Waianae, HI — The homecoming atmosphere, along with a bruising rushing attack, propelled the Golden Hawks to a big win over the Bulldogs to break the .500 mark. “Nanakuli, it’s all about community over here,” Nanakuli coach Kili Watson said. “It brings out that extra juice. With the dropping of some of the restrictions, allowing the families to come in, the atmosphere is just different. Very energetic, and the boys feed off of it.” The Golden Hawks’ ground game shone in a six-touchdown effort, with five of those six scores coming in the first half alone. Nanakuli running back Christian Asinsin was responsible for half of those rushing touchdowns, leading all rushers with 149 ground yards on 17 carries. Three other Golden Hawks running backs later found the end zone, including second-leading rusher Branztyn Reyes, who picked up 62 yards on four carries. “There was good synergy,” Watson said of the ground game. “The linemen did an excellent job in the box. Its easy when you’ve got a running back like (Asinsin). It makes the job a lot easier. Overall, just a good reflection of the unit. Offense did well, defense put us in good positions. Good team win.” The Nanakuli passing attack also had success as quarterback Keahi Ah Sui completed 15 of 21 passes for a game-high 263 passing yards and three passing touchdowns. Ah Sui’s passes found their way to a trio of receivers. David Kalili led all receivers with 90 yards on five catches, while Joseph Lewis IV turned three catches into 78 yards. Hansen Salausa-Ka’awa added 77 yards on five receptions. The Golden Hawks took advantage of an early Waialua turnover on downs, as Asinsin’s first touchdown of the day, a 10-yard rumble, capped off a quick two-play scoring drive on Nanakuli’s first offensive series. The defense forced a Bulldogs three-and-out, which tuned into a short Nanakuli drive that ended with Asinsin’s 2-yard touchdown run. Another three-and-out later, Ah Sui decided it was his turn, finding Kalili for a 41-yard catch-and-run score to cap a four-play drive that put the Golden Hawks up 21-0 in the first quarter. Asinsin’s third touchdown, a 7-yard scamper to open the second quarter, ignited another Nanakuli scoring run before halftime. After some trickery from Watson, offensive lineman Bryden Reyes found himself on the receiving end of a triple handoff, crashing over the goal line from a yard out. Branztyn Reyes scored from 5 yards out on the next drive to make it 40 Golden Hawks points in the first half. Amidst the Nanakuli scoring barrage, Waialua managed its only points of the day, an 8-yard connection between quarterback Tyson Apau and James Zara. Apau finished with 52 passing yards on 6-for-21 passing. Nanakuli managed a trio of scores in a mercy-rule-accelerated second half. After Allen Mahoe III’s 10-yard score to start the second half, Ah Sui and the passing game took over. Ah Sui found Salausa-Ka’awa and Joseph Lewis IV on back-to-back drives, connecting for a 7-yard score and a 15-yard score, respectively, for the finishing blows. ——— Jonathan Chen