Saturday, November 6, 1999
Quarterback Taleki Mailau and receiver John Kepa provided the offense as Kailua beat Waianae last night in the semifinals of the Oahu Interscholastic Association football playoffs.
"We came up big," Kailua coach Darren Johnson said after the Surfriders (8-2) topped the Seariders (7-3), 35-24, before 3,779 at Aloha Stadium. "Waianae played hard but we came up with the big plays."
On the Surfriders' first possession, Mailau and Kepa hooked up on a 58-yard touchdown reception on their first play of scrimmage.
Waianae cut the lead to 7-6 in the second quarter. Behind running backs Lono Manners and Peter Sarono, the Seariders marched from their own 4-yard line and and scored on a Sam Keaulii 1-yard run.
However, Waianae fumbled the snap on the extra-point attempt.
Manners and Sarono led the Seariders with a combined 228 yards on 26 carries for the game.
Mailau and Kepa stole the show in the second half.
The Surfriders went 74 yards in four plays and scored on Mailau's 40-yard touchdown run.Mailau threw for 236 yards, including three touchdowns, and ran for 51 yards and two more scores in the game.
"Taleki and John showed up and played great football," Johnson said.
"Taleki is a good quarterback," Kepa said. "He has a lot of talent. He finds me, and gets me the ball."
Kepa had a game-high of 152 receiving yards on nine catches and three touchdowns.
"John (Kepa) is the best," Mailau said. "Sometimes I may throw the ball a bit off but he just went and got it."
The Seariders scored on Manners' 4-yard run and tight end Doulan Reis' 6-yard touchdown reception from Keaulii. Linebacker Keaka Kamai recovered a fumble and returned it 70 yards for the game's last touchdown.
Kailua will take on defending OIA champion Kahuku next Thursday for the league crown. Kickoff will be at 7:35 p.m.
"Kahuku is a great football team," Johnson said. "We got a few days to prepare for them, but we are going to come out and try our best."
Waianae 0 6 0 18 - 24 Kailua 7 0 14 14 - 35Kai - John Kepa 58 pass from Taleki Mailau (Thomas Ho kick)
Wai - Sam Keaulii 1 run (kick failed)
Kai - Mailau 40 run (Ho kick)
Kai - Mailau 1 run (Ho kick)
Wai - Lono Manners 4 run (run failed)
Kai - Kepa 32 pass from Mailau (Ho kick)
Kai - Kepa 16 pass from Mailau (Ho kick)
Wai - Doulan Reis 6 pass from Keaulii (run failed)
Wai - Keaka Kamai 70 fumble recovery (run failed)Rushing - Waianae: Manners 19-123, Peter Sarono 7-105, Raymond Gomes 2-5, Keaulii 8-(-6), Brian Hinton 1-8. Kailua: Mailau 6-51, Rocky Alo 8-60, Keone Brown 9-59, Keahi Brown 1-0, Billy Winchester 3-10, Travis Kupahu 3-17, Kimo Kaonohi 2-(-7).
Passing - Waianae: Keaulii 13-21-2 for115 yards. Kailua: Mailau 17-26-0 for 236 yards
Receiving - Waianae: Graen Enriquez 3-19, Kalani Anguay 2-9, Sarono 4-44, Richard Gideon 2-28, Gomes 1-9, Doulan Reis 1-6. Kailua: John Kepa 9-152, Winchester 1-4, Kimo Kaonohi 6-80, Justin Kaihenui 1-0.
Junior varsity - Waianae 48, McKinley 40.
