Falcons last flight
October 24, 2016
The Kalani Falcon football team played their last game of the season against Mckinley on Friday. Losing a close, heartbreaking game to Waipahu the previous week prevented the Falcons from making it into the DII playoffs.
“You gotta learn how to win and lose a game,” says Kalani head coach Scott Melemai about the Waipahu loss. “I’m proud of how the team played and who we became as a team. We didn’t just give up at the end.”
The Falcons bounced back in their final game of the season, with 23 seniors ending their football careers at Kalani High School.
Early in the first quarter, Kalani recovered a Mckinley fumble leading to a touchdown run by Jaemi Harris. The Falcons were up 6-0 after a missed extra point opportunity. Mckinley fumbled the ball again on the kickoff leading to a consecutive Kalani offensive possession. Only two minutes later, Ikaika Andaya caught a 15-yard pass from quarterback Seth Tina-Soberano putting the Falcons up 13-0 early in the first.
However, Mckinley had some great plays that brought them within striking distance. With 6 minutes and :12 seconds left in the first quarter, they scored a touchdown making the score 13-6 following a failed PAT attempt.
After that, during the second quarter, Mckinley scored another touchdown. It was a one point game: 13-12.
In the third and fourth quarter, Kalani came up with three more touchdowns- a ten yard pass from Tina-Soberano to Andaya made the score 27-18. A 42-yard run from Tina-Soberano put Kalani up 34-18, and a final 43-yard run from Jaemi Harris sealed the deal at 41-18.
The Kalani Falcons finished the season with a record of 4-3.
After the game, the team gathered on the tennis courts near Kalani’s field to meet with family, collect leis and take pictures.
Following Coach Melemai’s first season as a head coach, he said, “I’ve been an assistant coach for the team for 16-17 years. The challenge of being the head coach was scary, but well worth it for the experiences that I went through. It was a memorable and meaningful season, and I hope these kids can apply what they learned to their lives.”