Waianae got beat by No. 1 Kahuku 33-7 in the OIA Open football semifinals Saturday night, but despite that 26-point loss, there were a lot of noteworthy sparks in the Seariders’ effort and overall demeanor. They didn’t just give in. Come to think of it, when has Waianae done something like that, anyway?
There was something working for the Seariders — aside from their customary toughness — on Saturday that can’t be seen on the scoreboard.
Alvin Quisquirin-Sabagala (right) rushed for 85 yards against Kahuku on Saturday. Linebacker Keola Medeiros-Nuufolau is at left and linebacker Kelly Feleti Jr. is in the middle.
But sticking with the scoreboard theme just for a second, Waianae made up ground (17 points) compared to the last time the two teams played — a 50-7 Seariders loss to the Red Raiders in early November.
When Alvin Quisquirin-Sabagala ran right up the gut on Kahuku several times for large chunks of yardage early Saturday, Kahuku knew it was in for a fight.
Of course, the Red Raiders (6-1), although not as sharp as usual, slowly and surely ended up making Waianae pay with five long-play touchdowns/
Still, at the midway point of the second quarter, it was still a 6-0 game, thanks to Brock Fonoimoana’s 75-yard kickoff return TD for Kahuku. That score would soon be 14-0 when Waianae blitzed hard near the Kahuku end zone and thought they had QB Jason Mariteragi in a bind, but receiver Kainoa Carvalho sauntered to the middle, caught a screen pass and took off for an 84-yard score.
Those long TD plays just absolutely killed Waianae’s chances. The Seariders corralled Kahuku players for much of the night, but once the Red Raiders got into open space, they scored. The Red Raiders” other “home run” TD plays were of 77, 43 and 30 yards.
“I felt we could have done better, but we did pretty good,” Seariders linebacker Kayzhen Aiwohi said. “I just feel like we’ve got to work harder in practice and keep our heads down and be humble and we’ll be all right.”
A Waianae assistant coach spoke with Seariders players at halftime during Saturday’s loss.
The Seariders (3-4) scored their only TD in the second quarter — Akoni Halemalo’s s 7-yard pas to Jamal Plunkett. The westside boys nearly had another one, but Tarent Moniz-Babb’s pass to a receiver in the front of the end zone on a fourth-down play was batted down by Red Raiders linebacker Leonard Ah You, a highly sought-after Division I FBS recruit.
Quisquirin-Sabagala, who suffered a seriously bruised ankle in the game, wound up rushing for 85 yards against a Red Raiders defense that is not in the habit of yielding that much yardage to a single player.
Another big highlight for Waianae was three interceptions — one each by Primo Valu, Shayd Borabora and Zavier Vincent.
But the most enlightening thing for the Seariders on the night was that in the face of eventual defeat they played like they believed in themselves and that they believed they could win.
“Our game plan was just we were going to come right at their mouth, run the ball,” Quisquirin-Sabagala said. “It worked in the first quarter and then they kinda switched up their front. Nah, we had ’em, honestly. Then I hit my ankle and I was done (meaning not as effective). We were competing. We were out there to win. On Monday, we’re going to go right back, come back to what we’ve been doing (in practice).”
That kind of attitude can do wonders for football teams, especially for football teams who have been prideful of their blue-collar toughness for decades. And Waianae can put that attitude to good use in Saturday’s third-place game against No. 5 Campbell (4-3). A state berth is on the line. If the Seariders can get into states, it’s possible they can be a dangerous opponent with spoiler ability.
