The Waialua defense defends a pass intended for Waipahu WR Isaac Yamashita. Sylvia Lee | SL

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The Waialua defense defends a pass intended for Waipahu WR Isaac Yamashita. Sylvia Lee | SL

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HALAWA — You cannot spell Bulldogs without ‘D'.

Waialua's defense swarmed to the ball like Bulldogs to win their first-ever Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II title over Waipahu, 36-35 at HTFCU Field at Aloha Stadium.

"I told the boys in the beginning of the season, one goal is to make playoffs, second goal is to make states, the third goal is to win the division. They did three of them, but now we just need the fourth one," said Waialua coach Lincoln Barit.

Dayton Kaopua-Lee had a game-high 14 tackles and Brendan Souza added eight.

"We want to prove everyone wrong," said Kaopua-Lee, the 5-foot-7 linebacker.

The Waialua secondary recorded three interceptions against the Marauders. Waipahu drove all the way down into Waialua territory, but Lancen Kuni's interception in the fourth quarter changed the momentum for the Bulldogs and preserved a 36-35 lead.

"It was big and crucial. We were pumped up and we had to get that stop. Last week one of our DBs had a game-winning stop and we had to come up big," said Kuni.

It was do or die for Waipahu as they trailed by one with less than 45 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Waialua stacked the box to stuff the Marauders on 4th-and-inches to come away with their first football championship in 61 years.

"We told everybody to get the ball back and do it for the community and our town," said Kaopua-Lee.

"It showed us how bad we wanted it. Coach told us, ‘if you want it, you have to grab it from them'. All they needed 1 yard and we stopped them, it was a great team win," said Kuni.

"We called a timeout and my son told me to put more guys in the middle. We came in with a 6-5, we told the inside tackles to pinch the center and the outside tackles coming into the B gap and the linebackers took care of the C gaps. It worked out," said Barit, on the play.

The Bulldogs set the tone early on defense and Matthan Hatchie's sack for a 7-yard loss forced Waipahu to go three-and-out on their opening drive.

Waialua bent but didn't break as the Marauders scored on deep passes—25, 30 and 55 yards, but everyone on the Bulldogs defense hung in there.

"This win is for everyone—faculty, community and students," said Barit.