Artuyo spoils Kaimuki’s
party
The Roosevelt QB throws for
226 yards against the Bulldogs
All it took was one big play to get Roosevelt quarterback Rudy Artuyo going.
Artuyo threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to La'akea Moikeha, as the Rough Riders (2-1, 2-3) rallied from a 7-0 halftime deficit to defeat the Kaimuki Bulldogs (0-4, 0-6) 21-7 last night at Kaiser stadium.
"We had a hard time putting it in the end zone early," Roosevelt head coach Lester Parrilla said. "(Kaimuki) is aggressive, tough, and very physical and we just didn't execute."
Both teams struggled on offense early as they combined to turn the ball over on the first three possessions of the game, with the Bulldogs' second turnover of the game giving the Rough Riders first and goal at the Bulldogs' 5-yard line. But Roosevelt could not punch the ball in, as the Bulldogs' interior defense stopped consecutive runs up the middle at the goal line to force the Rough Riders to turn the ball over on downs.
"These kids seemed a little tense coming in, and I don't know if it had anything to do with it being Kaimuki's homecoming," Parrilla said.
Searching for its first victory of the season, Kaimuki turned to its defense to set up the first score of the game.
Albien Montero picked off an Artuyo pass midway through the second quarter, and the Bulldogs finally got the break they needed on offense when Kaeo Neal took the handoff up the middle, bounced to the right, then cut back to the middle and down the right side, outrunning the defense for a 67-yard touchdown run to give the Bulldogs a 7-0 lead heading into halftime.
After an extended halftime due to the Kaimuki homecoming ceremonies, it was the Rough Riders who came out fired up in the second half.
After a punt gave the ball to the Rough Riders at the Kaimuki 42-yard line, Artuyo completed three consecutive passes, with the last coming on a 19-yard fade route to Moikeha for the score that cut the lead to one as the extra point was blocked.
The score remained 7-6 entering the fourth quarter when Artuyo engineered a nine-play 68-yard drive capped by a 24-yard touchdown throw from Artuyo to David Rivers, who is the brother of UH wide receiver Jason Rivers, to give the Rough Riders their first lead of the game. Artuyo then found Micah Dutro on the 2-point conversion to push the lead to 14-7.
"It seemed once (Artuyo) got comfortable with the wind here, which is terrible, he was able to create some nice plays for us," Parrilla said.
Artuyo finished off his three-touchdown performance by once again hitting Moikeha with a 25-yard touchdown pass as the Rough Riders held Kaimuki to 137 total yards and did not allow one completed pass the entire game.
OIA WHITE
Kaiser 28, Moanalua 7: Matt Ching caught two passes to lead the Cougars past the Menehunes.In the first quarter, Ching caught an 11-yard pass from Shannon Wise and a 46-yard pass from Steven Pratt to give Kaiser a 14-0 lead.
Wise threw for 146 yards while Pratt threw for 103.
BIIF
Honokaa 35, Ka'u 0: Dillion Domingo scored one touchdown and kicked all five extra-points as the Dragons won their first game of the year over the Trojans.Domingo scored on a 25-yard run in the second quarter while teammate Nalu Luta had a 42-yard run in the fourth.
