HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Pearl City, Roosevelt settle for tie
A 34-34 tie between Pearl City and Roosevelt left both head coaches feeling disappointed last night.
Roosevelt quarterback Lowen Kahooilihala threw two touchdown passes late in the fourth quarter, but fumbled a snap inside the Chargers 5-yard line with less than 2 minutes remaining.
Kahooilihala finished with 259 passing yards and four touchdowns, but also had four turnovers in the Oahu Interscholastic Association White division regular-season finale for both teams at Bino Neves Stadium.
"We came back for the tie, but we thought we'd come back for the win," Roosevelt coach Lester Parrilla said. "It's a disappointing feeling."
The tie was equally tough for Pearl City coach Mel Bicoy. The Chargers racked up 214 rushing yards, but saw a 14-point lead erased in the final 5 minutes.
After Kahooilihala hit Justin Otaguro for the game-tying score, Pearl City took over with 1:56 remaining. The Chargers drove into Roosevelt territory, but quarterback Kawika Borden tossed four straight incompletions and Roosevelt got the ball back with 24 seconds remaining.
Kahooilihala hit Keenan Koizumi for a 28-yard pass to put the ball at the Pearl City 25-yard line with 6 seconds remaining. It set up a 45-yard field-goal attempt by Alex Fowler to win the game, but the kick fell short.
"Defensively we had some breakdowns there late," Bicoy said. "It's very disappointing."
Pearl City running back Antoin Dewalt was limited to four carries for 42 yards on an ankle he hurt last week against Waialua. Junior running back Bronson Williams ran for 59 yards and two touchdowns, and Jared Cudiamat added 54 yards and a touchdown.
The teams finished in a tie for third place in the division with 5-2-1 records.
"I think we're going to have to revert to a coin flip," Bicoy said.
The loser will have to travel to Kaimuki to take on the undefeated Bulldogs, while the winner of the coin flip will face Waipahu. The top four teams in the division qualified for the postseason.
Otaguro finished with eight receptions for 125 yards and two touchdowns, and Ranson Tuitama had 108 rushing yards and one score for Roosevelt.
The Rough Riders stumbled out of the gate by fumbling on their first play from scrimmage. The Chargers drove the ball to the Roosevelt 5-yard line, but Tony King missed a 22-yard field goal to keep the game scoreless.
The Chargers converted the first big play of the game on their next drive. On fourth and 16 from the Rough Riders 22, Borden found Dillan Pataray in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Another Rough Riders fumble gave Pearl City the ball in Roosevelt territory. Two plays later, Williams hurdled a defender en route to a 26-yard touchdown run as the Chargers went up 14-0 early in the second quarter.
Roosevelt answered with a fourth-down touchdown of its own as Kahooilihala found Matt Kualii-Moe on a fade route for a 10-yard touchdown to cut the lead to eight as the extra point was missed.
After forcing the Chargers to go three and out to open the second half, Roosevelt marched 78 yards in 10 plays before Kahooilihala found Otaguro for his first touchdown catch. The Chargers remained up by one as Roosevelt missed the extra point.
Pearl City answered to go up seven as Cudiamat capped a 69-yard drive in six plays with a 10-yard scoring run.
Roosevelt's third turnover of the game led to a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Borden to give the Chargers a 34-20 lead with 8:50 remaining.