Stoney Pocock found himself right at home in Saturday's mug bog at Alex Kane Stadium.

Pocock, a senior and second-year varsity player on the Kailua football team, stood out while others struggled amid the soggy field conditions in his team's regular season finale against Aiea. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound wide receiver had a career day to the tune of seven receptions for 209 yards and three touchdowns in the Surfriders' 37-13 win over Na Alii.

Kailua coach Hauoli Wong said that Pocock's breakout performance can likely be traced to his rugged upbringing.

"By trade he's a cowboy, so he's tough," said Wong, who, like Pocock, grew up in Waimanalo.

"All of his family is into rodeo and they have a farm in the backroads and he's that country tough type of kid. He's not tall in stature, but he's a yoked guy at 5-9. He's just so explosive and dynamic and he works hard. You can tell why he's as tough as he is."

In fact, prior to arriving for Saturday's game against Aiea – which kicked off at 3:30 p.m. – Wong is fairly certain that Pocock was assisting the rest of his family tidy up their farm in the aftermath of some heavy overnight rainfall on Oahu's windward side.

"The farm was flooded and I can guarantee you he was doing something before coming to the game that he had to help on the farm. I mean, they've got cows, horses, pigs, chickens, everything up there – that's part of the life, you gotta help. Even if you got a game, you gotta help, right? Rain, sleep or snow, you gotta go out and take care of the farm. That's just part of the lifestyle being from the country," Wong said.

When he finally was able to focus on football, Pocock produced a big-time game. He hauled in a 54-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Isaiah Keaunui-Demello that gave their team a two-touchdown lead in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Pocock pulled down a 53-yard TD pass that stretched the Surfriders' lead to 23-7. Aiea trailed 30-7 at the half and fell behind 37-7 after Pocock caught a 65-yard scoring pass with just under five minutes to play.

Wong said that Pocock split the defense and worked his way wide open on one of his long touchdown receptions, but the two others were more of the throw-short, run-long variety.

"I always preach to our skill players on offense that I don't want you to run over somebody and show how tough you are. I want you to run away from people and on one of those touchdowns he juked a guy out and two of the tacklers ended up hitting each other and then Stoney takes it the distances. He took that ball and had some serious yards after the catch – it wasn't like he was all alone down the sideline. He actually ran away from people, so his vision after catching the football was pretty impressive," Wong said.  

Pocock's prolific afternoon yielded single-game season-highs in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Wong credited Pocock for his patience while the Surfriders worked out some kinks offensively.

In Kailua's first six games it averaged shade over 20 points per game. It went 1-5 over that stretch, but has reeled off four consecutive wins since then. Wong's squad is averaging more than 42 points per game during its current winning streak.

"We preach to trust the process and that it's about ‘we, not me.' Stoney was getting his here and there throughout the season, but he stuck with it, trusted the process, didn't get upset and then, boom, he has a game like that. It's hard as a high school player because you want the ball all the time, but our guys have done a good job having an unselfish mentality and not complaining. Stoney's one that bought in; He knew his time would come and he produced a big game Saturday," Wong said.

Wong credited assistant Fatu Sua-Godinet, who has overseen the Surfriders' wide receivers for the past few years. Sua-Godinet played quarterback during his prep days at Kamehameha before he went on to play wide receiver at the collegiate level, first at Delaware State and later at the University of Washington.

"He's brought that knowledge and work ethic and level of training to them and they just gravitate to him and you can see the fruits of his labor with the way his receivers pay attention to detail in their film sessions and going over routes. For us, when you take away one guy, we're going to throw to the other guy and it's just that whole process that our guys have bought into that has helped us be successful, so it's a credit to our staff and the players trusting that process," Wong expressed.

Pocock split his time between offense and defense as a junior a year ago. He saw more action on the defensive side of the ball at cornerback, but has seen his role expand more at receiver this year with the development of other defensive backs. Pocock is also a dangerous kick returner, as he proved against Coronado (Henderson, Nev.) in a non-league game earlier this year, when he scored on a 99-yard kickoff return for touchdown.

Over the years Pocock has proven to be both reliable and durable – again, a trait likely derived from his cowboy upbringing, Wong suggested.

"He got drilled on one play Saturday that he couldn't hang on to the ball and dropped, but I told him, ‘You're a cowboy, you're tougher than that. Catch that ball,' " Wong laughed. "there's been a couple times where he's been a little banged up on a Monday and I go into the training room and I see him and tell him, ‘Man, if your horses and cows saw you in here they wouldn't listen to you out there on the farm,' but he is tough and by Friday or Saturday he's always out there."

A loss Saturday would have dropped Kailua into a three-way tie with Waianae and Radford for the final two spots in the OIA Division I tournament. Rather than leave it up to a potential coin toss, the Surfriders took care of business against Na Alii to lock up the No. 3 seed in the four-team playoff.

"When we lost to Radford it was kind of the perfect storm – everything went wrong for us – but after that loss I used a quote from Nick Saban – ‘Nobody owes us nothing, we have to go earn everything' – and so we wanted to put everything in our hands and take control of our own destiny and that's what we did. From the Moanalua loss to the Aiea win, that's what it was, we didn't leave it in anybody else's hands and we took care of business ourselves and we've won four straight going into the playoffs," Wong stated.

Pocock and the Surfriders (5-5 overall, 5-2 league) will play at No. 2 seed Moanalua Saturday at 6:30 p.m. The winner will secure one of the OIA's two spots in next month's First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA D1 State Championships and advance to next Saturday's league final.

FOOTBALL

Keenan Alani, Konawaena — Threw for 259 yards and five touchdowns on 16-of-28 passing with one interception in a win over Keaau 

Deegan Anduha, Waianae — Made three tackles, intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble in a win over Radford 

Armenio Blanco, Konawaena — Scored on a 91-yard kickoff return for touchdown in a win over Keaau 

Ty Bronco-Gomes, Lahainaluna — Threw for 115 yards and a touchdown on 12-of-16 passing without an interception in a win over Maui 

Riley Burton, Castle — Carried 20 times for 106 yards in a win over Kalaheo 

Jesse James Douglas, Keaau — Caught four passes for 102 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Konawaena

Xander Hoopai, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Ran for 173 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries in a win over Kohala 

Funaki James-Fainga, Konawaena — Made six total tackles, including two sacks, and forced a fumble in a win over Keaau 

Kamalu Jordan, Kalaheo — Carried 19 times for 103 yards and threw a touchdown pass in a loss to Castle 

Kauanahe Kalahiki-Gohier, Castle — Ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries in a win over Kalaheo 

Slater Kaleiohi, Waianae — Carried 16 times for 167 yards in a win over Radford 

Ioane Kamanao, Roosevelt — Threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns on 19-of-31 passing with one interception in a win over Waialua 

Isaiah Keaunui-Demello, Kailua — Threw for 203 yards and three touchdowns on 8-of-13 passing with one interception and ran six times for 76 yards in a win over Aiea 

Cameron Keeve, Leilehua — Ran for 226 yards and a touchdown on six carries in a win over Pearl City 

Chaunston Kido-White, Waianae — Recorded two interceptions and returned one 60 yards for a touchdown in a win over Radford 

Elias Malapit, Konawaena — Made nine total tackles, including five for losses and 3 ½ sacks in a win over Keaau 

Hercules Nahale, Konawaena — Ran for 110 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries in a win over Keaau 

Michael Rayray, Lahainaluna — Caught two touchdown passes, registered two pass break-ups and scored on a 48-yard interception return for touchdown in a win over Maui 

Nicholas Segawa, Kalani — Ran for 106 yards and four touchdowns on nine carries and scored on a 76-yard punt return for touchdown in a win over Kaimuki 

Shaeden Sexton, Roosevelt — Ran for three touchdowns in a win over Waialua 

Jahsiah Souza-Armstead, Roosevelt — Caught nine passes for 172 yards and a touchdown in a win over Waialua 

Austin Takaki, Konawaena — Caught seven passes for 110 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Keaau 

Kyle Thomas, Lahainaluna — Ran for a touchdown and scored on a 35-yard interception return for touchdown in a win over Maui 

Dayton Tilton, Roosevelt — Scored on a 35-yard fumble return for touchdown in a win over Waialua 

Kaila Kalama-Bajet's transition to Moanalua has a seamless one, both on and off the volleyball court.

Since transferring from Damien Memorial School in the offseason, Kalama-Bajet has flourished as a six-rotation player for the undefeated Na Menehune this fall. The 5-foot-10 senior has fit in nicely as a setter and right side hitter in Moanalua's six-hitter, two-setter offense.

Na Menehune coach Alan Cabanting said that while it took a bit to define Kalama-Bajet's role, he knew that she would be a key contributor no matter where she was aligned.

"Because she's so versatile I could put her anywhere and she probably would have soared with it," Cabanting said.

Cabanting said with veteran pin hitters Zaria Queen and Jerney Tang-Silva returning for their senior seasons, finding a way for Kalama-Bajet to fit in was about optimizing efficiency for his team.

"I knew Kaila was an outside hitter and she could jump in, but of every girl we have this year she's by far the best passer on the team, so that's where I was looking at her initially – to come in and pass and attack – but Jerney and Zaria proved in the preseason that they could hold the pass, so then it was like, ‘OK, we need Kaila in the setting position,' " Cabanting said.

He added that because of an unexpected influx of capable hitters amongst his freshmen class this fall, he opted to go to a two-setter look with both Kalama-Bajet and Jayde Taamu-Perifanos sharing the controls.

"So now we can have Kaila hit and have her set and get the best of her, so I think it kind of evolved into what the team needed, but what she already had because no matter what we already had, we knew that we could stick Kaila in there and we were gonna soar with it," Cabanting explained.

The proof is in the pudding, as they say. Moanalua won its first nine matches of the regular season, all by sweep. It wasn't until Oct. 9 that an opponent (Kalaheo) took a set off the Menes. On the year, they have dropped only two sets through first 13 matches.

"We are asking a lot of Kaila in terms of coming in as a first-year player for us. I'm pretty sure there were a lot of differences from the way she was playing over at Damien and the expectations of her and then, of course, just learning to play with all new people and just finding and adjusting to the different styles of hitters that she has," Cabanting said.

As part of her acclimation process, Kalama-Bajet essentially laid all of her cards out on the table with a ‘what-you-see-is-what-you-get' type of introduction.

"Kaila is very outgoing and her personality is just that. At the beginning of the season she kind of knew some of the girls, but some of the freshmen and sophomores she didn't know so she just kind of said, ‘Hey, this is the way I play. Don't take offense to it if I'm a little bit competitive,' and the girls were like, ‘OK, she's very frank and is telling us up front how she is,' " Cabanting recalled.

"It was like she advocated for herself and told everybody, ‘This is who I am, this is what I am,' and it was received like, ‘Thank you for your honesty. Now we know if you're getting pissed off and angry you're not getting angry at me, but you're getting angry because we're losing.' Usually that takes a while, but I think because she's so outgoing and she always told everybody what she was doing and what she was thinking, the girls understand that ‘she's in her own world right now and because she's so competitive, we get it,' that type of a deal," Cabanting said.

Cabanting said Kalama-Bajet has brought a competitive edge that has spread to the rest of her teammates.

"She's a fierce competitor and is just a ball of dynamic energy so a lot of the girls gravitate toward that. She's been a great addition to the team because we have a good balance of the quiet ones and then she comes in with this ball of energy, this fierce competitive that we were missing, so it kind of helped with that," Cabanting added.

Kalama-Bajet collected her share of hardware while at Damien. She was a second team All-Interscholastic League of Honolulu Division II all-star as a freshman. Kalama-Bajet repeated the honor as a sophomore and also picked up All-Hawaii Honorable Mention that season. In her junior season last fall, Kalama-Bajet received All-ILH First Team and All-Hawaii Third Team recognition.

Kalama-Bajet has routinely filled up the stat sheet this fall and last week's pair of OIA tournament matches were no exception. In last week Monday's semifinal sweep of Kalaheo, Kalama-Bajet registered a .316 attack percentage with nine kills against three errors on 19 total swings. She also tallied 15 assists, eight digs, three service aces and two block assists.

Two nights later in Wednesday's four-set win over Kapolei in the OIA championship match, Kalama-Bajet hit .318 with 11 kills against four errors on 22 swings. She also registered 26 assists, 12 digs, two aces and one block assist.

"I think that stood out for me was the hitting," Cabanting said, "the consistency in the hitting and then, of course, the setters felt it, too, like, ‘She's getting hot. Let me set every ball to her' and she's putting it away. She never stepped off the pedal when she got going, so I think that was kind of the one thing that stuck out, was that it was all the way through to the end of the match. It wasn't just one set, but definitely in the last set she really lit it up."

Cabanting praised the collective competitiveness that his group displayed against Kapolei, especially after the upset-minded Hurricanes won set 3.

"I think they all picked it up a notch, but she spearheaded a couple of those sets with that senior leadership and that fierce competitiveness. I think the girls just felt like, ‘OK, we're taking this. We're not letting this slip by,' her especially and then the rest of the team just rode the bus with her to us having the matches that we had. I'm really proud of Kaila though, because especially with us running a six-two and with her at Damien it was hitting, hitting, hitting, but here she's running the setting and because she wants to ensure that connection with her hitters is solid, she doesn't always get the hitting reps that she always had, but when it mattered it came along really nicely," Cabanting said.

Kalama-Bajet and Na Menehune (13-0) are ranked second in the ScoringLive Power Rankings. They are seeded in this week's New City Nissan/HHSAA Division I State Championships and will take on Kalaheo in a quarterfinal match Thursday at Kamehameha's Kekuhaupio Gymnasium.

The tournament semifinals will take place Friday at Punahou's Christopher B. Hemmeter Fieldhouse and the finals will be held at the Cannon Activities Center on the campus of Brigham Young University-Hawaii in Laie on Saturday.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Tehani Faasuamanu, Kapolei — Had 15 digs, 15 set assists, four kills and four block assists in a five-set win over Kahuku 

Natalie Fukumoto, Moanalua — Had 15 digs and 10 set assists in a four-set win over Kapolei 

Marion Hall, Damien — Had 16 kills in a four-set win over Sacred Hearts 

Trinytee Kalaola, Damien — Had 50 set assists and two aces in a four-set win over Sacred Hearts 

Lehiwa Kapu, Castle — Had 41 set assists, seven digs, four aces, two kills and one block assist in a four-set win over Farrington 

Khiana Kauweloa, Nanakuli — Had 26 digs, 19 set assists and one ace in a five-set loss to Mililani

Kaitlin Kiko, Kapolei — Had 23 digs, three set assists and two aces in a five-set win over Kahuku and had 15 digs, five set assists and one ace in a four-set loss to Moanalua 

Savai Kilaulani, Campbell — Had 24 digs, two set assists and one ace in a five-set loss to Nanakuli 

Zsiare Lakalo, Campbell — Had 50 set assists, 23 digs, five kills, three block assists, one kill and an ace in a five-set loss to Nanakuli 

Elenoa Lauhingoa, Kahuku — Had 15 digs, 10 set assists, six block assists and five kills in a five-set loss to Kapolei 

Lamona Lauhinagoa, Kahuku — Had 18 digs, seven kills and one set assist in a five-set loss to Kapolei 

Ravina Loa-Mokiao, Nanakuli — Had 12 kills, 10 digs, four aces and one set assist in a five-set win over Campbell 

Trystin Lum, Castle — Had 19 kills, four digs and three aces in a four-set win over Farrington 

Marley-Alzie Matautia, Nanakuli — Had 13 kills, 15 digs, two aces, one solo block and a block assist in a five-set win over Campbell 

Rylie Matsuda, Castle — Had 21 digs, four set assists and one ace in a four-set win over Farrington 

Je t'aime Paio, Sacred Hearts — Had 18 kills, two set assists, two aces and one block assist in a four-set loss to Damien 

Leila Paraoan, Kapolei — Had 20 kills, 12 digs, one solo block, one block assist, one set assist and an ace in a five-set win over Kahuku and had 21 kills, nine digs and one ace in a four-set loss to Moanalua

Tiani Pitt, Damien — Had 19 kills, two aces and one block assist in a four-set win over Sacred Hearts 

Zaria Queen, Moanalua — Had 17 kills, seven digs and three aces in a four-set win over Kapolei 

Chalei Reid, Kahuku — Had 22 kills, seven digs, three block assists and one set assist in a five-set loss to Kapolei 

Emily Robins, Castle — Had 17 kills, two digs, one block assist and one ace in a four-set win over Farrington 

Anny Scott, Kapolei — Had 10 kills, 16 digs, 23 set assists, two block assists and one ace in a five-set win over Kahuku and had 26 set assists, 12 digs nine kills in a four-set loss to Moanalua 

Jerney Tang-Silva, Moanalua — Had 10 kills, 11 digs, one block assist and an ace in a three-set win over Kalaheo and had 17 kills, eight digs and three block assists in a four-set win over Kapolei 

Kailie Theler, Campbell — Had 16 kills, four digs and one solo block in a five-set loss to Nanakuli 

Brandilyn Tisalona-Perez, Farrington — Had 16 digs, two set assists and one ace in a four-set loss to Castle 

Abelyn Toloai, Farrington — Had 13 kills, 111 digs, two aces, two set assists and one block assist in a four-set loss to Castle 

Tilau Tonga, Kahuku — Had 27 set assists, 16 digs and two aces in a five-set loss to Kapolei 

Chandy-Lee Westbrook, Nanakuli — Had 21 digs, two aces, one set assist and a kill in a five-set win over Campbell and had 19 digs, four set assists and one ace in a five-set loss to Mililani 

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