GAME NIGHT 9/14: Leilehua/Moanalua

Moanalua 23, No. 9 Leilehua 10, final

At Hugh Yoshida Stadium
Moanalua (4-0, 4-0) 3 10 3 7 — 23
Leilehua (4-2, 3-1) 0 10 0 0 — 10
MOA—Griffin Motas FG 27
LEI—Akoni Tom-Makue FG 36
MOA—Trequan Henderson 99 kick return (Luke Palalay kick)
LEI—Jeremy Evans 23 pass from Max Nichols (Tom-Makue kick)
MOA—Motas FG 40
MOA—Motas FG 26
MOA—Makana Spencer 5 run (Palalay kick)
JV—Leilehua 33, Moanalua 6.

RUSHING—Moanalua: Jacob Copeland 6-37, Drayden Von Oelhoffen 1-0, team 2-(-2), Lawsen Lee 7-21, Nick Au 5-0, Ezra Grace 1-(-3), Spencer 5-63, Rudy Kealohi 3-(-4). Leilehua: Nichols 8-(-11), James McGary 8-12, Kekoa Turnagan 1-(-6), Masen Reis 1-(-8).

PASSING—Moanalua: Au 20-29-1-180. Leilehua: Nichols 17-34-1-204, Kalei Aka 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING—Moanalua: Rudy Kealohi 9-104, Copeland 3-23, Von Oelhoffen 3-17, CJ Paleafei 2-4, Javon Monico 1-16, Grace 2-16. Leilehua: Dorian Furtado 6-66, Rayden Rulloda-Kim 3-32, Jayzon Ramos 1-21, McGary 3-37, Jayzon Ramos 1-21, Evans 3-48, Reis 1-0.

Backup QB Rudy Kealohi takes a knee and that’s it. Moanalua is 4-0 in OIA D-I and Leilehua slips to 3-1.

Mules get the ball back at their 23, but Nichols’ pass over the middle to Furtado incomplete. Lot of his passes today a tad bit behind. Just a matter of inches. Moanalua’s three sacks in the first half made a difference. Deep pass by Nichols is picked off by Kekawa with 1:44 left.

Penalties hurting Leilehua big time since the half. Incomplete pass by Moanalua, late hit, personal foul and a first down for the visitors. Moanalua milking these last 5 minutes-plus. Time out, Moanalua with 2:57 left, ball at the Leilehua 27.

Mules struggling. First down run loses 7 yards. Three and out, punt. Moanalua ball at its 40 on a fair catch with 5:43 to go.

Mules stall at their own 46, punt. Moanalua three and out, punt downed at the Leilehua 41. 7:07 left.

Moanalua running the ball, still in no-huddle, but eating clock. Punt is muffed, second muff by Leilehua, and recovered by Na Menehune’s Keanu Kekawa at the Leilehua 39. Moanalua scores four plays later. A 29-yard strike from Au to Kealohi sets up a 5-yard TD run by Makana Spencer. MOANALUA 23, LEILEHUA 10, 10:57, Q4

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Leilehua drives to the Moanalua 16, calls time out on fourth and a long 1. Then a fake FG try, pass incomplete. Woh. I’m surprised they didn’t let Tom-Makue kick and cut this to 3.

The visitors drive and miss a field-goal try, and then drive again after a Leilehua punt and this time Motas is good on a 26-yarder. MOANALUA 16, LEILEHUA 10, 4:44, Q3.

HALFTIME
The most telling stat so far: Moanalua’s front seven has limited Leilehua RB James McGary to minus-1 yard on five carries. He’s getting met as soon as he gets the ball on some attempts. Moanalua has gambled with single coverage on Leilehua’s receivers. The difference has been Griffin Motas, who has two field goals and appears to have range to 55 yards. Au has been sharp (13 for 16, 116 yards), except for the one pick.

At Hugh Yoshida Stadium
Moanalua 3 10 xx xx — 13
Leilehua 0 10 xx xx — 10
MOA—Griffin Motas FG 27
LEI—Akoni Tom-Makue FG 36
MOA—Trequan Henderson 99 kick return (Motas kick)
LEI—Jeremy Evans 23 pass from Max Nichols (Tom-Makue kick)
MOA—Motas 40 FG
JV—Leilehua 33, Moanalua 6.

RUSHING—
Moanalua:
#5 Jacob Copeland 4-35,
#6 Drayden Von Oelhoffen 1-0,
team 1-(-9),
#25 Lawsen Lee 2-1,
#7 Nick Au 1-(-1)

Leilehua:
#5 Nichols 6-(-9),
#14 James McGary 5-(-1),
#16 Kekoa Turnagan 1-(-6)

PASSING—
Moanalua:
#7 Au 13-16-1-116

Leilehua:
#5 Nichols 9-16-0-139

RECEIVING—
Moanalua:
#11 Rudy Kealohi 6-68,
#5 Copeland 3-23,
#6 Von Oelhoffen 1-5,
#14 CJ Paleafei 2-4,
#21 Javon Monico 1-16

Leilehua:
#17 Dorian Furtado 5-56,
#19 Rayden Rulloda-Kim 1-17,
#9 Jayzon Ramos 1-21,
#2 Evans 2-45

The Mules move the ball past midfield, but Moanalua gets a sack by Brad Lilo, then a combined sack by Malaefono Ale and Alualu. I remember Alualu getting the DL MVP honor at the GPA Combine in June. He was a beast then, he’s a beast now. Tom-Makue with another pooch-style, end-under-end punt that bounces forward and is downed at the Moanalua 25. It’s a serious weapon. At some point, Moanalua might position a return man in between the line of scrimmage and the deep return man. Leilehua burns two time outs hoping to get the ball back, but Moanalua wisely takes a knee and runs out the clock. Moanalua leads at intermission 13-10.

Motas is the real deal. He smokes a 40-yard field goal that had at least 15 yards extra on it. WOW. MOANALUA 13, LEILEHUA 10, 2:22, Q2.

Mules can’t get any ground going with McGary, but a facemask call on Moanalua is key. Nichols returns and connects with Jeremy Evans for 22 yards, then tosses him a pass on a post route, a one-handed grab for a 23-yard TD. LEILEHUA 10, MOANALUA 10, 7:22, Q2.

Excellent field position for Moanalua, but Au’s sideline pass is snagged by Kahakai Kahoiwai and returned 13 yards to the Leilehua 49. MAJOR BREAK.

Turning point? Nichols is flushed out and racked up for no gain, but he leaves with an injury and is replaced. Tupu Alualu sacks Kekoa Turnagan. Punt is downed at the Leilehua 36.

On the ensuing kickoff after Leilehua ties the game, Trequan Henderson shows his strength, breaking arm tackles along the right sideline and rolling with a caravan of blockers for an amazing 99-yard kickoff return to paydirt. MOANALUA 10, LEILEHUA 3, 10:42, Q2. WOW.

Mules drive to the Moanalua 19, and Tom-Makue drills a 36-yard field goal from the left hash with plenty to spare. Two really good kickers battling. MOANALUA 3, LEILEHUA 3, 11:01, Q2.

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Na Menehune drives deep, all the way to the Leilehua 4, but QB Nick Au stumbles on the speed option, and still looks like he’s going to score. But he fumbles near the goal line and Leilehua’s Cyler Solomon comes up with the miraculous recovery in the end zone for a touchback. HUGE break for the home team with 1:34 left in the first quarter.

Leilehua QB Max Nichols completes a 25-yard pass to Dorian Furtado, but the Mules’ opening series stalls. P Akoni Tom-Makue with a sky punt that takes a brilliant forward bounce and the ball is downed at the Moanalua 11.

The visiting Na Menehune open the scoring with a 27-yard field goal from the right hashmark by Griffin Motas. MOANALUA 3, LEILEHUA 0, 5:44, Q1.

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7:39 p.m.
Coin toss: Leilehua will receive facing the Ewa end zone.

Leilehua wins the JV game, 33-6.

5:45 left in the third quarter of the JV game. Leilehua leads Moanalua 21-0.

5:02 p.m.
The question is, can a defense take away Na Menehune’s pass-heavy attack? Moanalua has thrown the ball on 131 out of 188 plays from scrimmage, an eye-popping 70/30 pass-run split.

The last time these programs met, Moanalua won 58-22 on Oct. 9, 2015. Prior to that, Leilehua had won 24 games in a row over Na Menehune.

4:21 p.m.
Overcast, moderately cool, light trade winds, low humidity.
JV kicks off 5 pm. Varsity showdown between contenders Moanalua (3-0, 3-0 OIA D-I) and Leilehua (4-1, 3-0).

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For Moanalua’s roster, click here.
For Leilehua’s roster, click here.
SERIES RECORD: Leilehua leads 24-1