The Aiea football field was a sloppy mess late Friday afternoon, when Waialua and Pac-Five kicked off for their season-ending football game.
The rain fluctuated between super hard and light and steady, and the field presented the players with conditions they don’t see often. Huge puddles and some mud.
Considering the heaviness of the downpour, the field itself held up really well, even throughout the second game pitting ‘Iolani and Aiea, and it provided many spills and thrills.
“That was crazy, all the rain coming down,” said Pac-Five’s Leif Fautanu Jr., who had a 5-yard touchdown reception from Rocket Uechi among many other highlights in the Wolfpack’s 14-6 victory. “It was really fun. Right after every tackle, you get a nice slip and slide. It was hella crazy in the beginning when (the rain was the heaviest and) we couldn’t pass.
Fautanu is 6 feet 3 and 300 pounds. The senior had one sack from his defensive line post and he made several other jarring hits. In addition, twice his 50-yard-plus punts pinned the Bulldogs inside the 5.
“We’re happy,” he added. “This win is good for the team. We’ve been through a rough season, losing a lot of guys to injury.”
The Wolfpack finished 3-5 (also 3-5 in ILH D-II) and did not qualify for the postseason. The three wins tied for the most in a season for Pac-Five since 2011.
Waialua (0-9, 0-7 OIA D-II) did not win a game, but that didn’t stop junior quarterback Kyler Dicion and senior defensive back Jakob Lagua from doing belly flops into a huge mud puddle on the Aiea track afterward.
Dicion did it a second time upon request, with a video camera rolling. You can watch that here: .
“Watch out, (next year) we’re coming for you guys,” he said, referring to 2019’s football opponents.
The Bulldogs’ Josiah Ocamb had three fumble recoveries against Pac-Five, and teammate Titus Fuiava made his presence felt with a handful of booming tackles.
“It was like being a kid again, getting all dirty and playing in the rain like that,” Ocamb said. “(The rain) helped me, gave me more time to get to the ball.”
Led by QB Justyce Lacar, Waialua drove to the Pac-Five 13, 11 and 9, but could not put points on the board on those drives.
Waialua outgained Pac-Five in yards from scrimmage. The Bulldogs threw for 124 and rushed for 17 for a total of 141. The Wolfpack passed for 44 and rushed for 76 for 120 total.
Aiea deserves to have Field Turf.
That’s a nice stadium and other schools always use it.