Roosevelt shuts down Pearl City, will travel to face Waimea next in Division II semis

Brian Bautista | SL

For the second time in three seasons, the Rough Riders are headed to the Garden Isle for the second round of states.

Roosevelt forced five turnovers on defense and got six total touchdowns from QB Kaeo Bush in a 42-7 win over Pearl City in opening round action of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Division II Football Championships at Ticky Vasconcellos Field.

"Honestly, it starts with my O-line, I got to give them the credit," said Bush, who completed 18 of 27 passes for 309 yards and five scores. "They are the real reason why this offense succeeds. They are the real conductors of the train. I trust all my receivers and I know they can get the job done."

And that they did.

The Rough Riders' receivers consistently found separation from the Chargers' defense in the secondary, where Bush connected with them on nine of his completion total from beyond 10 yards, including two bombs to Riley Beal, one from 54 yards out and the other 79.

Beal had six catches for 151 yards, a career best total, while Ioane Kamanao added eight grabs for 105 yards, the third game this season eclipsing the century mark.

That aerial display proved more than enough for Roosevelt, who got a stellar outing from its defense, who picked off Pearl City quarterbacks three times and recovered two fumbles while allowing just 99 yards of total offense.

"It was great to see almost everybody making plays, " said linebacker Isaiah Nakamura who registered five solo tackles, two of them for loss. "From the D-line getting the tackles to the DBs getting picks, the bat downs to the linebackers. And when we play as one, it really puts a toll on the other team and it showed."

To that point, twelve different defenders on the Roosevelt defense contributed to the stat line, to the tune of seven tackles for loss, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and five passes defended.

Next up for the OIA champs is a semifinal tilt with KIF representative and second seed Waimea, a team that Roosevelt faced two seasons ago, coming up on the losing end of a 13-10 result.

"It's personal to a lot of us, you know, the ones that have been here and experienced that loss," said Nakamura of the 2023 defeat at Hanapepe Stadium to the Menehunes. "And I'm pretty sure no Roosevelt team in history has ever made it to the state final."

The Riders have reached the semis three four prior (2018, 2019, 2023, 2024) but has yet to advance to the title game.

"We want to be the first," he added.