Offense-savvy Mustangs Face Kaimuki For DII Title Friday
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usNovember at Kalaheo is always the starting point for its dominant basketball teams, but football is definitely at the forefront this time.
The Mustangs are guaranteed of playing deep into the month with their first-ever appearance in the state football championships. First up is Friday’s OIA DII title game (4:30 p.m. on OC-16 and 1500 AM) at Aloha Stadium. A breakdown of the matchup between Kaimuki and Kalaheo follows.
What to watch: The Bulldogs are making their first appearance in the OIA DII title game since 2007, when they won a championship under Darren Johnson. The Mustangs are making their first-ever appearance in an OIA title game. Kaimuki comes in on 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 often its offense. Keeping the Mustang offense off of the field is a big key for any team when it plays against Kalaheo, 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 versus Kalaheo last time around on 30 carries. If he puts up similar numbers Friday, odds are the Bulldogs will parlay that production 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 Mellor’s mastery in calling the plays, is a load for any team to defend, and Kalaheo will be a tough draw in the state tournament when it comes to preparing to stop them. For the Bulldogs’ part, however, there’s not much Kalaheo will likely throw at them that they didn’t already see in the first meeting. Kaimuki 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 last game between the teams, with Sua covering an aforementioned 210 yards himself. That’s too much and is a surefire way to get burned eventually by play-action passes. The Mustangs remained 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 seven touchdowns 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 the play-calling department is best accomplished when the Mustangs can avoid second-and-long and third-and-long situations so they are less predictable. Kalaheo also must avoid penalties and turnovers, which halt momentum. Against Waipahu, Kalaheo had five turnovers in a 31-20 loss. In the rematch two weeks ago in the OIA DII semifinals, the Mustangs 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 will one 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 (he’s third best in the White Conference) and has thrown for seven scores.
Saturday’s Headline: Kalaheo Wins First OIA Title. In a defensive struggle, it says here that Pagan and the Kalaheo offense will make just enough plays in the passing game to eke out a 19-13 victory.
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