Roosevelt rips apart Kaiser to repeat as OIA Division II champions

KALIHI – Rough Riders reign supreme. 

For the fourth straight week, second-seeded Roosevelt (9-2) put up a crooked number on the scoreboard as they completed their OIA title defense with a 34-3 win over the top-seeded Kaiser Cougars in the 2024 OIA Division II Championship. 

The night started off bumpy for Roosevelt as they saw a bad snap lead to a lost fumble on the first possession of the game, giving the ball to Kaiser inside their own 10. The Rough Riders’ defense held strong though, keeping Kaiser to a field goal despite the Cougars being gifted a goal-to-go chance. 

Roosevelt spent little time moping after the game-opening turnover, quickly marching down the field with a scoring drive of their own. After connecting on a deep ball the play before, Rough Riders quarterback Ioane Kamanao connected with Jahsiah Souza-Armstead for a touchdown to give Roosevelt a 7-3 lead with 8:04 left in the first quarter. 

After being forced to punt following the touchdown, the Kaiser defense produced another big play as Zane Shinkawa intercepted Kamanao after another strong Roosevelt drive to keep it at 7-3. The takeaway did not lead to points for the Cougars, seeing the offensive struggles continue through the first quarter. 

The game turned totally in favor of the Rough Riders after offsetting penalties erased another Shinkawa interception for Kaiser and gave another chance deep in Cougars’ territory to the Roosevelt offense. Needing to come in for Kamanao after the starter’s helmet came off during the offsetting penalty play, backup Roosevelt QB Kaeo Bush fired his lone pass of the night into the chest of Williama Aarona for a 10-yard touchdown with 9:32 left to play in the second quarter to make it a 14-3 advantage. 

The Rough Riders defense continued to stymie the Cougars offense, holding Kaiser scoreless for the remainder of the half as Journey DePeralta added a pair of field goals from 29 and 36 yards out to give Roosevelt a 20-3 lead going into the midway break. 

Things worsened for Kaiser to begin the second half, fumbling the opening kickoff back to Roosevelt and seeing Kamanao connect with Souza-Armstead again for a 41-yard touchdown strike just 21 seconds into the third quarter to make it a 27-3 cushion. 

The second-seeded Rough Riders all but put the game on ice on the next drive as Izaiah Nakamura intercepted Kaiser quarterback BJ Rezentes and returned it 49 yards to the house to make it 34 unanswered points for Roosevelt as they rolled on to become the first OIA Division II program to win back-to-back titles in state history. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Rayden Aoki / ScoringLive

Ioane Kamanao finished the night 19-of-37 passing for 316 yards and two touchdowns, getting intercepted in the win for the Rough Riders. Roosevelt lost the turnover battle, giving the ball away four times and only taking it away twice, and dominated the Kaiser Cougars anyway on route to the third OIA Division II title in program history. 

Jahsiah Souza-Armstead turned in a legendary performance, catching six passes for 101 yards and both touchdowns from Kamanao in the win for Roosevelt. The junior was ejected later in the second half due to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. 

Keawe Davis led all receivers with seven receptions for 114 yards for the Rough Riders while the defense racked up five sacks to go along with the two takeaways. 

Tia Nuuhiwa-Santos led the way for the Kaiser defense, tallying nine tackles and a pair of fumble recoveries for the Cougars. Sophomore running back Brady Kim added eight carries for 50 yards on the ground for Kaiser, who mustered 97 total yards of offense throughout the night. 

Both teams clinched spots in the 2024 First Hawaiian Bank Division II Championship tournament after their respective OIA semifinal victories. Roosevelt will play host to BIIF Division II champion KS-Hawaii (11-1, 10-0 league) in the first round of the state playoffs on November 16 while Kaiser will return to Farrington High School to take on the third-seeded PAC-5 Wolfpack (6-1, 4-1 league) on the same night.