Leave it to Beaver.

That's what Waipahu did to fight off feisty Pearl City, 9-7, Friday night to capture its second Oahu Interscholastic Association White football title at Aloha Stadium.

Beaver Lagima Jr., a 5-foot-5, 165-pound junior defensive back, had two interceptions, one leading to what turned out to be the difference-making field goal, and helped make a TD-saving tackle inside the red zone to end the game. That was followed by a deafening roar from the Waipahu faithful.

"Beaver's a real player," Waipahu first-year coach Eric Keola said. "He stepped up for us tonight. A couple interceptions here and there. He was exhausted."

The win avenged a 13-8 regular-season loss at Pearl City and was Waipahu's first title since 2006, when it beat Kaimuki, 22-6.

Except for two hook-and-lateral pass plays for a 56-yard TD and a 46-yard gain to end the game, Waipahu pretty much bottled up Pearl City's offense. Minus the two gadgets, the Chargers had just 130 yards in offense and turned over the ball six times, four on interceptions.

"We knew we could take 'em," Beaver said. "I believe in my teammates."

Trailing 9-0 since halftime, the Chargers finally scored with 2:21 left in the game. Taking over from their 29 with 2:57 left, the Chargers converted a fourth-and-7 from their 32 to the 44 on a 12-yard pass from Kaimi Paredes to Kelson Laboy. Paredes then fired an 11-yard pass to Daicorre Briscoe, who handed the ball off to Shawn Lopez passing behind him to complete the 56-yard scoring play. David Laranol's PAT pulled the Chargers to 12-7.

"We call that our drag-and-roll," Pearl City coach Kai Kamaka said. "We let two guys drag and the guy comes back side."

Waipahu took over from its 32 after the ensuing kickoff, but was forced to punt from its 41 with less than a minute left, as Waipahu let the seconds tick away before getting off the punt. But just as the 25-second clock was down to two seconds, a Waipahu player had an equipment problem and had to leave the field. The 25-second clock was re-set allowing Waipahu to shed another 20 seconds. Kamaka estimates Pearl City lost 42 seconds.

After a penalty moved the Marauders back to its 35 to punt, the Chargers got the ball at their 37 for some pretty decent field position. But a personal foul on the play put them back to the 22 with 16 seconds left.

"The one play that killed us was that personal foul," Kamaka said.

A 25-yard run by Paredes left eight seconds left. A delay of gamet penalty against Pearl City and an incomplete pass later left thee seconds left at the Chargers' 42. Briscoe caught another 11-yard pass and handed it off to Lopez, who broke down the left sidelines in front of the Waipahu bench. But Lagima and Loren Doctotero chased down Lopez and tackled him at the 12 as time ran out.

The Waipahu supporters and the school's band had an effect on Pearl City's offensive woes.

"The crowd played a big role," Kamaka said. "We were checking off the hot rod with our blitz call coverages. We couldn't hear it because it was so loud with the band playing."

He added Waipahu made adjustments to their pass rush since the last time the teams met during the regular season.

The Marauders did not do a whole lot offensively, as they totaled 187 yards. Aside from the two scores, they punted 11 times and lost the ball on downs once.

Both of their scores were set up by turnovers. Lagima's first of two interceptions gave Waipahu the ball at its 47 and eventually scored on Jayson Gonsalves' 31-yard field goal with 8:39 left in the first quarter.

Waipahu's TD came after Travis Teofilo recovered a fumble at the Chargers' 27. The Marauders converted two fourth-down plays, scoring on Wesley Nagaseu's one-yard TD run on the second one. Gonsalves' PAT hit the upright and bounced back, leaving the score 9-0.

Moreover, the Marauders overcame 22 penalties totaling 160 yards.

But that didn't put a damper on the Marauders' season, which began with a 68-0 loss in a non-league game to Campbell. Waipahu was the third seed when the playoffs began.

"It was a tremendous effort by everyone," Keola said. "The coaching staff, the players played hard. They believed in our system. And the community, 100 percent backing us up. We had spirit all over tonight."

---