Waipahu beats Kailua to earn OIA's D-I top seed
Oct. 8—The visiting Marauders overcame three turnovers to stay in front of the resilient Surfriders, who had a spirited defensive effort led by linebacker Garrick Pahinui.
First place is all in the hands of the Waipahu Marauders.
Wide receiver-turned-quarterback Liatama Uiliata passed for 207 yards and a touchdown, while running backs Anieli Talaeai and Braeden Togafau powered a 242-yard ground attack as seventh-ranked Waipahu clinched the OIA Division I top seed with a 26-16 win over Kailua.
The visiting Marauders overcame three turnovers to stay in front of the resilient Surfriders, who had a spirited defensive effort led by linebacker Garrick Pahinui. Waipahu finished the regular season 6-0 (7-1 overall ). Coming into the game with a 3-1 conference record, Kailua could have tangled up the top of the standings with a win. Instead, Kailua dropped to 3-2 (3-3-1 overall ).
"I'm just happy we clinched and we control our destiny, but there's a lot we have to work on. We still haven't played our best game, " Waipahu coach Bryson Carvalho said, praising his offensive line's work in the trenches. "
We wanted to stay as balanced as possible and control the clock. Our line has been doing this, but Kailua's D-line is very tough. They definitely tightened up. Ten (Pahinui ) has a motor, man. He was giving us headaches all game."
With a bye coming up before the playoffs, the Marauders got today off, a well-earned rest. Kicker Xavier Transfiguration had two field goals and a nearly 100 percent rate on kickoffs for touchbacks. His second FG gave Waipahu a 10-point lead in the final quarter.
"He takes kicking real seriously. He just got back from a kicking camp on the mainland. He can kick it over 50 yards, " Carvalho noted.
In all, Waipahu amassed 449 yards of total offense despite the absence of lineman Achilles Sale-Taifai, a 6-foot-3, 310-pound senior. Talaeai had 139 rushing yards on 21 carries. Togafau, a 5-10, 210-pound pound linebacker-turned-running back, had 71 yards on 15 carries, all in the second half.
"They're two different backs and they're both good. Anieli was a little bit off his game. Outside of the (two lost ) fumbles, he just wasn't hitting his gap on a few of them, so we gave him a pull and Braeden did his thing, too, " Carvalho said.
