[ HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ]
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
McKinley quarterback Abel Werner was pulled down by a Kailua defender last night. The Surfriders beat the Tigers.
Torres leads Kailua
past McKinley
On a misty evening in Halawa, the Kailua Surfriders dampened the McKinley Tigers' postseason hopes with a 26-21 victory in last night's Oahu Interscholastic Association Red East Conference game at Aloha Stadium.
Damien Torres, a former linebacker playing in place of injured Kekoa Su'a, rushed for 184 yards and two touchdowns to pace Kailua, which improved to 5-1 and 4-1 in the conference.
"We expected it from him, he just gets better, he just gets stronger," Kailua coach Darren Johnson said of Torres. "He's a tough young man, a tough runner.
"It was a real good job by the offensive line and the defense came up big when they had to."
McKinley dropped to 3-3 overall and 2-3 in league play, meaning the Tigers will probably need some help to earn one of the conference's four berths in the OIA playoffs.
"We're going to need big-time help to get back in," McKinley coach William Moeava said. "We've got great leadership on this team and these guys aren't going to quit. ... We're going to finish strong; hopefully we get some breaks here and there and we can make it in the playoffs."
"McKinley is a playoff team," Johnson said. "It's sad somebody from the East is not going to make the playoffs because there's five darn good teams."
Johnson lamented the Surfriders' penchant for penalties as they were flagged 18 times for 142 yards. But they were able to overcome the mistakes and a feisty McKinley squad led by quarterback Abel Werner to keep pace in the conference.
Werner threw for two scores and rushed for another to keep the Tigers within striking distance.
"You know he's going to make plays, we just had to try to outscore these guys," Johnson said. "Our kicker had two field goals and that was the difference in the game."
Kailua opened the scoring with a 17-play drive covering 75 yards and chewing 9:16 off the clock.
The Surfriders moved the ball to within inches of the goal line, but were pushed back to the 17 by penalties. On third and goal, quarterback Kelroy Kohatsu found Mike Kealoha in the left corner of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown pass.
McKinley responded with a lengthy drive of its own, going 88 yards in 13 plays and scoring on a 13-yard quarterback draw by Werner with 3:40 left in the half.
Kailua reclaimed the lead on a 40-yard field goal by Mike Sakaba on the final play of the half.
The Surfriders opened the second half with an interception by Derek Mailau on the first play from scrimmage. Three plays later Torres took a handoff around the right side and sprinted 38 yards for a score.
McKinley cut the Kailua lead to 16-14 with 6:03 left in the third quarter by converting on fourth-and-7 with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Werner to Iakopo Taumua.
But Kailua pulled away again with a 10-yard touchdown run by Torres and a 36-yard field goal by Sakaba.
McKinley pulled to within five points on a 1-yard TD pass from Werner to Michael Vasconcellos with 1:19 left. But Kailua recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.
At Aloha Stadium
Kail -- Mike Kealoha 17 pass from Kelroy Kohatsu (Mike Sakaba kick)
Kailua (5-1, 4-1) 0 10 13 3 -- 26 McKinley (3-3, 2-3) 0 7 7 7 -- 21
McK -- Abel Werner 13 run (Andrew Mitani kick)
Kail -- FG Sakaba 40
Kail -- Damien Torres 38 run (kick failed)
McK -- Iakopo Taumua 16 pass from Werner (MItani kick)
Kail -- Torres 10 run (Sakaba kick)
Kail -- FG Sakaba 36
McK -- Michael Vasconcellos 1 pass from Werner (Mitani kick)
RUSHING -- Kailua: Torres 29-184, Kealoha 3-6, Kohatsu 2-1, Sione Tuifua 1-6, Bronson Kamaka 1-1 . McKinley: Quinton Sayers 5-49, Werner 17-74, Vasconcellos 9-47.
PASSING -- Kailua: Kohatsu 13-23-1-118. McKinley: Werner 11-26-1-114.
RECEIVING -- Kailua: Kealoha 4-28, Dylan Linkner 6-53, Albert Kaleo 1-3, Jeremy Wicker 2-34. McKinley: Iakopo Taumua 4-55, Vasconcellos 2-8, Chris Quiocho 2-19, Sayers 3-32.
Junior varsity -- Kailua 35, McKinley 0.
