[ HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ]
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Pac-Five's Travis Tyler (4) of the East pulled in a catch in front of Kapolei's Bronson Pieper of the West last night at Aloha Stadium.
West is best in
all-star upset winDespite players from powerhouse
schools, the East suffers its second
loss ever to the West
Two Nanakuli Golden Hawks made big plays to lead the West All-Stars to a 30-15 upset over the heavily favored East in the 13th annual Hawaii Union Builders Goodwill football game last night in front of 2,492 fans at rain-soaked Aloha Stadium.
Jimmy Afamasaga caught two touchdown passes and Albert Distajo made a clutch interception as the West pulled out to a hefty 24-7 halftime lead.
Robust defense -- which included another pickoff by Kapolei's Brandon Pieper, a fumble recovery by Aiea's Lawrence Leovao and a blocked field goal by Damien's Fehi Sevelo -- paved the way for the West's early outbursts and kept the East's offense out of the end zone.
"How the West was won -- defense," said West coach Darren Hernandez of Kapolei. "Our defense came to play and I'm very happy they did."
The East squad included players from state Division I champion Kahuku and runner-up Saint Louis, the state's premier programs, but the West boys owned them and the other East players last night. The West roster included players from state Division II champion Aiea and runner-up Damien.
It was only the second victory in the series for the West, which trails 9-2-2. The West's only other victory came in 2000, when it won 22-18.
"Turnovers hurt us early," said East coach Wendell Look of Iolani. "After that, I thought it was an exciting and competitive game. The (series) record is not indicative of how competitive these games have been in the past."
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Mililani's Carlo Raneses of the West was sandwiched by East defenders last night at Aloha Stadium.
The West struck early with a trick play as Aiea's Ben Ah Mook Sang took an option pitch from Jensen Cabanero of Pearl City and fired a 40-yard bomb to Afamasaga to the East 1. Waianae's Chris Lave made it 6-0 on the next play with an up-the-middle run.
A dump pass from Punahou's John Morris to Kapolei's John Dela Rama went for 43 yards and set up the West's next score -- Afamasaga's jumping catch of a Morris fade pass for 7 yards -- to make it 12-0.
Kahuku's Paea Vaimoui struck first for the East with a 4-yard left sweep to cut the gap to 12-7. Saint Louis quarterback Kealii Perbera's 35-yard connection with Pac-Five's Travis Tyler made the score possible.
Sevelo's block of Saint Louis kicker C.J. Santiago's 30-yard field-goal attempt and Distajo's interception set up the West's next two scores -- TD receptions by Afamasaga and Kapolei's Brandon Pieper -- for the commanding 24-7 bulge.
"He (Afamasaga) comes from a team that runs the ball a lot," Hernandez said. "He's been flying under the radar all season, but that guy can play. He's got the wheels and he can jump. We were the underdogs all the time in this game. I like to think that Kapolei contributed. This is the first time we have seniors, so it's the first time our kids are playing in this game."
Kamehameha's Gabriel Spencer spearheaded the West's defense in the second half with the team's third interception.
The West went up 30-7 on Morris' second TD pass of the night, a 17-yard swing pass to teammate Christopher Duncan.
Led by the passing and running of McKinley quarterback Abel Werner, the East drove to its final score -- a 1-yard run by Iolani's Raynold Stowers -- in the final quarter.
Afamasaga finished with four catches from four different passers for 97 yards.
"It felt great to actually catch TD passes," Afamasaga said. "And I'm happy we won because this is the last time I'm playing football and representing Nanakuli and the West side. On defense, our guys just bull-rushed and made them throw the ball right into Albert's hands, and you know Albert can catch the ball.
"Coach kept telling us that the West has only won this game once."
Perbera, who threw three interceptions, found the West pass rush troubling.
"It (the rush) was pretty good," he said. "They were really aggressive and we did the best we could."
Sevelo, a free safety for Damien who plays like a linebacker, credited the team's hard-hitting mentality.
"We were just straight-up coverage," Sevelo said. "We wanted to make sure to stick 'em, stick 'em hard and swarm to the ball."
West 30, East 15
At Aloha Stadium
WEST -- Chris Lave 1 run (kick failed)
East 0 7 0 8 -- 15 West 12 12 0 6 -- 30
WEST -- Jimmy Afamasaga 7 pass from John Morris (run failed)
EAST -- Paea Vaimoui 4 run (C.J. Santiago kick)
WEST -- Brandon Pieper 11 pass from Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada (run failed)
WEST -- Afamasaga 25 pass from Jensen Cabanero (pass failed)
WEST -- Christopher Duncan 17 pass from Morris (pass failed)
EAST -- Raynold Stowers 1 run (Sione Fuifua pass from Abel Werner)RUSHING -- East: Werner 7-30, Raynold Stowers 7-24, Paea Vaimoui 4-5, Kealii Perbera 1-(-11) . West: Kaheaku-Enhada 9-39, Peter Raneses 2-21, Carlo Raneses 3-12, Chris Lave 8-12, Afamasaga 1-5, John Dela Rama 2-2, Cabanero 4-(-9), Raymond Tauala 4-(-9).
PASSING -- East: Werner 6-12-0-119, Perbera 7-21-3-74. West: Morris 5-10-0-97, Kaheaku-Enhada 4-6-0-70, Cabanero 5-5-0-51, Ben Ah Mook Sang 1-1-0-40, Afamasaga 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING -- East: Travis Tyler 3-54, Jarred Suzui 2-46, Dylan Linkner 2-45, Stowers 2-35, Ikaika Ho 2-18, Kainoa Tauotaha 1-4, Vaimoui 1-(-9). West: Afamasaga 4-97, Duncan 2-43, Dela Rama 1-43, Darren Smith 2-18 Aren Bisho 1-17, Ah Mook Sang 1-16, Pieper 2-14, Brandon Green 1-6, Nathan Nasca 1-4.
