Saturday, October 31, 1998
Sam Keaulii and
By Pat Bigold
Duane Miller lead Waianae
past Castle, 28-7
Star-BulletinSam Keaulii played his freshman and sophomore football in North Carolina, but the 6-foot-3, 195-pound quarterback has made an easy transition to the Leeward coast of Oahu.
"We used the option in Morehead City (N.C.)," he said after directing Waianae to a 28-7 victory over Castle last night in the Oahu Interscholastic Association quarterfinals at Aloha Stadium.
When Keaulii, whose parents were born in Waianae, showed up at the school's athletic department last spring, it was a pleasant surprise to head coach Leo Taaca.
"I never had a quarterback with a southern accent," Taaca said jokingly.
Keaulii has been Waianae's starting quarterback throughout the season and has shown an ability to run the ball as well as throw it.
Last night he was 7-for-14 for 135 yards and a touchdown pass against Castle, helping the Seariders advance to Friday's semifinals against Farrington.
His 20-yard connection to running back Lambert Keaweehu in the first quarter gave Waianae a 13-7 lead and all the offense it would need.
In a 41-3 victory over Moanalua in the opening round of the playoffs last week, Keaulii sprinted for two touchdowns.
He passed for 89 yards on four completions in the first half last night.
"In the first half, they never really put pressure on me," Keaulii said. "But in the second half, they started blitzing their linebackers and they tried to put a lot of pressure on me. But that opened up the sweeps and the option started working."
That freed Duane Miller, Waianae's premier running back, to rush for 78 of his 106 yards and two of his three touchdowns.
Miller rushed 21 yards for one score with 7:59 left in the third quarter and 2 yards for another with 8:15 left in the game.
"Duane is just a great running back," Keaulii said.
Said Taaca: "He (Miller) didn't have much blocking the first half, but the second half he did it all on his own I think."
Waianae defensive linemen Lidda Alaga and Elai Evaimalo each had a sack and fumble recovery.
Castle 0 7 0 0--7 Waianae 14 0 7 7--28Individual scoring
Waianae: Duane Miller 10 run (Kini Pave kick)
Waianae: Lambert Keaweehu 20 pass from Sam Keaulii (Pave kick)
Castle: Gerald Preston 4 pass from Arnubi Bruhn (Jon Wilson kick)
Waianae: Miller 21 run (Pave kick)
Waianae: Miller 2 run (Pave kick)Rushing--Castle: Bruhn 8-(-5), Kaleo Segovia 6-26, David Kanahele 1-0. Waianae: Miller 23-116, Keaweehu 12-35, Keaulii 4-10, Peter Sarono 1-12, Junior Tiolu 2-13, Chad Blue 2-(-1), Kalani Anguay 1-(-1), Ross Hose 1-(-1), Fonoti 1-0.
Passing--Castle: Bruhn 12-28-1 for 130 yards, Anthony Haugen 1-2-1 for 33 yards. Waianae: Keaulii 7-14-1 for 135 yards, Eric Fonoti 0-1-0 for 0 yards.
Receiving--Castle: Segovia 1-11, Jeff Libby 2-34, Nate Green 4-42, Maurice Sevelo 2-8, Preston 2-35, Tyler German 1-33. Waianae: Keaweehu 1-20, Pave 3-82, Miller 1-1, Ronald Mahiai 1-17, Clifford Cabral 1-5.
