Kaimuki Faces Offense-rich Kalaheo Again For DII Title

Wednesday - November 03, 2010
By Jack Danilewicz
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In the seven years since the OIA split in two, a different school has taken home the hardware each season in the Division II football playoffs.

Kaimuki hopes to break through and be the first to win a second DII title Friday afternoon when it meets Kalaheo in the OIA DII title game (4:30 p.m. on OC-16, 1500 AM) at Aloha Stadium. The Bulldogs won it in 2007 under Darren Johnson.

Like Kalaheo, the Bulldogs already have secured a spot at the state football championships, so Friday’s tilt won’t be the last of the season. With an unbeaten streak and OIA title at stake, however, expect Kaimuki to play the game as if it’s the last. A breakdown of the matchup follows.


What to watch: While the Bulldogs played in the OIA DII title game before, the Mustangs are making their first-ever appearance. Kaimuki enters with a nine-game win streak, while Kalaheo is coming off its most complete game of the year, a 43-28 triumph over Waipahu in the OIA semifinals.

Offensive Key to victory for Kaimuki: Control the ball. Given the precision that Kalaheo displays in running the veer offense, the opposition’s best defense is its offense. Keeping the Mustang offense off the field is key, and Kaimuki clearly has the offense to play “keep away” if the line is clearing the way. Chester Sua is a big, physical runner who can wear on a team as the game goes along. He rolled up 209 yards on 30 carries versus Kalaheo last time. If he puts up similar numbers, odds are the Bulldogs will parlay that into a lot more than the two scores they mustered in week 4.

Defensive Key to victory for Kaimuki: Play disciplined. The Mustangs’ veer option offense, helped along by coach Chris Mellor’s mastery of play calling, is a load for any team to defend. As for Kaimuki, however, there’s not much Kalaheo will likely throw at them that they didn’t already see the first time. It has to play assignment football and contain the Mustangs’ run-game, which is led by quarterback Justin Pagan and running back Jesse Carney. Kalaheo ripped off 6.3 yards per attempt in the first meeting with Carney going for 130 yards on 20 attempts.

Defensive Key to victory for Kalaheo: Get off blocks and contain Sua and the Kaimuki run game. Kaimuki averaged 6.4 yards per rush in the first meeting, with Sua covering an aforementioned 210 yards himself. That’s too much and is a sure-fire way to get burned by play-action passes. The Mustangs stayed in the first game with Kaimuki because they were stellar in the Red Zone, yielding only a pair of scores, despite the Bulldogs’ ability to move the chains. First down will be a huge down every series for the Mustang defense. Dallas Reis has thrown for seven touch-downs for Kaimuki - only one less than Kalaheo’s Pagan - but will be less effective if facing obvious passing downs. Like Kalaheo, Kaimuki is better built to play from ahead than from behind.


Offensive Key to victory for Kalaheo: Average four yards or better on first down and play turnover free. Staying a step ahead in play-calling is best achieved when they avoid second-and-long and third-and-long situations so they’re less predictable. Kalaheo also must avoid penalties and turnovers. Against Waipahu, Kalaheo had five turnovers in a 31-20 loss. In the rematch at the DII semifinals, they had none in a 43-28 win over the same Marauder team.

Key Question: With both teams’ run-games likely to cancel out the other to some degree, which team will be able to make the plays in the passing game? Pagan is hitting on 43 percent of his throws, but has been a big-play maker, with six touchdown passes versus just two interceptions over the last five weeks. Reis has a healthy completion percentage of 51.4 (third best in the White Conference) and has thrown for seven scores.

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