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Michael Lasquero | ScoringLiveNovember 26, 2023, 12:51am
Sat, Nov 25, 2023 @ Mililani [ 7:00 pm ]
MILILANI — Five years and one day later, Waipahu is king once again.
The Marauders took home their second state title in school history with a 53-28 win over reigning champion Konawaena in the First Hawaiian Bank / HHSAA Division I Football State Championships at John Kauinana Stadium Saturday night.
Sophomore quarterback Elijah Mendoza threw for 415 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers to lead Waipahu (8-4) in the win as the Marauders avenged a 38-28 loss to the Wildcats (11-2) in last year's title game.
"Right now it feels amazing," Mendoza said. "This was very personal because this was a rematch, but also at the same time, I'm just so thankful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without Him, I couldn't be the man I am today."
Waipahu led 18-7 at the half, but found itself in a 21-18 deficit in the third quarter before scoring 21 straight points to take a 39-21 lead midway through the fourth quarter on Mendoza's 7-yard TD pass to Faafetai Failauga on fourth down.
After Konawaena scored on the ensuing kickoff, the Marauders added two more TDs to bring their final point total of 53 points, which tied the record for most points scored in a D1 title game.
Turnovers aided Waipahu's second half barrage as four of its five takeaways came after halftime. Aaron Dumaslan's 27-yard pick-6 for the final score of the game highlighted the strong defensive showing by the Marauders.
Waipahu coach Bryson Carvalho said that the dominant showing by the Marauders was the result of the best week of practice by the team since he took over the program nine years ago.
"From Monday to Friday, these kids were locked in, including Thanksgiving Day. We just had a great week of practice and we were able to execute."
When the Marauders saw their lead slip away in the third quarter, Carvalho knew that his team would find a way to right the ship after all the adversity they his players dealt with during the season, which included an 0-3 start and a coaching staff change on the defensive side of the ball.
Inspiration from a movie pregame also helped, Carvalho added.
"Today we watched a clip of 'The Passion of the Christ.' When he was on his knees, the first thing he said was 'my heart is ready.' That was the question to these kids, 'is your heart ready tonight?' They've been through a ton this year, being 0-3, changing a coaching staff. Nothing really needed to be said because they knew how much they could fight through adversity and how much they believed in our black flag mentality."
Both teams opening possessions ultimately were indicators of how the game would go. Konawaena's first series of the game ended with Eric Stephens' interception in front of the goal line. The Marauders then drove 89 yards to the Wildcats' 10-yard line on 22 plays before turning it over on downs. The drive came up with no points, but the blueprint was there for how Waipahu was going to light up the scoreboard.
"The plan was to be balanced on offense," said Carvalho. "Keep them guessing, nickel and dime-ing and continue to get first downs. Pick up first downs here and there and then the big plays will open up."
Failauga was at the forefront of the running game. The junior running back finished with season-highs in carries (29) and yards (153) with a 32-yard TD run in the fourth quarter. This helped Waipahu possess the ball for more than six minutes than Konawaena did.
"Just props to the linemen," said Failauga. "They opened up the holes. Without them I wouldn't have had that many amount of yards."
Failauga's lone blemish came on a fumble that was returned by Konawaena's Keawe Navas Loa for the game's opening score, but the Marauders quickly swung momentum back in their favor when Stephens returned the ensuing kickoff 75 yards to the house after taking the reverse from Tai Aipia-Barrett.
Aipia-Barrett also had a hand on Waipahu's next points when he scored on a 17-yard pass from Mendoza and when he completed the 2-point conversion pass to Chazen Rodillas-Vesido to give the Marauders a 15-7 lead at the 8:02 mark of the second quarter.
Ezekiel Stewart's 19-yard field goal as time expired in the first half gave Waipahu a 18-7 halftime lead.
With many of its players going both ways, Konawaena found renewed life and energy during the intermission. With a hurry-up, no-huddle offense, the Wildcats were able to get a 5-yard TD run out of Navas Loa on their first possession of the second half. They then took the lead at the 4:24 mark of the third quarter when Navas-Loa scored on a 55-yard catch-and-run.
The Marauders punted twice and turned it over on downs once on their first three possessions of the second half, but a tipped pass led to an interception by Elijah Nahoopii to regain momentum for Waipahu.
The takeaway helped set up Mendoza's 22-yard TD pass to Jayden Chanel to give Waipahu a 25-21 lead heading into the second quarter.
Konawaena was set to match Waipahu on its next series after driving to the Marauders' 22-yard line. Receiver Zedekiah Anahu-Ambrosio helped convert a fourth-and-2 situation after taking a direct snap, but fumbled the ball on a Wyatt Oneill tackle that Chanel was able to recover in the end zone for a touchback.
Waipahu cashed in on the takeaway with a 6-play, 80-yard drive that was capped on Mendoza's 37-yard TD pass to Stephens to make the score 31-21.
"Coming into the second half, Konawaena was firing, rapid fire, play after play, but we just had to settle ourselves down and move at their agility," said Nahoopii. "Once we got that going down, we flipped the page and it was our turn to take over."
Isaiah Iosefa led the Marauders in tackles with 10 (six solo) while Arjay Kelemete had six total tackles with two of Waipahu's three sacks.
Aliimalu Tan made 12 total tackles (nine solo) for Konawaena and provided the Wildcats' only score of the fourth quarter, which Waipahu won, 28-7. Tan scored on a 71-yard kickoff return after Failauga's receiving TD.
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