Sunday, October 28, 2001
Amid conditions that turned the Aloha Stadium turf into a giant slip-n-slide, Kahuku completed an undefeated regular season with a 21-6 victory over Waianae last night. Kahuku completes
8-0 Red seasonBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comThe constant rain -- which varied from a steady drizzle at kickoff to a downpour at the final gun -- helped keep the game close as both teams struggled to move the ball in the soggy conditions.
"It's not even fun to play," Kahuku coach Siuaki Livai said. "You don't want to do too much things that are too risky. For us it really took away a lot of what we wanted to do, and Waianae came to play. They did a good job."
The nationally ranked Red Raiders improved to 8-0 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red Conference, while Waianae fell to 5-3. Both teams have qualified for the OIA playoffs, which open next week.
Kahuku, the defending OIA and state champion, locked up last week the OIA Red championship and the top seed in the playoffs. Waianae finished fourth in the conference.
Kahuku will have a short week to prepare for Roosevelt on Thursday in the first round of the playoffs.
Waianae will take on OIA White champion Aiea.
"Every extra day makes a difference, so it's definitely against us," Livai said. "More than anything I hope the weather will be better."
Both offenses were hampered by the wet conditions, as ball carriers struggled with their footing and receivers couldn't hang on to slick footballs.
Kahuku running back Mulivai Pula, who finished with a game-high 104 yards, managed to find his way to the end zone three times in the game to account for all of Kahuku's scoring.
Pula capped the Red Raiders' first drive of the game with an 11-yard scamper. He scored again in the second quarter, taking a pitch from quarterback Inoke Funaki and sprinting 10 yards for a touchdown.
The option worked again on the first play of the second half, as Funaki pitched the ball to Pula, who outran the Searider defense down the sideline for an 80-yard touchdown run to give Kahuku a 21-0 lead.
Waianae got on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter on Kekoa Reyes' 4-yard bootleg around the left side. The score capped a 14-play, 65-yard drive.
Reyes, who played both quarterback and safety, led Waianae offensively with 84 rushing yards on 14 carries.
While Waianae stumbled to fourth place in the conference after winning the OIA Red title last year, Livai expects the Seariders to contend for a share of the league title in the playoffs.
"We always respect Waianae. Waianae is always going to come back," Livai said. "This is a new Waianae team."
MIL
Baldwin 13, Maui 9: A.J. Garbin grabbed a 16-yard pass from Michael Donahue with seven minutes left in the game to give the Bears the second round MIL title.Baldwin faces first round winner Lahainaluna on Nov. 9 for the MIL championship.
The Bears scored first on a Wela Hewahewa 1-yard run. Andrew Malafu answered for the Sabers later in the first quarter with a 1-yard scoring run of his own.
Maui took its final lead when it blocked a Baldwin punt out of the end zone.
Hawaii School Web Sites