'Aiea goes long, beats Roosevelt for OIA White title
By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
Quarterback Lole Laolagi passed for three touchdowns and 321 yards to lead seventh-ranked 'Aiea over Roosevelt, 37-14, to capture the O'ahu Interscholastic Association White Conference football crown last night at Aloha Stadium.
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"It feels great," 'Aiea coach Wendell Say said. "The kids worked real hard. Take nothing away from Roosevelt, Waipahu. They're outstanding teams. So I'm so happy (for our players) because they've done something no other 'Aiea team has done, which is go undefeated."
'Aiea quarterback Lole Laolagi eluded Roosevelt's Liana Wong near the goal line and looked upfield for some running room during the first quarter of last night's OIA game at Aloha Stadium.
The White top-seeded Na Ali'i (8-0 OIA, 9-0 overall) will play the Red's fourth-place team, either Wai'anae or Kailua at 7:35 p.m. Thursday at Aloha in one semifinal.
The Rough Riders (6-2, 6-3) will play top-seeded and defending OIA and state champion Kahuku at 5:05 p.m. Thursday at Aloha in the other semifinal.
Even though the Rough Riders knew before the game that they would be the White's third seed regardless of the outcome, they still made it a game, pulling to within 16 after falling behind 30-0 early in the second quarter.
"We're going to come and play the game no matter who it is or what situation," Roosevelt coach Lester Parrilla said. "So we were just going to come out and do our best. That's what we try to teach our kids and that's what we want in life from them. The lesson is basically, no matter what adversity you're facing, you have to keep pushing on."
It was Laolagi who made things happen for Na Ali'i and the Rough Riders. While Laolagi lit up the Rough Riders with TD passes of 15 and 95 yards to Reuben Medeiros and 83 yards to Nate Olaivar, he also kept Roosevelt's hopes alive with five interceptions. He entered the game with five in the first seven games.
"I was frustrated," Laolagi said. "Then I got down on myself and it brought the rest of the team down."
But Say said that since the playoffs start next week, he needed Laolagi to regain his confidence, so let him keep firing away.
"We felt we needed to get him back on the horse," Say said. "We just couldn't take him out and have a playoff game next week."
Roosevelt closed its deficit after two Laolagi interceptions in the first half. Janson Keomaka scored on a 3-yard run and Chris Mohls passed 13 yards to Jerry Perreira for another TD to make it 30-14 at the half.
But Roosevelt pretty much had its fate sealed when defensive back Daniel Sauanoa returned a fumble 21 yards with 5:15 left in the third quarter to make it 37-14.
Laolagi, who surpassed the OIA single-season record for touchdown passes last week, increased his record total to 31 with three more last night.
He fell 45 yards shy of tying the single-season passing yardage record of 2,217 yards set last year by Kaiser's B.J. Benard.
