Makana Spencer (left) rushed for 63 yards on just six carries and capped off Moanalua's stunner with a five-yard touchdown run in the final quarter. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Fri, Sep 14, 2018 @ Leilehua [ 7:30 pm ]

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Moanalua

23

Leilehua

10

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Moanalua (8-1-0)	3	10	3	7	23
Leilehua (8-3-0)	0	10	0	0	10

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Max Nichols 228 yd 1 TD

Nick Au 189 yd

James McGary 6 yd

Makana Spencer 63 yd 1 TD

Jeremy Evans 71 yd 1 TD

Rudy Kealohi 116 yd

WAHIAWA — Special teams and defense helped No. 14 Moanalua spoil No. 8 Leilehua's homecoming in a 23-10 win Friday night at Hugh Yoshida Stadium.

Na Menehune retained the top spot of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I standings by improving to 4-0 (overall as well), while the Mules dropped to 4-2 overall, 3-1 OIA.

"This was huge," Moanalua coach Savaii Eselu said. "(The Mules) have always been kind of a foe for a while. At the same time, I'm expecting to see them very shortly, in the case we both make the (OIA) tournament. Definitely a huge win, not just because it's Leilehua, but it was the next game. I'm thankful that it came out that way and we go from there."

"This was really good for us," Moanalua defensive lineman Tupu Alualu said. "We've been looking to solidify the top spot. We weren't really ranked in ScoringLive, so we're trying to get up there."

Moanalua's special teams were directly and indirectly responsible for 17 of the team's 23 points. Griffin Motas kicked field goals of 27, 40 and 26 yards and two PATs and Trequan Henderson returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. The punt coverage team recovered two muffs, one that led to one of the field goals and another that was recycled into a TD.

Defensively, Na Menehune held the Mules to minus-9 yards rushing; the state's D1 rushing leader, James McGary, was limited to six yards rushing; and QB Max Nichols was sacked three times, 1.5 times by Alualu, once by Brad Lilo and a half by Malaefono Ale. Also, Keanu Kekawa had an interception.

Besides the turnovers, the Mules had other issues. They were penalized 13 times for 130 yards.

"When you play somebody, like an Iolani, and you play them back-to-back with Moanalua — well coached teams — you cannot make mistakes," Leilehua coach Mark Kurisu said. "One thing I want to address — and I told the players — it's the penalties. Unnecessary."

Moreover, they lost a starting guard and his backup and were left with a very inexperienced third-stringer in the first quarter Kurisu said.

"So right off, we put in a rookie," Kurisu said. "He only played JV, not varsity. He had to go against Alualu and he made plays. I would do the same thing; if they had somebody new, I'd put my best player on him. We were busy bringing the double-team to (Alualu) and it just opened up other things."

Moanalua struck first on Motas' 27-yard field goal with 5:44 in the first quarter.

Na Menehune looked like it was going to increase their lead late in the first, but QB Nick Au fumbled just before the goal line after a three-yard gain and the loose ball was recovered by Leilehua in the end zone for a touchback. That led to Leilehua tying the game at 3 on Akoni Tom-Makue's 36-yard field goal at 11:01 in the second period.

But Moanalua sucked the wind out the Mules' sails when Henderson returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a TD. Luku Palalay's PAT gave Leilehua 10-3 lead with 10:42 left in the half.

Later, an interception by Leilehua's Kahakai Kahoiwai set-up Nichols' 23-yard TD pass to Jeremy Evans with 7:32 left in the half. Tom-Makue's PAT tied the game at 10.

But Moanalua once again responded, this time with a 40-yard field goal by Motas with 2:22 left in the half.

The Mules, though, could gain no traction in the second half. After a 26-yard field goal by Motas increased Moanalua's lead to 16-10, Leilehua set up a fake field goal try, but holder Kalei Akagi's pass was incomplete on fourth-and-1 at Na Menehune's 16.

Moanalua took over and eventually had to punt, but the Mules muffed it and Na Menehune took over at the Leilehua 39. Three plays later, RB Makana Spencer scored on a 5-yard run to make it 23-10 with 10:57 left in the game.

"That was momentum changers right there," Eselu said of the muffed punt recoveries. "It's a big swinger."

Leilehua's night ended with Kakawa's interception with 1:44 left in the game. From there, Moanalua ran out the rest of the time.

Moanalua hosts Damien and Leilehua travels to Aiea for games Friday night.