Blog
Surfriders' defense buckled down in the second half


Christian Mejia posted quite the individual effort in Kailua's 34-21 win over Campbell Friday night, but the senior defensive end was quick to pass on the credit to his teammates.

Mejia registered four of the Surfriders' five sacks against the Sabers, leading them to their fifth consecutive win to open the season before a crowd of about 800 fans at Alex Kane Stadium.

"We just played physical and just come hard every play all out," said Mejia, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound junior. "We all contributed to it, the whole defense."

Kailua's defense held Campbell to 226 yards of total offense, including just 21 rush yards.

The Sabers averaged just one yard per carry and managed just two first down by rush for the game.

"I can't ask anything more of them," Surfriders' coach Joseph Wong said. "I get on my defensive coordinator (Chris Jose) — he gets hell from me — but he adjusted well and the adjustment came out well in the second half so hats off to them."

All of Campbell's points came within the first 15 minutes of the game, on its first three possessions.

Kailua allowed 146 pass yards and seven first downs by pass in the first half, but clamped after halftime.

The Sabers mustered just 69 yards and six first downs total after the intermission. They converted on 4 of 13 third downs, but were 0 of 7 in the second half.

"We just came back, worked and made plays when we had to make plays," said senior cornerback Kalei Kealoha-Machado, who one of two Kailua interceptions. "It's the whole defense. We just came through, pulled it off and got this win."

Kealoha-Machado blanketed Campbell's 6-foot-3 wide receiver Markus Ramos for most of the game and deflected no less than three passes thrown his way — mostly in single coverage.

"(Kealoha-)Machado's nickname is ‘The Glove,' " Wong said. "He's been nicknamed that for the longest time and it's not because of what he does to people (in games). It's because of what he does at practice to our receivers — they don't catch anything on him — and that makes them work harder and in turn that makes him better. It just works both ways."

Mejia had one sack by halftime, but did most of his damage in the second half. Three plays into the third quarter, he dropped Campbell quarterback Kawika Ulufale for a 6-yard loss on a third-down play, forcing a punt.

Sabers' backup quarterback Siaosi Soto didn't fare any better two drives later, when Mejia got him for another 6-yard sack on another third down. Mejia went on to notch another sack late and fellow defensive end Kawehe Kohatsu also got in on the action with a sack of Ulufale on Campbell's final offensive play of the game.

"Christian, he's exceptional and he has a counterpart on the other side of him, Kohatsu, and those two d-tackles that give him one-on-one match ups every time," Wong said. "You have to pay attention to one of our d-tackles, because they use their hands real well and they're very physical in there, so it's a team effort defensively and I think (Mejia) helps us out and capitalizes on that at the best times."

Kealoha-Machado said the secondary directly benefits from the pressure created by Mejia and the rest of the Surfriders' defensive front.

"He gets the pressure not he quarterbacks and they get frustrated," he said.

Mejia, who also one pass for 16 yards on offense, now has seven sacks on the year.

The Surfriders put the game on ice when defensive back Mark Lagazo picked off Soto late in the fourth quarter and running back Gabriel LeLesch punched in a 3-yard score just one play later.

Defensively, Kailua is allowing an average of just 17.2 points and a stingy 29.6 rushing yards per game.

The eighth-ranked Surfriders (5-0 overall, 4-0 league) are now in sole possession of first place in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I Blue conference and will face off against fellow-unbeaten, No. 6 Farrington (4-0, 3-0) next Saturday at Roosevelt's Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




Show your support

Every contribution, no matter the size, will help ScoringLive continue its mission to provide the best and most comprehensive coverage of high school sports in the state of Hawaii and beyond.

Please consider making a contribution today.

ADVERTISEMENT


MORE STORIES

MIL no ka oi - Baldwin, Maui declared Division I co-champs

Game called in the third inning as rain causes safety issue; both teams go home champions in first ever...

Kamehameha-Hawaii topples Damien to claim first state title since 2016

The Warriors blasted eight hits for a nine-run first inning to run-rule the Monarchs to win their first...

Maui shuts out Saint Louis to reach Division I finale for first time since 2017

Nicholas Nashiwa's two-out, RBI single to left, the Sabers' only one of the game, proved to be the difference...

Bears squeeze by Warriors to set up all-MIL final with Maui

Kaden Anderson pitched five innings and made an incredible running catch to deep right-center field to...

No. 1 Mililani claims fourth D1 state crown, first since 2014, with rout of No. 2 Kamehameha

Sunni Kahanu belted a pair of home runs and drove in five runs and Hinano Bautista fired a four-hitter...

No. 10 Kapaa dominates PAC-5 to end perfect season with D2 state title

The Warriors hammered out 12 hits in their 12-run rout of the Wolfpack to win their first Division II...