Na Alii ready for rematch at Waianae

Aiea led the OIA Red West champs in their first meeting

The injury bug bit Aiea during the regular season, but the flu bug is what worries Wendell Say today.

The veteran coach is ailing, but resting at home while his Na Alii prepare for tomorrow's playoff game at Waianae. Aiea (4-5) fell to the Seariders 34-21 at Raymond Torii Field nearly four weeks ago in a game that gave the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red West title to Waianae.

Sixth-ranked Waianae (5-3, 5-1) is seeking its first league championship since 1997, when Leo Taaca was coach.

Say is concerned, but confident. His team won an emotional playoff opener at Castle last week in rain and mud.

"We brought up some kids from the JV who can help out. We can be a little sharper. The first time, we had a good gameplan, just didn't finish the job," said Say, who has guided Aiea's program since 1992. "The blocked punt, we can't let that happen again."

Ah yes, the blocked punt. Aiea led 14-0 in the first meeting when Waianae's Kekona Werner snuffed a punt, allowing Bronson Panui to score a touchdown. That turned the tide for the Seariders, who used smashmouth football and a punishing defense that caused six turnovers.

George Kauwalu, Waianae's standout middle linebacker, continues to impress.

"Kauwalu, to me, is the best linebacker in the state. I thought he was one of the best in the state last year. The kid is tough," Say said.

Na Alii racked up 350 yards that night, and the senior-rich squad has no reservations about returning for a rematch.

Quarterback Alfredo Higa threw 56 times and completed 30 for 313 yards. He was picked off, however, five times. Lofa Liilii, an all-state wide receiver last year, returned from an ankle injury that night and caught 14 passes for 154 yards.

Aiea's defense, which has endured its share of injuries, will have to contain Waianae's posse of running backs and quarterback Ben McQuown.

"We'll stick to the same thing defensively, just cut out our mistakes," Say said. Safety David Savaaetasi and cornerback Eric James are healthy enough to play, but defensive tackle Miah Faatoafe is out with a knee injury.

"Miah had knee surgery on Friday and came to the game (at Castle) that night. That really lifted up our team," Say noted.

Otherwise, Aiea is as healthy as it has been since the season started.

"It's good to have everybody healthy. Right now, everybody's healthy except the coach," said Say, who handed his practice plan to offensive coordinator Amosa Amosa yesterday afternoon and went straight home to rest.

"I don't want to give it to anyone else."

Waianae coach Daniel Matsumoto has serious concerns about Aiea's run-and-shoot attack.

"We got plenty of guys we gotta key on. We have to make sure that we're playing man on those guys, and put more pressure on the quarterback, when it's possible," he said.

Here's a look at tomorrow's games:

OIA Red

No. 5 Farrington (6-2, 5-1) at Mililani (6-2, 4-2) -- After struggling early in league play, the Trojans finished strong, with four consecutive victories.

Running back Jordan Torres carried the load for Mililani early on, but quarterback Rustin Funakoshi has been stellar in recent weeks. He threw for 245 yards on 14-for-20 passing in the regular-season closer against Radford, and 201 yards without an interception the week before at Campbell. His accuracy will be a focal point against a Farrington defense that is tough against the run.

Farrington's offense has perked up since the return of quarterback Elijah Filifili. He showed no effects of a broken finger suffered more than a month ago.

Filifili, who has become comfortable in the West Coast offense, threw for 192 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Castle two weeks ago.

ILH

No. 4 Kamehameha (6-3, 2-3) at Iolani (4-3-1, 2-2-1) -- The remainder of the season is a matter of pride for the Warriors. Long gone is the remarkable 4-0 start that included wins over Farrington and Redlands East Valley (Calif.). Finishing strong, though, would be a nice boost for next season.

Iolani nearly upset Kamehameha last season, losing 37-29 at Aloha Stadium. On the comfy confines of Eddie Hamada Field, anything could happen for the Raiders, whose Justin Yamamoto has become one of the most consistent rushers in the ILH.

No. 2 Punahou (6-2, 3-2) vs. Pac-Five (2-5, 0-4), Aloha Stadium -- The Buffanblu survived at home when Damien visited last week. This time, they need another win over another talented Division II team. A win keeps Punahou's league title hopes alive.

Pac-Five has struggled against conference foes since going 2-1 against OIA teams. The last time they met, in the regular-season finale last season, Punahou won 35-0.

Damien (3-4-1, 2-2-1) vs. No. 1 Saint Louis (8-0, 5-0), Aloha Stadium -- There was a time, only a few years back, when the Monarchs seriously considered dropping their football program. The disparity between Damien and Saint Louis was the most extreme example of two programs that were on opposite ends. Today, it's not quite the same. Saint Louis has not won a league title since 2003, though a new crown awaits with one more win.

Damien, though, has stepped up nicely since Division II was adopted as a format in the ILH.

Kama Bailey ran for more than 200 yards last week and has amassed some of the best statistics in the state.

Saint Louis got past Damien in last year's matchup, 20-12. That's a far cry from the 80-point shellackings of yesteryear.

OIA White

Kaimuki (5-3-1, 5-2-1) at Kaiser (6-2-1, 6-1-1) -- Throw out the seedings for this matchup. Though Kaiser earned the top seed and Kaimuki snuck in with the fourth seed, this is a toss-up.

The Bulldogs gave the Cougars their only loss in conference play, 13-12, at the same field. Kaimuki, normally a run-first team, did it with a solid passing performance by Kapono Kaiwi-Barrenuebo (13-for-21, 174 yards, no picks).

Kaiser was one of the hottest teams in the White Conference, but ran into a wall at Waipahu last week for a 13-all tie. Isaac Saffery, who was shut down by Kaimuki (11 carries, minus-15 yards rushing), has been one of the top backs in the state since.

Waialua (6-2-1, 5-2-1) at Waipahu (5-2-2, 5-1-2) -- The Marauders made a statement in late August by not only beating the Bulldogs, but shutting out their vaunted offensive attack. Sean Saturnio's squad has relied on a bevy of running backs, but the theme remains the same: control the ball, control the tempo.

Waialua quarterback Caleb Fore has not had a big statistical game in weeks, but his savvy and command help the 'Dogs win the close ones. Waialua's defense is probably the most improved in Division II.

BIIF

Kamehameha-Hawaii (7-2, 6-2) vs. Hilo (3-6, 3-5), Wong Stadium -- The Warriors have gotten a huge boost from running back Kolten Wong, who has been prolific since returning from an early-season baseball trip.

Wong ran for 189 yards and two touchdowns in last week's win at Hawaii Prep. A win would help the Warriors clinch the top seed, a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the BIIF's Division II playoffs.

KS-Hawaii won the last matchup, played a year ago, 55-20.

Honokaa (5-4, 5-3) at Konawaena (6-3, 6-2) -- The Wildcats stumbled against Kamehameha-Hawaii last week, 25-19 at home. Even with a win over Honokaa, the 'Cats won't earn the top seed in the playoffs unless KS-Hawaii loses to Hilo. Honokaa forfeited a win earlier in the season, costing itself a shot at the top seed. If KS-Hawaii wins tomorrow, Honokaa and Konawaena will meet again in the BIIF playoffs next week.

KIF

Waimea (5-2, 3-2) vs. Kauai (6-0, 4-0), Vidinha Stadium -- The Red Raiders can clinch their fourth KIF title in a row with a win over the Menehunes. Kauai has already defeated Waimea twice this season, 30-0 and 41-0.

In the latter game, Kauai quarterback Andrew Renaud threw for 375 yards and five touchdowns. Pono Matthews caught seven passes for 207 yards and touchdowns of 81 and 64 yards.

MIL

Lahainaluna (6-2, 6-2) vs. Maui (1-6-1, 1-6-1) (homecoming), War Memorial Stadium -- The Sabers managed to gain 122 total yards in a 17-0 loss to the Lunas in the first round.

Lahainaluna, coming off last week's 14-6 loss to Baldwin, is 2-1 in second-round play and can't afford another loss.

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Standings

ILH

Division I			League					Overall
Team	W	L	T	PF	PA	W	L	T	PF	PA
Saint Louis	5	0	0	139	99	8	0	0	218	119
Punahou	3	2	0	159	130	6	2	0	223	176
Kamehameha	2	3	0	89	71	6	3	0	167	116

Division II			League					Overall
Team	W	L	T	PF	PA	W	L	T	PF	PA
Damien	2	2	1	105	121	3	4	1	146	185
Iolani	2	2	1	122	135	4	3	1	193	185
Pac-Five	0	5	0	87	133	2	6	0	166	208

OIA

White		Conference				Overall
Team	W	L	T	PF	PA	W	L	T	PF	PA
Kaiser	6	1	1	263	71	6	2	1	277	99
Waialua	5	2	1	209	137	6	2	1	257	164
Waipahu	5	1	2	166	75	5	2	2	172	103
Pearl City	5	2	1	204	122	6	2	1	211	128
Kaimuki	5	2	1	198	94	5	3	1	210	138
Roosevelt	3	5	0	172	184	4	6	0	172	225
Nanakuli	2	4	2	118	146	2	5	2	130	173
Anuenue	1	7	0	83	255	1	8	0	89	265
Kalani	0	8	0	20	338	0	9	0	26	412

KIF

		Conference				Overall
Team	W	L	T	PF	PA	W	L	T	PF	PA
Kauai	4	0	0	143	16	5	0	0	150	22
Waimea	3	2	0	81	113	5	2	0	152	133
Kapaa	0	5	0	58	153	1	6	0	85	189

MIL

		Second round				Overall
Team	W	L	T	PF	PA	W	L	T	PF	PA
King Kekaulike	3	0	0	151	78	6	2	0	274	217
Lahainaluna	2	1	0	75	32	6	2	0	222	100
Baldwin	2	0	1	70	22	7	0	1	255	64
KS-Maui	0	2	1	60	93	2	5	1	174	209
Maui	0	2	1	38	88	1	6	1	112	226
Pac-Three	0	2	1	26	107	0	7	1	83	304

		First round				Overall
Team	W	L	T	PF	PA	W	L	T	PF	PA
Baldwin	5	0	0	185	42	5	0	0	185	42
Lahainaluna	4	1	0	147	68	4	1	0	147	68
King Kekaulike	3	2	0	123	139	3	2	0	123	139
KS-Maui	2	3	0	114	116	2	3	0	114	116
Maui	1	4	0	74	138	1	4	0	74	138
Pac-Three	0	5	0	57	197	0	5	0	57	197

BIIF

		Conference				Overall
Team	W	L	T	PF	PA	W	L	T	PF	PA
Kealakehe	8	0	0	392	27	9	0	0	449	34
Honokaa	6	2	0	193	164	6	3	0	220	212
Konawaena	6	2	0	188	109	6	3	0	194	126
Keaau	6	2	0	224	129	6	2	0	224	129
KS-Hawaii	6	2	0	283	159	7	2	0	310	159
Waiakea	3	5	0	132	165	3	6	0	132	203
Hawaii Prep	2	6	0	79	187	2	7	0	88	214
Kohala	1	7	0	116	276	1	7	0	116	276
Hilo	2	6	0	109	149	2	7	0	129	172
Ka'u	0	8	0	19	360	0	8	0	19	360

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Statistics

OIA White

TEAM OFFENSE	G	Rush	Pass	Total	Avg
Pearl City	8	1,854	694	2,458	318.5
Kaiser	8	1,899	572	2,471	308.9
Waialua	8	817	1,425	2,242	280.3
Waipahu	8	1,908	230	2,138	267.3
Kaimuki	7	991	727	1,718	245.4
Nanakuli	7	878	784	1,662	237.4
Anuenue	8	433	1,150	1,583	197.9
Roosevelt	8	197	1,349	1,546	193.3
Kalani	8	457	317	774	96.8

TEAM DEFENSE	G	Rush	Pass	Total	Avg
Waipahu	8	520	805	1,325	165.6
Pearl City	7	675	572	1,247	178.1
Kaimuki	8	701	743	1,444	180.5
Kaiser	7	423	861	1,284	183.4
Nanakuli	8	977	821	1,798	224.8
Roosevelt	8	1,324	821	2,145	268.1
Anuenue	8	1,289	886	2,175	271.9
Waialua	8	1,528	794	2,322	290.3
Kalani	8	1,994	944	2,938	367.3

RUSHING	G	Att	Yds	TD	YPC	YPG
Saffery, KAIS	8	130	1,097	16	8.4	137.1
Dewalt, PC	8	134	1,055	12	7.9	131.9
Matas, WAIL	8	79	499	5	6.3	62.4
Chan, KAIS	8	47	450	6	9.6	56.3
Dela Cruz, PC	7	83	444	4	5.3	63.4
Palimoo, WAIP	4	55	390	2	7.1	97.5
Doctolero, WAIP	8	68	374	2	5.5	46.8
Fernandez, WAIP	8	84	363	5	4.3	45.4
Kaeha, NAN	6	70	330	3	4.7	55.0
Kimura, KALN	6	81	302	0	3.7	50.3
Soueira, WAIP	7	37	298	4	8.1	42.6

PASSING	G	Comp	Att	Pct.	Yds	TD	INT
Fore, WAIL	8	98	179	0.55	1,425	16	4
Nauka, ANU	8	84	193	0.44	1,085	8	12
Kahooilihala, ROOS
	5	59	100	0.59	848	9	2
McGill, NAN	7	59	121	0.49	662	5	10
Borden, PC	7	37	67	0.55	609	4	2
Chan, KAIS	8	47	104	0.45	572	9	8
Kaiwi-Barrenuebo, KAIM
	6	43	92	0.47	566	3	5
Nguyen, ROOS	7	40	99	0.40	501	7	8
Matsuda, KALN	8	47	164	0.29	315	2	18

RECEIVING	G	Rec	Yds	TD	YPC	YPG
Sherman, ANU	8	31	430	4	13.9	53.8
Foster, WAIL	8	29	366	5	12.6	45.8
Kon, ANU	8	26	274	2	10.5	34.3
Ola, ROOS	7	25	483	4	19.3	69.0
Matas, WAIL	8	25	294	2	11.8	36.8
Garcia, NAN	7	23	178	2	7.7	25.4
Noa, KAIS	8	21	328	6	15.6	41.0
Whittaker, WAIL	7	21	247	3	11.8	35.3
Otaguro, ROOS	7	20	268	1	13.4	38.3
Arruda, ROOS	6	18	329	4	18.3	54.8

SCORING	G	TD	FG	2pt	PAT	TOT
Saffery, KAIS	8	16	0	0	0	96
Dewalt, PC	8	13	0	1	0	80
Noa, KAIS	8	8	0	0	0	48
Soueira, WAIP	7	7	0	1	0	44
Matas, WAIL	8	7	0	0	0	42
Rubio, WAIL	7	7	0	0	0	42
Chan, KAIS	8	6	0	0	0	36
Fernandez, WAIP	8	5	0	2	0	34
Arruda, ROOS	6	5	0	1	0	32
Niiro, KAIS	8	0	1	0	29	32
A. Foster, WAIL	8	5	0	0	0	30
McGill, NAN	7	4	0	2	0	28

ILH

TEAM OFFENSE	G	Rush	Pass	Total	Avg
Punahou	5	441	1,302	1,743	348.6
Iolani	5	732	998	1,730	346.0
Saint Louis	5	861	803	1,664	332.8
Damien	5	1,174	443	1,617	323.4
Pac-Five	5	751	618	1,369	273.8
Kamehameha	5	495	479	974	194.8

TEAM DEFENSE	G	Rush	Pass	Total	Avg
Kamehameha	5	523	605	1,128	225.6
Saint Louis	5	163	1,063	1,226	245.2
Damien	5	692	834	1,526	305.2
Pac-Five	5	966	576	1,542	308.4
Punahou	5	890	886	1,776	355.2
Iolani	5	1,320	679	1,999	399.8

RUSHING	G	Att	Yds	TD	YPC	YPG
Bailey, DAM	5	138	915	8	6.6	183.0
Yamamoto, IOL	5	96	53	7	5.8	110.6
Ho-Ching, PAC	5	35	380	1	11.2	76.0
Chun, KAM	5	59	318	6	5.4	63.6
Mamiya STL	5	43	304	7	7.1	60.8
Hilliard, PUN	5	52	265	4	5.1	53.0
Augustus, PAC	5	64	299	1	4.7	59.8
Auelua, STL	4	20	185	0	9.3	46.3
Montez, KAM	5	44	194	1	4.4	38.8
Dung	5	28	163	2	5.8	32.6

PASSING	G	Comp	Att	Pct.	Yds	TD	INT
Kan, PUN	5	110	188	0.59	1,294	9	5
Dung, IOL	5	72	147	0.49	977	4	6
Mamiya, STL	5	60	108	0.56	803	6	2
Beirne, PAC	5	53	120	0.44	618	2	10
Hoke, KAM	5	38	75	0.51	479	4	2
Martin, DAM	5	39	91	0.43	443	2	1

RECEIVING	G	Rec	Yds	TD	YPC	YPG
Ostrowski, PUN	5	36	516	5	14.3	103.2
Hilliard, PUN	5	22	204	0	9.3	40.8
Kim, PUN	5	22	252	1	11.5	50.4
Fujioka, IOL	5	20	259	1	13.0	51.8
Hirokawa, IOL	5	17	376	2	22.1	75.2
Furukawa, IOL	5	17	167	1	9.8	33.4
Ho-Ching, PAC	5	15	199	0	13.3	39.8
Kaina, DAM	5	15	166	0	11.1	33.2
Augustus, PAC	5	15	123	0	8.2	24.6
Whitford, PUN	5	14	180	2	12.9	36.0
Aiona, STL	5	12	264	0	22.0	52.8

SCORING	G	TD	FG	2pt	PAT	TOT
Bailey, DAM	5	10	0	0	0	60
Mamiya, STL	5	7	0	0	0	42
Ostrowski, PUN	5	7	0	0	0	42
Yamamoto, IOL	5	7	0	0	0	42
Chun, KAM	5	6	0	0	0	36
Kim, PUN	5	1	2	0	16	28
Martin, DAM	5	4	0	2	0	28
Adams, IOL	5	0	5	0	11	26
Chun, STL	5	0	3	0	16	25
Satele, PAC	5	4	0	0	0	24
Hilliard, PUN	5	4	0	0	0	24