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Kaiser ‘D’ spurs win
against Waipahu

Kaiser cashed in on an early break and then went on a second-half scoring spree for a 24-8 victory over Waipahu last night in the Oahu Interscholastic Association White Conference football opener for both teams.

The Marauders fumbled on their first possession and it led to the early Cougars touchdown that -- until a late Waipahu score -- looked like it would turn out to be all the visitors from Hawaii Kai would need at Waipahu's home field.

The defensive first half, marred by several turnovers from both teams, ended with Kaiser clinging to a 7-0 advantage.

"We knew they had some academically ineligible players," said Kaiser first-year coach Pat Samsonas. "We have a few ourselves, but we wanted to take advantage of that, the fact they had a lot of two-way players. We wanted to really attack that."

The Cougars (2-0, 1-0) took their lead with 7:12 left in the first quarter after Vance Johnson recovered a Marauders fumble at the Waipahu 15. Four plays later, Isaac Saffery charged up the middle for a 1-yard touchdown and Kyle Niiro added the extra point.

Another Waipahu miscue turned out to be huge for the Cougars early in the second half. Kaiser defensive back Paa Kamauoha stepped in front of a Gilchrist Fernandez pass and scooted 48 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

Overall, Waipahu (0-2, 0-1) turned the ball over seven times to Kaiser's two.

"You can have a winning mentality or you can have a losing mentality," Waipahu coach Sean Saturnio told his players after the game. "Some of you guys are starting to have that losing mentality. Do you want to be winners or losers?

"Some of your chinks in the armor are starting to show and that's not how you've been raised as football players. We started last year 1-2 (and went to the White Conference championship game and lost to eventual state champion Campbell), so anything is possible."

Kaiser's 10 fourth-quarter points were courtesy of two Waipahu fumbles. Keoki Leong's recovery at the Waipahu 24 led to Niiro's 32-yard field goal with 9:41 left. Sean Harken's recovery at the Marauders 13 set up Saffery's second touchdown, an 8-yard sweep around left end with 7:58 remaining.

Saffery was the Cougars' workhorse, rushing 18 times for 50 yards. Defensively, Kaiser's Evan Garcia had two fumble recoveries.

Samsonas was thrilled with all of the turnovers by his defensive unit, but knows things are bound to get a lot tougher.

"We heard (on the public address system) that Moanaluna beat Campbell, so that's an indication of how good the White Conference is going to be," Samsonas said. "Every team is good, so we have a tough year ahead."

Jesse Doctolero scored Waipahu's lone touchdown with 1:51 left on a 1-yard run, set up by Josh Abiva's 40-yard gain on a pass from Fernandez. Josh Brown caught Fernandez's 2-point conversion pass.

Radford 50, Kalani 0

The Rams put up 382 yards of offense in a season-opening win over the Falcons. Alex Daniels scored three touchdowns for the Rams, including an 87-yard scoring run in the first quarter. The Rams started the rout with a 73-yard punt return by Trevor Maldon.

Quarterback Ryan Burciaga threw for 129 yards and two touchdowns in the win.