Waipahu DT Lafo Seiuli-Sanchez tackles Kalani QB Seth Tina-Soberano as DL Jeminae Solomua looks on. CJ Caraang | SL

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With the spotlight on the offense in most of their victories, it was the Waipahu Marauders' defense that helped seal the deal Saturday night.

Waipahu led 28-10 at the end three quarters against Kalani, but had to stave off a late comeback by the Falcons and dual-threat quarterback Seth Tina-Soberano to win, 28-23, to clinch a playoff berth into the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II playoffs.

The Falcons faced a fourth-and-3 at their own 44-yard line with 44 seconds left in the game before turning it over on downs. Tina-Soberano rolled right out of the shotgun formation and gained 1 yard before getting swallowed by a slew of Waipahu defenders, led by defensive lineman Jared Marcelo and cornerback Samson Taito.

"At the end, defense came up big and we ended up sealing the deal there," said Waipahu coach Bryson Carvalho.

Waipahu defensive lineman Jeminae Solomua, who had 2 and 1/2 sacks in the contest, was happy that the defense was able to close out the game to support the offense.

"It feels really good because it lets them (the offense) know that we have their back and we don't have to depend on them all the time and we can take some of the load off of them also," said Solomua.

The running ability of Tina-Soberano frustrated Waipahu for most of the night as he rushed for a team-high 136 and a touchdown yards while passing for 223 yards and two scores with no interceptions.

"This kid is real special," Carvalho said of Tina-Soberano. "He's like their whole offense. Obviously they wanted to give him the ball on the last play so that speaks to what kind of player he is."

Tina-Soberano found success wherever the hole on the Marauders' defense. If there was no one open downfield, he would take off up the gut and make plays in the second level. His ability was evident on his first carry as he ripped off a 32 yard gain to set up a Indi McCellan 24-yard field goal to give Kalani an early 3-0 lead.

The junior quarterback also had the option to take what the defense gives him on multiple rollout opportunities. If no one came up to seal the edge, he would find what he can on the perimeter. If they pay too much attention to him, Tina-Soberano would find a receiver that got a step on a defender creeping up on the play.

"It was depending on what they were going to do," Kalani coach Scott Melemai said of the Waipahu defense. "They kept dropping off into a zone so that was what they were giving us, the outside and the running. That was the goal, to try and spread them out. If we could pass it, try to pass it. If we could run, then we run it and move Seth around."

Waipahu was able to make adjustments, but Tina-Soberano and the Falcons still were able to do damage and gained 499 total yards to Waipahu's 373.

"He was super fast," said Solomua. "Even though I got to his outside shoulder first, he would always beat me to the end, but I just needed to take better angles to get to him."

It did help that the Marauders had practice against a duel-threat quarterback when they faced Waialua's Tevesi Toia on Sept. 23. Receiver and back-up quarterback Ezekiel Kapanui Reyes also served as the scout team offense to help the defense prepare for a mobile signal-caller.

Kalani also moved running back Jaemi Harris around the field to great effect as he finished with 193 yards from scrimmage on 17 touches.

"They're really diverse so they could pass and they can run, and they had skilled players in both areas," said Solomua.

Waipahu has a week off before the start of the league's four-team playoffs in two weeks. Carvalho was thankful for the win and the week off, but stressed the importance of finishing games as they head into the postseason.

"We definitely have to play a full game of football," he said. "Once we do that we'll be OK. I'm glad to have the week off to have an extra week of scouting, fixing things, but we definitely need to fix finishing games and being disciplined because that's going to be crucial going into the playoffs."