Call it Justin Daugherty’s coming-out party.

The junior quarterback “made the difference” Friday night, coach Fred Bales said, as he went 7-for-13 for 142 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Kubasaki Samurai past the Kubasaki Shogun 27-12 in Okinawa Activities Council football.

The victory kept the Samurai a half-game behind the league-leading Kadena Islanders, whose game against the Kadena Buccaneers was postponed until Tuesday because rain associated with Super Typhoon Ma-on rendered Kadena High’s field unplayable.

Torrential rain and the stellar play of Leonard Lynce marred Zama American’s first night game at Atsugi Naval Air Facility, as Nile C. Kinnick pounded the Trojans 44-0.

Beautiful conditions prevailed at Misawa Air Base, and the Yokota Panthers ran their on-field winning streak to 44 games, cruising 41-0 over the Robert D. Edgren Eagles.

Okinawa

Kubasaki Samurai 27, Kubasaki Shogun 12

At Camp Foster, Okinawa, Daugherty was 8-for-32 for 86 yards with three interceptions entering Friday’s contest, but against the Shogun he turned into the quarterback that Bales said he knew he could be.

“I thought his play made the difference,” Bales said. “He managed the game well under some terrible conditions. He made some plays. He’s a good kid and a good football player.”

Despite turf made spongy and sloppy by an early morning downpour from Ma-on, Daugherty threw first-half touchdown passes of 8 yards to rangy Stephen Thompson and 29 yards to Desmond Jackson, who made a nifty cut around the secondary into the end zone.

Jon Keith ran back an interception 45 yards to end the first half and David Miller blocked a punt and took it 12 yards for a third-quarter score.

The latter two TDs offset a second-half rally by the Shogun, who cut the gap to 15 points thanks to a 28-yard fumble return by Calvin Gardner and Michael Bennette’s 12-yard scoring pass to Ronnie Stephens. Keith Sturdivent led the Shogun with 97 yards on 15 carries.

Bales, offensive coordinator the previous five years under Shogun coach Charles Burns, swept the season series from his old boss.

“We’re very fortunate,” he said, deflecting talk of the partnership turned rivalry. “I have a lot of respect for those guys. They play proud football. We’re just lucky to come out of here with the win.”

Japan

Yokota 41, Robert D. Edgren 0

Trips to Misawa Air Base worry Yokota coach Tim Pujol. Aside from the 10-hour bus ride, his Panthers don’t get much rest before stepping onto the field for a Friday night game. The Eagles also gave Yokota a scare last year before losing 14-0 last Oct. 4.

“This was definitely different than last year,” Pujol said, adding that aside from the journey, “we were still fighting the battle of being more precise on offense, cutting down on penalties and turnovers. The first offense did a great job of that, put me at ease. We came out very strong.”

Shamarr Howell ran five times for 111 yards, including touchdowns of 57 and 38 yards, caught an 11-yard TD pass and had an interception.

Chris Roach added 102 yards and a 5-yard touchdown on eight carries. Shawn Novak went 4-for-5 for 70 yards, including a 21-yard TD pass to D.J. McCary. Jamal McNeill scored Yokota’s other touchdown, on a 75-yard interception return.

“They (Yokota) obviously came out with the mind-set that they wanted to firmly re-establish who were the big dogs on the block,” Edgren coach Jim Burgeson said.

“That is a quality team. Our kids were overwhelmed. They played their hearts out in the second half, [but] this reaffirms, we aren’t there yet.”

Nile C. Kinnick 44, Zama American 0

At Atsugi Naval Air Facility, the Red Devils dominated from the opening kickoff, as Brandon Taylor picked up a Trojans fumble and ran it 35 yards for a score.

Lynce followed with TD runs of 40 and 36 yards on Kinnick’s first two offensive plays and added scoring runs of 58 and 7 yards. He finished with 195 yards on 10 carries.

Adam Krievs had seven tackles and a fumble recovery for a defense that forced seven turnovers. Andy Brown, Broderick Thomas, Mervin Ibanez, Ren Jackson and Antoine Coleman also recovered fumbles.

Zama, playing under newly installed lights at Atsugi’s Reid Memorial Stadium, did not come out to play the second half.

With two Zama players suffering from hypothermia and at least two inches of water on the field, Trojans coach Ron Geist and the referees conferred at halftime and agreed to end the contest.

Geist slipped on the sideline and suffered a broken kneecap that will require surgery.

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