WAI’ANAE — There’s a reason why they call him the ‘slick mongoose.’

Jason “Jayboy” Ganiron made a number of key plays on special teams and defense that helped flip the momentum for the Waipahu football team Saturday night as the Marauders turned a 13-0 deficit into a 29-13 victory over host Wai’anae for a key 29-13 win at Raymond Torii Field.

The 5-foot-10, 145-pound junior defensive back recorded a hat trick of takeaways with two interceptions and a fumble recovery to help Waipahu (5-1 overall, 4-0 league) move into first place of the OIA Division-I standings while handing the Seariders (6-1, 3-1) their first loss of the year.

“All week, our mindset was to stay focused, stay hungry and block out all distractions. We treated this game like it was a championship game,” said Ganiron.

“They’re a tough team, being undefeated, but we believed in ourselves and came out confident knowing that if we played our game and did our jobs, we’d come out on top. Everyone played with heart, trusted each other and stayed locked in from start to finish. This win meant a lot to us and we showed that Waipahu is ready to compete with anyone.”

While Ganiron and the Marauders came away with five interceptions, it was actually a play made on special teams that started to turn the tide for Waipahu.

After the Seariders extended their lead on a 74-yard interception return to the end zone by Shawdan Pacheco with 4:35 to play in the first quarter, Ganiron lined up on the right side of the formation of the defense on the PAT and was able to get a hand on the extra point to keep the score at 13-0.

Jayboy Ganiron blocks a PAT against Wai’anae to keep the Seariders at 13 points. | Photo credit: CJ Caraang, Special to HSRN

“I saw that all the momentum was on Wai’anae’s side. They were up 13-0 and it felt like everything was going their way. As we lined up for the extra point, I knew I needed to make a play to shift the energy,” Ganiron said.

The junior DB gave credit to assistant coach Miah Leota for being at the right place at the right time.

“After the previous kick, coach Miah gave me a hint of when the ball was going to be snapped,” Ganiron said. “I read the holder, timed the snap perfectly and rushed hard off the edge. I bent the corner, dove straight in front of the holder and blocked the kick. After that we slowly started to feel the momentum shifting back to us.”

The Marauders were able to make it a 13-8 on the next possession on Arona Liaina’s 1-yard run and Wyatt O’Neill’s 2-point conversion pass to Titan Figueroa on the final play of the first quarter.

Another special teams play by Ganiron helped set up Waipahu’s go-ahead drive.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Marauders elected to use a pooch kick to put pressure on the up-backs on the Seariders’ return team. Wai’anae muffed the ball and Ganiron was able to get downfield in time on the short kick to steal a possession away.

Waipahu capitalized on the short field with a drive that only took 74 seconds and ended on Figueroa’s 15-yard TD run off a reverse to give the Marauders a 14-13 lead at the 10:46 mark of the second quarter.

“Coach Zach Mauga called the play to kick to my side, so I knew I had to get down there fast,” Ganiron said. “When I recovered the ball, it fired up the whole team and led to another offensive touchdown.”

Ganiron’s two interceptions all came in the second quarter to help prevent Wai’anae from scoring anymore points.

His first came when he was tasked with playing cornerback outside of his usual safety spot. The Seariders had three receivers to Ganiron’s side of the field and ran a flood concept, but Ganiron was able to get good depth on his drop to make a play on the outbreaking route to record a takeaway.

Ganiron’s second interception came on the final play of the first half when the Seariders had to throw it deep. It helped preserve a 22-13 lead at the break.

Also with interceptions for Waipahu was Jhayean Baptista with two and Maddox Stewart with another.

Jhayean Baptista (6) and Jayboy Ganiron (3) each recorded two interceptions on defense for Waipahu against Wai’anae. | Photo credit: CJ Caraang, special to HSRN

“Everyone on defense was eating,” Ganiron said. “It was a full team effort with everyone stepping up and playing their part to get the win.”

Running backs Tristan Pacheco and Rocco Silofau were the workhorses offensively, combining for 229 yards and one TD on the ground.

“The offense stepped up big when we needed them the most. Ganiron said. “Even after a tough start, they stayed composed and stuck to the game plan.”

Waipahu defensive backs coach Aaron Cox spoke highly of Ganiron’s play and character after his performance.

“He’s the type of athlete every coach wants to coach,” Cox said. “He’s a respectful, humble kid with a warrior mentality on the field who trusts me as his coach and who is always driven by a bigger purpose: team.

“He is a smart, 4.0 student and doesn’t say much, but he lets his play on the field do the talking. It’s truly a blessing coaching a special talented athlete like him.”

As a freshman, Ganiron was also pulled up to varsity after the junior varsity season ended and was a part of the 2023 Division I state championship team. He has also put in the work in the offseason and gained 20 pounds after weighing just 125 pounds as a sophomore.

“Freshman year, I played scout team on varsity and focused on learning everything I could,” Ganiron said. “I put in extra time in the weight room, stayed late after practices for extra conditioning and studied film. Playing with older guys was definitely a challenge, but I stayed focus and kept pushing myself.

Jayboy Ganiron (left) returns an interception for a touchdown in a scrimmage prior to the 2024 season. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero

“Coach Aaron took me under his wing early on and we made a promise that I would be an all-state defensive back one day. Sophomore year was tough — we lost almost every game — but it made me even more determined to get better. Now as a junior, all that hard work is paying off. I’ve grown more confident and solid in my role and I’m ready to keep improving.”

Cox added that Ganiron’s offseason training consists of clinics, 7-on-7 pylon season, wrestling and running track. He also reflected on how much Ganiron has improved over the past couple of years.

“Over the years as a DB coach, I found four key traits that make up a great DB: reading offenses, playing great man coverage, tackling in the open field and shedding a block,” Cox said. “When moving up Jayboy his freshman year, he lacked some of those traits I noticed, but later built up his craft and worked towards bettering those four traits. We fast forward to today, he has all four traits that I’m looking for in a great DB. Hands down, one of the best DBs I’ve ever coached in my coaching career.”

As far as Ganiron’s nickname of being known as the ‘slick mongoose?’

“I got the nickname ‘slick mongoose’ from my dad when I was younger,” said Ganiron. “He was a big fan of Tyrann Mathieu, also known as the ‘honey badger’, and watched him both at LSU and in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals. My dad saw that I played with a similar fearless style, aggressive, quick and not scared, even though I was undersized like Tyrann Mathieu.

“He wanted to give me a nickname like ‘honey badger,’ but with a local twist, so he picked the mongoose, an animal found in Hawai’i that is known for being fast, smart, and tough. He added ‘slick’ because of how smooth and shifty I was on the field, and the name just stuck.”