'AIEA — Under the blazing afternoon sun, Otto-Titan Salausa ran for four touchdowns and Chucky Ka'ahanui added three other scores to lead 'Aiea to a 50-0 win over Kalani yesterday.

The O'ahu Interscholastic Association White Division game, which followed a junior varsity contest at noon, began at about 2:30 p.m. The early kickoff was an experiment by the league, which usually conducts 4 p.m. kickoffs for JV games on Saturdays.

"It was pretty hard because we're not used to this," 'Aiea senior defensive end Api Foumai said. "It was different, we're not used to dealing with the sun on gamedays."

Foumai said Na Ali'i held a 1 p.m. practice Friday in preparation for the early afternoon kickoff.

"We hold scrimmages in the afternoon, so it wasn't a big deal to play in the daytime," 'Aiea coach Wendell Say said. "I enjoy the night games, but (the OIA) has got to do what it has to do."

Feelings were mixed amongst the 500 or so fans in attendance.

"I like it, especially since the games can end late on Friday and Saturday nights," said Tad Yamaguchi, whose son Cody plays on the 'Aiea JV. "It's a little bit warmer, but it's good for the varsity players, because sometimes they don't get home until the wee hours of the morning."

'Aiea resident and Na Ali'i alum Jonathan Banuilos felt the early start hurt attendance at what is usually a community event.

"If the turnout is not good then why have the game in the afternoon?" he said. "Everyone usually gathers for the varsity game."

Yamaguchi disagreed, saying that most fans will still turn out for games.

"It might hurt attendance because some people work on Saturdays — not everyone is off — but I think that most parents will come out no matter what to watch their kids play," Yamaguchi said.

OIA Executive Director Dwight Toyama said he would take a wait-and-see approach before scheduling anymore early afternoon kickoffs.

"We haven't scheduled any yet," Toyama said. "We'll probably have some schools volunteer first, if the home teams are willing to try, but we'll still have more discussions on this."

Toyama said he would like to try the early kickoff for "at least one Red (Conference) game — one East, one West — but we'll have to see how this thing plays out."

KALANI (0-1, 0-2) 0 0 0 0— 0

'AIEA (1-0, 1-0) 7 7 20 16—50

'Aiea — Chucky Ka'ahanui 1 run (Nicholas Hiraoka kick).

'Aiea — Otto-Titan Salausa 14 run (Hiraoka kick).

'Aiea — Salausa 10 run (Hiraoka kick).

'Aiea — Ka'ahanui 31 run (kick blocked).

'Aiea — Salausa 5 run (Hiraoka kick).

'Aiea — Ka'ahanui 2 run (Hiraoka kick).

'Aiea — Safety, Max Ma'afala-Maiava tackled punter in end zone.

'Aiea — Salausa 1 run (Hiraoka kick).

RUSHING — Kalani: Jun Cho 20-25, Chancen Schutter 5-3, Wilkins Kato 7-4, Dane Onaga 2-(minus 6), Reace Hinazumi 1-(minus 15), team 1-(minus 8). 'Aiea: Salausa 13-96, Anae Va'a 11-83, Ka'ahanui 7-26, Matt Fa'alele 1-31, Karson Kenchy 3-2.

PASSING — Kalani: Kato 0-6-1—0, Schutter 0-1-0—0, Cho 0-1-0—0. 'Aiea: Ka'ahanui 9-18-1—154.

RECEIVING — Kalani: none. 'Aiea: Fa'alele 3-46, Phillip Madriaga 1-8, Kekoa Thompson 1-8, Michael Williams 1-9, Kory Naeole 1-30, Va'a 2-53.

JV score — 'Aiea 46, Kalani 0.