LOGAN MEW
STAFF WRITER
During the MoHS Homecoming game on September 21, 2018, the Na Menehune varsity football team was able to edge out the Damien Memorial School monarchs in a decisive victory at Radford’s John E. Velasco stadium. Due to last minute electricity problems at the Moanalua High School football field, the Homecoming game had to be shifted to Radford in order to host the game for that night.
Five pass interceptions by the Moanalua defense was able to halt the Monarch’s offense, leading to the Menehunes’ fifth victory in a row this season. Strong safeties sophomore Keanu Kekawa and junior Christian Sison each acquired two picks and junior cornerback Aukai Grace added another to help Moanalua halt the Monarchs' offense. One of those picks by Kekawa was a 41-yard interception return that tied the game at 7-7 with 2:20 left in the first quarter.
During the second quarter, the Na Menehune offense came into play, with senior quarterback Nick Au throwing touchdown passes to junior wide receiver Ezra Grace and slotback senior Drayden Von Oelhoffen to give Moanalua a 21-7 lead by halftime.
By the end of the game, Au completed 29 of 46 passes in the win, throwing for 280 yards and three scores against one interception. His favorite target of the night was junior slotback Rudy Kealohi, who caught 11 passes for 109 yards.
Damien was only able to score one more touchdown in the third quarter, but could not reach the end zone again for the rest of the game. A touchdown pass to Javon Monico in the third quarter and a 38-yard field goal by junior kicker Griffin Motas in the fourth quarter was enough to close out the Monarchs at 31-13 by the end of the game.
The varsity football team maintains a 5-0-0 record in the Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) Division I League (as of September 24, 2018), currently making them the best team in the OIA Eastern division.
Also, this game is the first time in forty years that the Moanalua High School football team has competed against an Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH) school during the regular football season. Normally, ILH schools would not face off in games against public schools until the State Tournaments, until the new two year long interleague schedule was implemented this year.
Na Menehune is scheduled to play the Waipahu High School Marauders at Aloha Stadium on Friday, October 5, 2018 at 7:30 pm.