9/4/2026
Waipahu (HI) 26, Mt Tahoma 7
(Tacoma, WA) A 2,670-mile trip for the Waipahu Marauders seemed a little bit daunting. It was not just the long journey that could phase a fairly young football team, but it was what awaited them once they got to George Nordi Field in Tacoma. Waiting on their arrival would be the reigning runners-up in the 3A classification in the Mount Tahoma Thunderbirds. Nine months since they fell just a tiny bit short of a state title, the T-Birds were eager to get back on the field and start a new quest to Husky Stadium.
Despite the two schools being so far apart, the two teams shared some similarities. The biggest was that both had a sophomore quarterback leading their teams into 2026. Waipahu saw their sophomore Jake Garcia take Hawaii by storm and lead the Marauders to a 2-1 start including their first win over rivals Campbell since 2004. Taking home the Cane Knife was sweet, but taking a win from the PNW would be pretty good itself. Looking to prevent that was new Mount Tahoma QB in Shawn Sione, who was ready to usher in a new era of Thunderbirds football.
1st Half Recap
Waipahu would receive the opening kick and they were flying early. Jason Ganrion would take the opening kick back to the Mount Tahoma 32-yard line to set up the Marauders with fantastic starting field position. Jake Garcia would find Jayse Braun for a chunk play and a 26-yard pick up to get Waipahu into the red zone. An offsides made things a bit easier on them as Rocco Silofau fought his way in for a five-yard score. The two-point attempt was no good, but Waipahu had a 6-0 lead.
After a drive that lasted less than two minutes by Waipahu, Mount Tahoma would begin a slow march down the field with a heavy rushing attack. Five different Thunderbirds carried the ball on their opening drive as KD Davis, Boogie Durr, Elijah Little, DJ Morales, and Shawn Sione methodically moved the ball down the field. The drive would take over 10 minutes and kill the rest of the 1st quarter clock. A fourth down would be how the 2nd quarter started but the pass was broken up by Ian Tutuvanu to end the long drive with no points coming out of it for Mount Tahoma.
Waipahu would again have a good looking drive led by sophomore quarterback Jake Garcia. He would find Braun again for a solid gain of 16 and on a third down, looked to sail the ball over the head of Lyric Anuenue. The 5’10 receiver elevated and brought in a 17-yard catch to extend the drive. A missed field goal would end the drive with no points, but the Waipahu defense forced a quick punt shortly after. The Marauders bounced right back and Garcia would find Anuenue for a 31-yard touchdown. Another failed two-point conversion held them to just six but that would be enough to have Waipahu up at halftime, 12-0 thanks to an interception by Ali’i Togiai-Woodard late in the half.
2nd Half Recap
After being held scoreless in the first half, Mount Tahoma was in search for answers after receiving the opening kick of the second half. Shawn Sione looked much more comfortable in the 3rd quarter but the speed of the Waipahu defense prevented the T-Birds from putting together a scoring drive. Waipahu looked to land the knockout shot as they were marching right down the field behind Jake Garcia. The Marauders looked unstoppable on the ground and through the air. A bad snap nearly killed the drive, but Garcia kept the play alive momentarily. His pass would end up being picked off by freshman Damien Gutierrez. Mount Tahoma finally had some energy as the defense came up with the huge takeaway.
With some momentum on their side, Mount Tahoma would be looking for their first points of the season. They just could not solve the defense of Waipahu. Some week one mistakes really cost the T-Birds with pre-snap penalties being the biggest hurdle for the home side. They would give the ball back to the Marauders who would this time be able to finish off their drive. It was a deep home run shot this time by Waipahu as Jake Garcia would find Jayse Braun for a 46-yard score. After three quarters of play, things were looking bleak for Mount Tahoma with Waipahu leading 19-0.
Needing to solve some offensive problems, Mount Tahoma would get back to their brand of football with a rushing attack and short passes to move the ball down field. Shawn Sione was dialed in to start the 4th quarter with Jamie Oloapu catching a couple of big passes on third down to march the T-Birds down the field. They would also begin to use the running backs in the pass game to help spread the defense out and make things a little harder to figure out. Boogie Durr would haul in a 20-yard reception before Elijah Little finished the drive with a four-yard touchdown run. 19-7 would be the score as Mount Tahoma was on the board and back in the game with 9:21 left in the game.
Things were a bit closer than they would seem as Waipahu was dominating the game but did not have as big of a lead on the scoreboard as one would assume. The Marauders knew that momentum was starting to swing back towards the T-Birds just a bit and they put a quick stop to thoughts of a comeback big. Rocco Silofau would get the ball a lot on the next drive and put the team on his back as Waipahu marched right back down the field in response to the T-Bird score. A 26-yard pass to Nazareth Failauga set up a 12-yard touchdown run by Tristan Pacheco. Mount Tahoma’s final drive was good until a fumble handoff put this one away. The long trip was worth it for Waipahu as they headed home with a 26-7 win over Mount Tahoma.
What’s Next?
Waipahu moves to 3-1 and have their first winning streak of the season as they head back to Hawaii. The Marauders will be back in action on the road on Friday when they visit the Nanakuli Golden Hawks, who also just defeated a Washington-based team in Granite Falls. Mount Tahoma drops their season opener, falling to 0-1 and things don’t get any easier from here on. The T-Birds will have a short week as they host the 1-0 Kennedy Catholic Lancers on Thursday at 7pm.
Sumner Holiday Inn Express MVP
The Sumner Holiday Inn Express MVP of the game went to Jake Garcia for Waipahu. The sophomore quarterback was great and handled the vaunted Mount Tahoma pressure very well. The young QB used his legs to buy time while directing traffic for his receivers down the field. Garcia would go 17/29 through the air for 227 yards and two touchdowns while also running the ball four times for 19 yards. Garcia was calm and composed throughout the entire game and was definitely a calming leader for the Marauders on the road.
Game Stats
Jake Garcia was spreading the ball around for Waipahu and completed passes to seven different receivers. Fellow sophomore Jayse Braun was his go-to receiver as Braun hauled in five catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. The other touchdown was caught by Lyric Anuenue who had five catches as well for a total of 70 yards in this one. Tyler Lim caught three passes for 18 yards and Ian Tutuvanu had two catches for 26 yards. Three different receivers had one catch with Nazareth Failauga catching a 26-yard pass and Elias Mahuka and Tristan Pacheco each catching a three-yard pass. Both Mahuka and Pacheco did some work on the ground as Pacheco had three carries for 21 yards and a touchdown and Mahuka carrying the ball four times for 14 yards. Rocco Silofou was the primary back with 10 carries for 71 yards and a score. Ali’i Togiai-Woodard came away with an interception for Waipahu and Kaden Valeho had a fumble recovery. Zion Montero was 2/2 on his extra points.
For the Mount Tahoma Thunderbirds, they saw sophomore quarterback Shawn Sione really settle in in the second half. Sione went 17/28 passing for 170 yards and had seven yards rushing as well. Juju Williams caught four passes for 60 yards while Xavier Harris had five catches for 44 yards. Four receivers caught two passes with Que Hodge tallying 21 yards, Jamie Oloapu 13 yards, KD Davis six yards, and Boogie Durr with 26 yards. Davis also tallied seven carries for 38 yards while Durr had five carries for six yards. Elijah Little carried the ball twice for 12 yards and a touchdown while DJ Morales earned seven yards on his two carries. Jojo Johnson-Mullins caught one pass for eight yards to cap off the offense. Teaven Jones recorded a sack and freshman Damien Gutierrez had an interception on defense. Emmanuel Rodriguez-Leon was good on his only extra point attempt.
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Game Highlights
West 42 Sports Postgame Show
Waipahu Electric Kick Return
Waipahu Opens up Their Lead
Mount Tahoma Forces INT
Sophomore to Sophomore for Marauders Touchdown
Mount Tahoma Finds the Endzone
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