Kaiser cruises
past Moanalua
Steven Pratt completed his first seven passes and added a pair of 1-yard rushing touchdowns as Kaiser cruised to a 15-point lead at intermission en route to a 31-3 victory over visiting Moanalua in the Oahu Interscholastic Association White conference opener for both teams last night.
Pratt, who was pressured throughout the Cougars' preseason game with Saint Louis a week earlier, had great protection from his offensive line (Sheldon Herring, Chanucey St. Laurent, Ikaika Rivera, Henry Wassman, Sonny Khamis) last night and didn't throw his first incomplete pass until 43 seconds remained in the first half. His only other miss before the break was a dropped ball on the final play of the half and he was 15-for-22 for 197 yards and a touchdown through three quarters.
Running back Ryan Paulo helped provide balance to the Kaiser attack by rushing for 43 yards (on nine attempts) and catching four passes for 42 yards through 36 minutes of action.
Pratt's first touchdown capped a seven-play, 59-yard drive that took only 3:03 off of the clock. Although Steele Legros' point-after kick was wide right, the Cougars had a lead they would not relinquish.
Moanalua began the game in impressive fashion, moving 53 yards in 15 plays before Josh Cruz came on to open the scoring with a 30-yard field goal. The Menehunes managed to consume all but 3:17 of the first quarter on the drive as quarterback Steve Arakaki mixed up his plays well, accounting for eight carries himself on the march while completing all five of his passing attempts.
Kaiser (1-0) was swift to make adjustments to the Menehunes' veer offense, however, and limited Moanalua to 7 rushing yards for the rest of the half. Moanalua (0-1) also turned the ball over three times -- twice on a fumble, once on an interception -- for the night.
Only moments after Pratt's first score, Chris Assily helped increase Kaiser's advantage to 12-3 when he retrieved a Moanalua punt at his own 24, veered to his right and broke into the clear for a score that covered 74 yards. Legros' attempt for the point after was again wide right.
Pratt led Kaiser on yet another scoring drive late in the second quarter following an interception by Jarryd Maeda of a deflected pass that had given the Cougars the ball at the Moanalua 42.
The Cougars used nine plays -- including a 10-yard collaboration between Pratt and Matt Ching -- to up their advantage to 18-3 with 23 seconds remaining in the half.
Pratt added a 34-yard touchdown pass to Blain Ling with 6:25 to play in the third quarter to increase Kaiser's lead to 24-3. Koolau Windward followed with the point-after kick, the first Kaiser would convert for the night. Pratt and Ling also hooked up for a 26-yard pass play on Kaiser's next series, which set up a 5-yard score by Paulo on the next play to close the scoring.
