Kealakehe Survives Fourth Quarter Rally to Defeat Waiakea

A 24 point lead entering the fourth quarter is usually a margin that would make a winning team feel very comfortable in pulling out a victory. When that same lead whittles down to eight with 5:45 remaining in the game, that winning team starts to go on edge.

One play, however, can smooth everything out, and Jordan Cristobal’s 68-yard touchdown pass to Lennox Jones pushed their lead back up to 14 points put Kealakehe back in the driver’s seat on their way to a 49-28 win over Waiakea Saturday night.

The Waveriders (3-1, 1-0 BIIF) entered the fourth quarter with a 36-14 lead over the visiting Warriors, adding to that lead before the end of the third quarter with a Cristobal seven-yard touchdown run. Waiakea started their comeback on the very next driver, going 75 yards in two minutes. Devin Preston finished off the seven-play drive with a two-yard touchdown run, and thanks to his two-point conversion run, cut the Kealakehe lead to 36-20 with 10:34 remaining in the game.

After forcing Kealakehe’s offense into a rare three-and-out series, the Warriors put together another deep drive, going 88 yards in eight plays. It was capped off by quarterback Kean Wong’s 59-yard touchdown pass to Dayton Kiko. Wong’s pass to Richard Kuntemeyer converted the two-point conversion and got Waiakea within eight points, 36-28, with 5:45 left to go.

That’s when Kealakehe put the rally on ice with the 68-yard catch-and-run from Cristobal to Jones. It was the third touchdown pass by Cristobal on the evening, who finished completing 10-of-17 passes for 161 yards. He also rushed for 96 yards and a touchdown.

Jones had a stellar night offensively for Kealakehe as well. Jones only carried the ball seven times, but when he did, he made the big plays. He rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown, and also caught six Cristobal passes for 100 yards and the late score.

Waiakea’s offense sputtered after Kealakehe’s momentum-busting touchdown. An errant snap moved Waiakea back inside their 10-yard line, a play after Wong was sacked by Maake Teutau for a loss of 15 yards. Waiakea punted the football away due to field position, and Kealakehe turned a short-field into a final touchdown drive. Kainoa Kipapa, who rushed for 36 yards on seven carries, picked up his second touchdown on a two-yard run to pad the Waverider lead to 49-28 with 1:28 left.

Waiakea  (2-3, 1-1) started the game slowly, going three-and-out on offense in each of their first three drives, collecting negative six yards rushing combined. Their defense also struggled against the big play capabilities of Kealakehe’s offense. The Waveriders had a short field following a bad punt, and finished off a 45-yard drive with a Cristobal 18-yard touchdown pass to Cyruss Cho to give Kealakehe a 7-0 lead with 5:58 left in the opening quarter.

After fumbling the ball away on their second drive, Kealakehe came back early in the second quarter with a quick five-play, 54-yard drive that ended with another big play, a Cristobal touchdown pass to Vincent Paogofie from 36 yards out. Paogofie caught the ball near the pylon at the short right corner of the end zone off of a deflected ball from the Waiakea defender that was positioned in front of him. Kealakehe would take a 14-0 lead with 10:18 left in the first half.

Waiakea’s Devin Preston had an up-and-down running day against Kealakehe. He rushed for a 4-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter to collect one of his two scoring runs. Dayton Kiko’s missed extra point attempt meant that Waiakea would still trail Kealakehe 14-6. Preston finished the day with 47 yards rushing on 21 carries and two touchdowns. He left the game in the second half with an injury.

But, as soon as Kealakehe gave up a touchdown, they would come right back and score one again. Five plays later, Lennox Jones took an end-around play 12 yards for his only touchdown run, giving Kealakehe a 21-6 advantage with 3:39 remaining in the second quarter.

Waiakea kept the game interesting late in the quarter. After a bad snap on fourth down forced Keoni Yates to scramble for a first down instead of punting the football away, Kean Wong and the Warriors’ offense took the ball at Kealakehe’s 34 yard line. On the first play of the drive, Wong found an open Lono Leasure-Lucas for a touchdown strike. The two-point pass play failed, and Waiakea trailed 21-12 with 1:04 remaining in the half.

Kealakehe dominated the third quarter to give them the 24-point lead that they nearly lost. On their first drive of the half, the Waveriders quickly found paydirt with a three-yard Kainoa Kipapa touchdown run to open up the lead to 29-12, aided with a David Fangupo two-point conversion, less than a minute and a half into the quarter. On their next drive, Cristobal picked up his only touchdown run with 52 seconds remaining to open the 36-12 lead.

In the loss, Waiakea’s Wong threw for 170 yards and two touchdowns, completing eight of the fifteen passes he threw. He also ran for 37 yards. Dayton Kiko caught half of those passes for 119 yards and a touchdown.

Waiakea 0 12 0 16 – 28

Kealakehe 7 14 15 13 – 49

Kamehameha-Hawai`i 19, Honoka`a 15

Shaun Kagawa’s second of two touchdown runs, a 58-yard run in the third quarter, turned out to be the game winner at the Warriors picked up a key win on the road at Honoka`a.

Kamehameha-Hawai`i (5-0, 2-0 BIIF) utilized Kagawa at running back because of injuries, and he rewarded head coach Dan Lyons by picking up 128 yards on the ground. Honoka`a (1-3, 1-1) rushed for 209 yards on the night.

Hawai`i Prep 52, Kohala 6

HPA held Kohala’s running game to just ten yards on 24 carries while Ka Makani’s own rushing attack dominated in the lopsided victory. Bobby Lum fan for 138 yards and two touchdowns in the victory for Hawaii Prep (2-2, 2-0), which puts them in a tie for first place in the Division II standings.

HPA travels to take on Kamehameha-Hawaii Friday night in a game that can be heard on ESPN Radio and ESPNHawaii.com.