Waipahu running back Alfred Failauga total 140 rushing yards and two scores in the Marauders' win over Roosevelt. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Mon, Sep 5, 2016 @ Aloha Stadium [ 4:00 pm ]

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Waipahu

43

Roosevelt

14

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Waipahu (8-3-0)	14	21	0	8	43
Roosevelt (2-6-0)	0	7	0	7	14

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Shastyn Kekahuna 140 yd

Braden Amorozo 187 yd 2 TD

Charvis Paia 110 yd

Alfred Failauga 140 yd 2 TD

Kekoa Lima 37 yd

Isaac Yamashita 136 yd 2 TD

HALAWA — Waipahu jumped out to an early lead and rode its defense late to get by Roosevelt, 43-14 in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II contest Monday night.

Freshman running back Alfred Failauga rushed for a career-high 140 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries to help the Marauders defeat the Rough Riders at Hawaiian Tel Federal Credit Union Field at Aloha Stadium in their first game in 23 days. 

Failauga was also a threat in the passing game with three receptions for 42 yards. He bookend the Marauders' scoring with a 1-yard TD run on the first drive of the game and a 34-yard scamper with 3:42 remaining in regulation.

"He's a special kid," second-year Waipahu coach Bryson Carvalho said on Failauga. "With our run-pass option offense, he's the kind of guy you want to have. He can pound the rock up the middle and leave us options to throw the ball on either a swing pass or a slant pass down the field. He's special for our offense. He's definitely our key guy."

Waipahu, ranked fourth in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Division II Power Rankings, improved to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the OIA D2. The Marauders' win sets up a battle for first place in the league when they take on ninth-ranked Pearl City (3-1, 3-0) at Aiea Saturday night.

Junior wideout Isaac Yamashita also had his best game of his career, catching four passes for 136 yards and two scores to give the Marauders a balanced attack. He scored on a 82-yard slant pattern on Waipahu's second drive of the day and caught a 27-yard TD pass from receiver Alika Ahsing just before the end of the first half to give Waipahu a 35-7 lead at the break. 

The Marauders allowed the Rough Riders to gain 313 yards of total offense, but kept them out of the end zone for most of the game. Roosevelt (1-4, 1-3) turned it over seven times, three times on downs, and was also 4-for-14 on third down conversions.

"Our defense, we got to work on some of our plays but I think we did pretty good job throughout the night," said junior defensive lineman Centennial Kulikefu. "We have to come back against Pearl City and work harder. Roosevelt was a good challenge."

Kulikefu spearheaded the Marauders' defensive effort with a game-high 9.5 tackles, three of which were for loss. Brent Micua recorded two fumble recoveries, Jeminae Solomua added another and Kamakani Kahalewai had an interception to round out Waipahu's defensive leaders.

Waipahu scored 28 straight points to begin the game, but had to work through some issues the rest of the way. Junior quarterback Braden Amorozo passed for a season-low 187 yards with two scores, but was picked off twice, which included a 26-yard pick-6 by Jared Elwin for the Rough Riders' first score of the game. The Marauders were also flagged 11 times for 86 yards.

"We started off good, but I wasn't really happy with our second, third and fourth quarter at all," said Carvalho. "Offensively and defensively we just played messy. It was a lot of miscommunication, the kids were just not talking, but that's on us as coaches. We'll get that fixed. I just had to let them know that we don't have 23 days to prepare for our next game, we only have five, and we're playing against a really tough Pearl City team."

Fortunately for the Marauders, the Rough Riders had their own problems to deal with. Roosevelt was flagged 11 times for 106 yards and could not sustain any of its drives.

"You don't win games when you turnover the ball and give up penalties, that's what happen," said Roosevelt first-year coach Kui Kahooilihala. "Waipahu, they have a good, well-balanced football team and they're well coached."

Failauga got the Marauders on the board early when he rushed six times for 40 yards and a 1-yard score on the first possession of the game. He had a key 19-yard reception on third-and-10 to extend the drive and also had a 6-yard run to convert on fourth down before punching in his first scoring run of the day.

Waipahu quickly grew its lead to 28-0 after Amorozo tossed two TD passes and 6-foot-4, 320-pound Lafo Selului-Sanchez rushed for a 3-yard score.

Elwin got Roosevelt on the board with 46 seconds left in the second quarter, but the Marauders struck back quickly with Yamashita's second TD grab of the game. Isaiah Harris was good on the PAT to give Waipahu a 28-point lead at the break.

Neither team would score again until the fourth quarter. The Rough Riders got a favorable bounce late in the game on a questionable fourth down play that netted them a touchdown. Roosevelt quarterback Shastyn Kekahuna's pass in the right seam to Isaiah Rosa appeared to have been broken up, but the officials ruled that he had possession and fumbled. Kekoa Pitoy had the heads-up play to scoop up the ball and fall into the end zone and Roosevelt was awarded the score.

Failauga scored the Marauders' last touchdown of the night with his 34-yard run and Seluli-Sanchez ran in the 2-point conversion after a Roosevelt penalty for the final points of the night.

Senior running back Charvis Paia rushed for a season-high 110 yards on 21 carries to lead the Rough Riders in the loss.