Saturday, October 27, 2001
With the fall temperatures, pouring rain and 40 mph gusts at Kaiser Stadium, it's no wonder it took the Kailua offense about a quarter and a half to warm-up against Kaimuki last night. Kailua gets kicks,
wins 28-8By Marc Dixon
mdixon@starbulletin.comBut once the Surfriders did, they put away the Bulldogs 28-8 to finish the Oahu Interscholastic Assocation Red Conference season at 6-2.
After a scoreless first quarter, Kailua unleashed the fleet feet of running back Brendan Harbottle. The Kailua senior, who carried the ball 14 times for 120 yards in the first half, carried the ball four times in seven plays -- the last a 1-yard dive into the end zone.
On the ensuing kickoff, John Heu pooched the ball 15 yards downfield, where it was recovered by Kailua's Jason Moore.
With the strong wind at his back, Kailua quarterback Taleki Mailau assumed the spotlight with his passing attack. On the first play of the series he threw across the field to a wide-open David Kaihenui for a 25-yard gain. Two plays later Mailau found junior wide receiver Brad Ching in the end zone for the game's second touchdown.
"We wanted to mix things up a little tonight and we did," Surfriders coach Darren Johnson said. "We were able to do a lot of the things we wanted to do like rest some guys for next week."
Kept in check for most of the first half, the Kaimuki offense didn't penetrate Kailua territory until just over three minutes remained in the half. After a momentum-gaining pair of runs by Chanceton Mirafuentes and runs by Wallace Simanu and Soloni Taumalolo, the Surfrider defensive front, led by Jermaine Se'ei, stuffed Mirafuentes on fourth down.
The second half represented a copy of the first. Mixing in more powerful runs from Harbottle and Mailau with passes to Koa Sniffen and Kaihenui, the Surfriders marched the ball 52 yards on their second possession of the half for a 21-0 lead.
After some Kaimuki confusion on the ensuing kickoff, the Surfriders recorded the second of three kickoff recoveries and mounted another scoring drive.
Aided by a 15-yard facemask penalty and a personal foul, Harbottle terminated the drive with a 1-yard dive for his second touchdown of the evening.
Kaimuki managed some excitement in the game's final minutes. With 4:48 left in the game Daniel Tautofi and Taumalolo combined for a tackle in the end zone to put the Bulldogs on the board. Minutes later, Jordon Caires hit Mirafuentes in the end zone for two points to close the scoring.
Kailua advances to the OIA playoffs next week, where it will face Mililani.
"We'll be working on the basics and on execution this week," Johnson said.
Kaimuki finished 1-6-1 in the Red and will play in the White Conference next season.
Hawaii School Web Sites