Charles Spencer rushed for 159 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries last night as Moanalua held off Kaiser, 21-12, in O'ahu Interscholastic Association football action at Kaiser.

Na Menehune improved to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the OIA's Red Conference Eastern Division. Kaiser fell to 0-6, 0-4.

The Cougars, however, struck first in impressive fashion. After forcing Moanalua into a three-and-out following the opening kickoff, Kaiser marched 78 yards in 14 plays, culminating in Josh Gonda's 1-yard touchdown run. The extra point attempt went wide left.

Na Menehune responded with a 12-play, 65-yard drive capped by Spencer's 1-yard TD run. The PAT attempt was blocked, knotting the score at 6-6 with 7:01 remaining in the second quarter.

Moanalua then forced the Cougars into a fourth-and-3 situation from their own 26, and a fake punt end run was stopped for a loss of two. Five plays later, Keven Amaral scored on an 11-yard quarterback keeper, and Michael Egami's two-point conversion run put Na Menehune ahead, 14-6, with 2:25 left before halftime.

Kaiser struck quickly in the third quarter, as Sitelimanu Latu connected with Joshua Perry-Kruse on a 54-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage to set up Gonda's 6-yard touchdown run four plays later, cutting it to 14-12. The two-point conversion run failed.

Later in the quarter, Amaral lobbed a 24-yard TD strike to Egami, who leaped to catch the ball between two defenders while falling backward. Lee Arakawa's extra point stretched the lead to 21-12 with 1:27 remaining.

The Cougars tried to answer late in the fourth quarter, but Gonda was stopped for a 1-yard gain on fourth-and-6 from the Moanalua 41. They got the ball back with under two minutes left, but Anthony Lockett's interception with 15 seconds remaining sealed the victory for Na Menehune.

Gonda, who rushed for 262 yards and three touchdowns in a loss at Castle last week, finished with 96 yards on 23 carries, with 60 yards on 12 carries in the opening drive. After the game, he was carted off the field with his left thigh wrapped in ice.

"Gonda is a great runner and we prepared for him, but on that first drive our guys were caught looking for him to see where he's at instead of sticking to their assignments," Moanalua coach Arnold Martinez said. "We did a better job after that, but it was tough. (Kaiser's offensive linemen) are big and physical."

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