Waipahu quarterback Braden Amorozo hands the ball off to freshman running back Alfred Faliauga. CJ Caraang | SL

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A Nanakuli drive in the fourth quarter was stopped short after back-to-back sacks from the Waipahu defense. CJ Caraang | SL

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CJ Caraang | SL

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Fri, Aug 5, 2016 @ Nanakuli [ 7:30 pm ]

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Waipahu

20

Nanakuli

12

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Waipahu (8-3-0)	0	6	8	0	20
Nanakuli (0-8-0)	0	6	0	0	12

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Nainoa Banks 107 yd 2 TD

Braden Amorozo 316 yd 1 TD

Charleston Mahoe 100 yd

Alfred Failauga 42 yd 1 TD

Charleston Mahoe 64 yd

Alfred Failauga 95 yd

NANAKULI — In a battle of OIA Division flip-floppers, Waipahu (1-0) took down Nanakuli (0-1), 20-12 in a non-league matchup in the valley on Friday night.

After finishing 1-7 in 2015, the Marauders moved down to the OIA's Division II, swapping spots with the Golden Hawks moving up to Division I in the OIA Red after a 7-3 finish last fall.

"These kids have been in this program for four years and it's been tough. Wins didn't come very often," Waipahu head coach Bryson Carvalho said. "This is really good for us. I told the kids the Division II is a very respectable division, so I want to make sure that we stay focused and take it one team at a time."

Waipahu quarterback Braden Amorozo completed 22 of his 33 passes for 316 yards and a touchdown in his first varsity game. Ninety five of those yards were contributed by freshman running back Alfred Faliauga, who also had nine carries for 42 yards on the ground with one touchdown.

Nanakuli was a little more balanced on offense, picking up over 100 yards through the air and on the ground. Senior quarterback/utility man Nainoa Banks benefited from big fullback Charleston Mahoe (18 carries for 100 yards) and was able to pass for 107 yards and two scores to Joey Vea-Quitog.

Although both teams each put up over 300 yards of offense, it was the defenses continually coming up with the key plays. On the first two drives of the game, both team's offenses were stalled in the red zone by the opposing defenses.

The Mauraders defense came up with the biggest stop of the game in the fourth quarter, with the Golden Hawks driving down the field into Waipahu territory. With the clock winding down and Nanakuli on the Waipahu 32-yard line, the Mauraders defense broke through for back-to-back sacks. The Golden Hawks were unable to convert on fourth down, and turned the ball over for Waipahu to take a knee to run the clock out.

"Defense was playing light outs. I'm super proud of our defensive coordinator. He stepped up last minute and took on the job. I just can't say enough about Siva Savini," Carvalho said.

A Nanakuli drive in the fourth quarter was stopped short after back-to-back sacks from the Waipahu defense. CJ Caraang | SL    Purchase image

The first score of the game came at 8:32 in the second quarter, when Nankuli quarterback Banks hit Vea-Quitog for a 27-yard pass. Banks also served as the Golden Hawks' kicker and punter, but was unsuccessful with the PAT attempt.

With the first half winding down to the end, the Mauraders were able to punch it in the end zone with a 4-yard dive from Faliauga, but an unsuccessful PAT attempt left the score at 6-6.

"Even just during scrimmages, we just had a hard time punching it in. We moved the ball pretty well in scrimmages. Even today we moved the ball okay, but just had a hard time punching it in," Carvalho said. "Once we finally got it in, the monkey was just off our back and the kids played a little bit more relaxed."

In the third quarter, the Mauraders moved ahead with a 3-yard touchdown run from Amorozo, and a successful Faliauga 2-point conversion put them up 14-6.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Nanakuli's Banks hooked up again with Vea-Quitog for a 14-yard touchdown pass. A failed 2-point conversion pass attempt was unsuccessful, keeping the score at 14-12.

Banks finished 7-for-11 for 107 yards with two touchdowns and 10 carries for 46 yards on the ground. Vea-Quitog finished with nine carries for 33 yards, three catches for 34 yards with two touchdowns, and one completed pass for 19 yards.

The final score of the game came courtesy of an 11-yard touchdown pass from Waipahu's Amorozo to Alika Ahsing with 3:45 left in the game, putting the Mauraders up 20-12. Asing finished with seven catches for 80 yards and one touchdown.

Waipahu will next enter the OIA Division II regular season with a game against Kalaheo (0-1) next Saturday, Aug. 13 at Aiea High School.

Nanakuli will open the OIA Red regular season next Friday, Aug. 12 against Aiea (0-0).