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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, November 23, 2002

Waimea holds off mistake-prone Kailua, 24-21

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

LIHU'E — Call it another Garden Island miracle.

For the third time in four years, the Waimea High School football team knocked an O'ahu Interscholastic Association runner-up out of the Chevron State Tournament before a screaming crowd of about 5,000 at Vidinha Stadium.

The Menehune held off Kailua last night, 24-21, to advance to next week's semifinals at Aloha Stadium against St. Louis. Waimea (8-1) won with the help of Kailua's six interceptions and one fumble.

The Surfriders (9-3) were down 24-7 through three quarters but rallied with two fourth-quarter touchdowns, and had a second-and-goal situation at the 9 with 32 seconds remaining when Tyson Fernandez intercepted a pass at the 2 to preserve the victory.

The Menehune beat Kailua, 20-18, in the 1999 quarterfinals and Castle, 41-20, in last year's first round.

"Sometimes size doesn't matter," said Fernandez, who is 5 feet 7 and 150 pounds. "You just gotta go all out."

Waimea, with a 5-foot-3, 144-pound defensive end (Austin Arthur) and only two players over 230 pounds, found a way to win by making big plays when it had to.

Fernandez made another interception in the third quarter, and on offense made catches of 54 and 26 yards, setting up two touchdowns. Dane Koga also made two interceptions, and Jordon Dizon landed two punts inside the Surfriders' 10-yard line.

"We scouted them and took away some of their big plays," Menehune coach Jon Kobayashi said. "Give credit to the assistant coaches — they put the players where they needed to be and they made the plays."

Four first-half turnovers by Kailua helped Waimea take a 24-7 lead at halftime.

Kailua struck first on a 16-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ranson Kepa to wide receiver Brad Ching with 4:18 remaining in the opening quarter. Albert Kaleo's extra point made it 7-0.

Waimea answered with Cory Rita's 37-yard field goal with 1:10 left in the quarter, then the Menehune's Gary Mata recovered a fumbled snap from center on the Waimea 45-yard line.

On the next play, quarterback Hon Palacio completed a 54-yard pass to receiver Fernandez, who was tackled at the Surfriders' 1.

Fullback Dizon broke into the end zone on the next play, and Rita's point-after gave Waimea a 10-7 lead with 10:30 remaining in the half.

On the third play of Kailua's next possession, Menehune defensive back Koga intercepted a Kepa pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown. Rita's extra point made it 17-7 with 9:39 left.

Koga made another interception later in the half, giving Waimea possession at the Surfriders' 39 with just under a minute remaining.

After a 10-yard gain by Dizon, Palacio and Fernandez connected again on a 26-yard pass to the Kailua 3. Two plays later, Dizon scored again from 1-yard out, and Rita's conversion gave the Menehune a 24-7 lead with 12 seconds left.

The Surfriders were intercepted again on the first play of the second half, this time by linebacker Andres Emayo. On its next series, Kailua lost the ball on downs. And on their third possession of the quarter, Fernandez intercepted a pass on the Menehune 9.

"Our quarterback was missing some reads and that hurt us," Surfriders coach Darren Johnson said. "But when they made some big plays, some of our guys stopped playing, and you can't do that. You gotta play all 48 minutes."

Kepa rebounded with touchdown passes to Dylan Linkner and Keali'i Kalahiki in the fourth quarter and drove Kailua to the Waimea 9 in the final minute, but his pass to the end zone was short and picked off by Fernandez.

KAILUA 7 0 0 14—21
WAIMEA 3 21 0 0—24

Kail—Bradley Ching 16 pass from Ransen Kepa (Albert Kaleo kick)

Waim—FG Cory Rita 37

Waim—Jordon Dizon 1 run (Rita kick)

Waim—Dane Koga 25 Interception return (Rita kick)

Waim—Dizon 1 run (Rita kick)

Kail—Dylan Linkner 10 pass from Kepa (Kaleo kick)

Kail—Kelalii Kalahiki 14 pass from Kepa (Kaleo kick)

RUSHING—Kailua: Nathan Leaver 14-50, Kepa 11-20, Eric Sua 7-18, Kalahiki 3-minus 4. Waimea: Dizon 23-64, Pomaikai Chang-Woo 5-29, Hon Palacio 4-9, Koga 1-minus 4.

PASSING—Kailua: Kepa 18-27-6—241. Waimea: Palacio 4-11—107.

RECEIVING—Kailua: Kalahiki 5-80, Ching 5-66, David Daihenui 4-46, Bronson Kamaka 2-28, Linkner 2-21. Waimea: Tyson Fernandez 2-77, Dizon 1-10, Austin Alquiza 1-20.