Leilehua QB Kenan Sadanaga threw for 242 yards and 3 touchdowns against Wai'anae. Brien Ing | SL

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Wai'anae RB Jaylen Mitchell finds some running room against Leilehua. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Leilehua WR Mikal Peyton tries to break free from Wai'anae's Alan Ibanes. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Leilehua WR Alan Racette breaks away from the Wai'anae defense en route to a 2nd quarter touchdown. Brien Ing | SL

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Fri, Sep 30, 2011 @ Waianae [ 7:00 pm ]

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Leilehua

34

Waianae

20

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Leilehua (10-2-1)	7	12	15	0	34
Waianae (4-6-0)	7	0	7	6	20

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Kekoa Kaluhiokalani 122 yd

Kenan Sadanaga 242 yd 3 TD

Jaylen Mitchell 88 yd 2 TD

Cole DeCorte 22 yd 2 TD

Austin Reese 47 yd

Jeremiah Andrade 80 yd 1 TD

WAIANAE-Leilehua's defense recovered a crucial fumble in the end zone late in the game to thwart a Waianae rally in a 34-20 win Friday night to clinch at least a share of the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red West title at Raymond Torii Field.

The Mules (6-0-1 overall, 5-0 Red West), ranked third in the ScoringLive/OC16 Power Rankings, also clinched the top seed for their division for the 12-team OIA tournament. The Mules can win the crown outright with a win against Mililani next week.

Kenan Sadanaga was his usual self, completing 20 of 30 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Cole DeCorte added two TD runs to make it 34-7 in the third quarter.

But the Mules chipped away, scoring on a one-yard TD run by RB Jaylen Mitchell. It was his second TD run of the game. Then Josaiah Hoopii returned a fumble 26 yards for a TD with 10:12 left in the game against the Mules' backups, forcing Sadanaga back in the game.

The Mules punted on their ensuing possession with Sadanaga back in the game. Mitchell's 40-yard punt return to the Mules 40 gave Waianae a golden opportunity to cut their deficit. But on third-and-goal at the Mules' 1, the Seariders' fumbled, apparently on the center-quarterback exchange and Leilehua recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchback with 3:40 left.

But the Mules had their issues, turning over the ball twice, both resulting in Seariders' TDs.

"We had to stay resillient," Kurisu said. "Playing Waianae at (its) home is always tough. Our boys showed a lot of heart, showed a lot of unity to get the job done tonight."

After the Seariders lost the ball on the first play from scimmage, after a 21-yard gain, at the Seariders' 41, the Mules capitalized, eventually scoring on a 25-yard fade pass from Sadanaga to Jeremiah Andrade down the right sideline. Tim Momiyama's PAT gave Leilehua a 7-0 lead with 9:27 left in the first quarter.

Waianae punted after its second series, but Alan Ibanes' 23-yard interception return off Sadanaga gave the Mules possession at the Leilehua 48. On first down, wide receiver Lawrence Akana had a 48-yard TD run on a reverse nullified by a penalty. But the Seariders continued to roll, converting a fourth-and-3 at the Leilehua 29 along the way, before Mitchell scored on a five-yard TD run. Shaughn Spencer's PAT tied the game at 7 with 4:02 left in the first quarter.

But the Mules responded with four unanswered scores with TD passes of 30 yards to Allen Racette and a three-yard strike to tight end Penitito Melei off the Mules' double tight end formation in the second quarter and with third-quarter TD runs of one and three yards by DeCorte to pull ahead, 34-7, with 8:34 left in the third quarter. The last TD was set up by an interception by Albert Talaroc.

The Seariders chipped away when Mitchell scored on a one-yard run late in the third quarter to pull to 34-14. Early in the fourth quarter, with Leilehua giving some reserve skill position players some experience, Hoopii returned a fumble 26 yards for a TD. A high snap from center during the PAT try forced Spencer to throw an incomplete pass for the failed conversion.

Besides the turnovers, the Seariders were hampered by 11 penalties for 116 yards.

"Penalties in critical situations hurt us," Waianae coach Dan Matsumoto said.

The Mules' offensive line did a good job of protecting Sadanaga, who was sacked twice, but once late in the game when it was wiser to protect the ball. Waianae defensive lineman Kennedy Tulimasealii moved around on the front, but wasn't involved with the two sacks. Tulimasealii wore No. 70, instead of his usual 91, because he also played offensive line in certain situations, Matsumoto said.

"We made sure we had an eye on him," Kurisu said of Tulimasealii. "In practice, we made sure we had somebody to keep an eye on him this week."