Waianae QB Kawika Jacobe surveys the field for an open receiver against Campbell. Johnny Wilson | Special to SL

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Waianae RB John Barbieto carries the ball against Campbell. Johnny Wilson | Special to SL

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The future looks bright for Waianae Football as the Seariders held off a spirited rally to defeat Campbell, 28-26, to win back-to-back OIA Red JV titles.
 
"Whoo, nerve wracking, was good for the kids" says Waianae Head JV coach Faigata Lave.

When asked about how the successes of the Waianae JV program will translate to varsity next year, Lave said "should be good, should be very interesting for our boys, especially for our sophomores that are moving up; They get to play with the guys who took them last year (to the OIA Red 2011 JV title game) with them, so repeating this year, I think going be rekindling the flame for them for play ever better."

Ronald Matautia led the Searider JV squad in scoring, hitting pay dirt on both sides of the ball in the 2nd quarter with a 6 yard TD run and a 68 interception return for a TD just before the end of the first half.

Campbell featured a two-headed monster at quarterback in sophomore Kalanimoku Pauole and freshman transfer Pohaku Keheaku-Paiva who combined for 211 yards and 3 touchdowns.

"I think we have the two best quarterbacks in the OIA, in the JV division. They complement each other, one can run, one can pass but they both do a heck of a job in execution" says Campbell Head JV Coach Tony Kalili.

Both defenses started the game strong, leading to a scoreless first quarter. Campbell would only gain just a first down on their first possession before a drive killing sack on Saber quarterback Pohaku Keheaku-Paiva resulted in a Abiel Taito punt.

The Searider offense also only gained just a first down on their first possession before quarterback Kawika Jacobe was sacked on 3rd and 9 by Saber defensive lineman Javal Medlin. Stanton Spencer's punt was get blocked on the next play by Anthony Esterline who also recovered the ball at the Waianae 30 yard line.

After a false start penalty, Campbell drove to the Waianae 16 yard line before Pauole was picked off in front of the end zone by defensive back Nessa Taufi to end the threat.  The Seariders were unable to cash in on the turnover however, as the Saber defense forced a 3 and out.

Benefitting from a short punt, Campbell scored on a four play, 23 yard drive culminating in a 17 yard Keheaku-Paiva touchdown pass down the middle to Jenesus Tago-Su'e. Bryson Maximo's PAT attempt was good putting Campbell up 7-0 with 5:05 remaining in the first half.

The Sabers' defense held strong again on the Seariders's next possession holding them to another 3-and-out courtesy of Esterline's sack on 3rd down which resulted in a 4th and 18 situation for the Seariders.

Campbell took over in Searider territory and seemed primed to extend the lead.  However, Tago-Su'e would fumble the ball after catching a 15 yard screen pass from Kaheaku-Paiva and Taufi would recover the ball for Seariders.

Waianae took take advantage of the turnover with a six play, 58 yard drive which ended in a 6 yard TD run by Ronald Matautia. Matautia twisted and stretched his way for the score.

"It was good, couldn't have done without the O-line doing their job" said Matautia on the touchdown run.  Spencer's PAT knotted things up at 7-all with a minute left in the first half.

Running the two minute drill, the Saber offense drove all the way to midfield before Kaheaku-Paiva was picked off by Searider linebacker Ronald Matautia who juggled the interception before returning it 68 yards to the end zone.

"Was surprising that I caught um after that tip, I hit the outside, I seen the opening and took it to the end zone for the team" said Matautia on his 2nd touchdown of the night.

Spencer's extra point extended the lead to 14-7 heading into the half with Waianae set to receive the 2nd half kickoff.

On their first possession of the 2nd half, Waianae marched down the field in 8 plays totaling 66 yards culminating in Kawika Jacobe's 30 yard TD pass to Stanton Spencer. Jacobe would rainbow his pass down the left sideline over the Saber defensive back playing man coverage and Spencer was able to haul in the back shoulder grab. Spencer's extra point to made the score 21-7 in favor of the Seariders with 6:30 remaining in the 3rd.

Already down by two scores, things would get worse for the Sabers when a bad pitch by Kaheaku-Paiva was recovered by Waianae's Tristen Wilbur at the Campbell 15 yard line. The Seariders would only need 2 plays to score as Trensten Spragling mustered his way for a 5 yard TD run.  Spencer's extra point attempt was good, putting Waianae was up big, 28-7, with 4:54 left to go in the 3rd quarter.

Not wasting any time, Campbell quickly drove down the field in 4 plays for 80 yards in only 50 seconds. That scoring drive was capped off by Anthony Pablo taking a Kalanimoku Pauole screen pass 43 yards to the land of six. Maximo's PAT was good and the Sabers trimmed the lead down to two scores.
 
Campbell mounted a furious 4th quarter comeback coming off a Waianae special teams miscue. A bad snap on the punt attempt resulted in a 20 yard loss as punter Stanton Spencer could only fall down on the loose ball to prevent any more harm.
 
Starting from the Waianae 35 yard line, Sabers needed only 4 plays to reach the end zone, as Kaheaku-Paiva would thread the needle in between three Waianae defenders to streaking left slotback Kameron Carino for a 21 yard TD pass. Maximo's PAT attempt was partially blocked however, putting Campbell down 20 to 28 with 8:26 remaining in the game.

Campbell attempted to get the ball back with a Maximo onside kick but the Seariders were able to recover the ball. The Sabers' defense would again hold strong, getting back-to-back tackle for loss contributions from Josiah Mageo and Alema Noda.  Defensive back Dylan Villanueva added a key pass deflection on 3rd and 16 as the Campbell defense forced another 3 and out.

The Campbell offense got the ball back at their 46 yard line and would use 4 plays to get into the end zone. Josiah Mageo muscled his way in from 3 yards out to cut the deficit to just two points, and the Campbell coaching staff quickly called a time-out to talk over the 2-point conversion try.

Out of the timeout, Campbell lined up in a full-house formation with two extra offensive linemen, two full backs and a lone tail back and appeared to power its way in for the tie with all the extra blockers. The play call however was a combo misdirection, naked boot leg run by Saber quarterback Kalanimoku Pauole, but Waianae contained the edges and Pauole could only heave a prayer into the end zone before getting hit behind the line of scrimmage. There was no one in the area of the pass, putting Campbell still down 28-26 with 5:27 remaining in the game.

Campbell went for the onside kick, but Waianae was once again able to recover. Backed by the home crowd, the Sabers' defense was able to force yet another 3 and out to give the Campbell offense one last possession with 3:21 remaining in the 4th.

It appeared that the comeback would be completed when Kameron Carino took the inside shovel pass from Kaheaku-Paiva and broke free through a big hole all the way down to the Campbell 5 yard line. The play was nullified by a holding penalty, erasing a golden opportunity for Campbell.

The Saber offense would drive all the way down to midfield before the drive stalled. On 3rd and 13, Kaheaku-Paiva's pass was dropped by Kameron Carino. Had Carino held on to the ball, Campbell would have been inside the Waianae 10 yard line.
 
Facing a 4th and 13 situation with the game on the line, Kaheaku-Paiva would buy sometime in the pocket before getting sacked by Waianae's Tristen Wilbur to ice the game for the Seariders.

On the game ending sack Wilbur said, "I felt pretty happy, was pretty because I wanted to do it for my team." Wilbur also credited his little brother Kevin who is just eight years old, as inspiration for the game ending sack. Waianae would then only need to take two knees to win the OIA Red JV title.

Despite their JV team coming up short in the title game, Campbell head coach Amosa Amosa has a lot to look forward to.

"I told my boys, I'm so proud of what they've done this year, and although we came up short the effort they gave tonight was tremendous and you know that I want them to keep their heads up and understand that we did our best tonight" said Amosa.

In the OIA White JV championship game that preceded this game, the Nanakuli Golden Hawks rallied from a 12 to 6 deficit against the Pearl City Chargers to score 24 points in the 4th quarter to become the 2012 OIA White JV champions, 30-12.

WAIANAE 0 14 14 0 - 28
CAMPBELL 0 7 7 12 - 28

CAMP - Jeneus Tago-Su'e, 17 yard pass from Pohaku Kaheaku-Paiva. Bryson Maximo kick.
WNAE - Ronald Matautia, 6 yard run. Stanton Spencer kick.
WNAE - Ronald Matautia, 68 yard interception return. Spencer kick.
WNAE - Spencer, 30 yard pass from Kawika Jacobe. Spencer kick.
WNAE - Trentsen Spragling, 5 yard run. Spencer kick.
CAMP - Anothony Pablo, 63 yard pass from Kalanimoku Pauole. Maximo kick.
CAMP - Kameron Carino, 21 yard pass from Pohaku Kaheaku-Paiva. Kick failed.
CAMP - Josiah Mageo, 3 yard run. Pass failed.

RUSHING: Campbell - Tago-Su'e 5-41, Pauole 3-14, Mageo 3-11, Kaheaku-Paiva 6-(-9). Waianae - John Barbieto 11-34, Spragling 10-8, Matautia 3-16, Jacobe 3-(-17), Jurick Valdez 2-6, Niko Kala-Mahiai 1-23, Joshua Rosa 1-1, Team 1-(-20).

PASSING: Campbell - Pauole 5-15-1--111, Kaheaku-Paiva 7-9-1--100. Waianae - Jacobe 4-6-0--59, Ioane Kaluhiokalani 0-1-0--0.

RECEIVING: Campbell - Kamekona Reiny-Aloy 3-55. Carino 3-43, Jerome Masiclat 2-33, Tago-Su'e 2-32, Pablo 1-43, Noah Esprecion 1-17, Alika Bantolina 1-5. Waianae - Spencer 2-35, Nathan Kuresa 1-17, Kala-Mahiai 1-7.

DEFENSE: Campbell - Sacks: Anthony Esterline, Mageo, Javal Medlin. Waianae - Sacks: Nessa Taufi, Nathan Kuresa, Tristen Wilbur. Interceptions: Matautia.