To wear down an opponent and take over in the fourth quarter requires an elite level of conditioning from undermanned Kaimuki.
Limited in numbers, the Bulldogs relied on iron man Ieke Seei-Cleveland, who rushed for three touchdowns, had a sack and recovered an onside kick in the final 30 seconds to seal a 41-34 win over Kalani in an OIA Division II game at Aloha Stadium on Saturday night.
Seei-Cleveland rushed for 159 yards on 24 carries and quarterback Jordan Solomon added 101 yards on the ground with two touchdowns to help Kaimuki start a season 2-0 for the first time since 2011.
“We probably have more hours of conditioning than practice, so it pays off,” Kaimuki coach David Tautofi said.
Solomon added 128 passing yards, including a 7-yard TD throw to Mana Mahiai, and combined with Seei-Cleveland to give Kaimuki two 100-yard rushers in the same game for the first time since Justin Paderes and Josh Gacusana in a 2007 win over Waialua.
The Bulldogs needed it against a Kalani team that has opened the season with two tough losses.
The Falcons (0-2, 0-2) lost in overtime last week to Pearl City after scoring 13 points in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter to tie the game.
Kalani fell behind 14-0 after two possessions against the Bulldogs but battled back to pull within a score on quarterback Seth Tina-Sobarano’s 37-yard touchdown run with 30 seconds to go.
Kalani tried an onside kick with no timeouts left, but the kick was recovered by Seei-Cleveland.
Tina-Sobarano finished 18-for-27 for 257 yards and four passing touchdowns while also rushing for another. He had 52 rushing yards on 20 carries and was sacked eight times.
“Their quarterback was really the one that was impacting the game,” Seei-Cleveland said. “We’ve got to work harder on the line and get to the quarterback.”
Tina-Sobarano threw all four of his touchdown passes in the first half as Kalani trailed 28-27 at the break.
He faced a heavier pass rush that slowed him down in the second half.
“Our mind-set,” Tautofi said when asked what changed. “Getting the boys to remember what they came here for and to do their job. They continued to pressure the quarterback and started to take a better angle.”
Kaimuki has won 27 of the 30 meetings between the two schools and made up for last year’s loss to Kalani.
Kaimuki won its first game at the stadium since a 48-12 win over Kalaheo in 2010.
