn Baron (98), Megan Mena (129) and Anu Amian (139) also contributed with individual match victories.

“It’s a good way to start the season,” Rough Riders coach Ryan Shimokawa said. “Pearl City has always been tough. It’s a good preseason tournament with both teams fighting. We have a lot to work on and so do they, and in about two months (when the state tourney rolls around) we’re going to see different teams on both sides.”

The Mililani, McKinley, Leilehua, Roosevelt, Campbell, Punahou and Pearl City II girls teams and the Roosevelt, Leilehua, Saint Louis, Mililani, McKinley, Campbell and Punahou boys squads also were involved in the tournament bracket and eliminated before the final.