Thursday, November 29, 2001
Clash of the After 179 regular-season and playoff games spread over 13 weekends, the high school football season will come down to the matchup everyone has anticipated for the last year: St. Louis vs. Kahuku for the state championship.
titans, Part III
Kahuku and St. Louis vie
Funaki leads humbly
for state title -- again
Through the yearsBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comIf a little redundant, the third consecutive meeting between the schools in the finals of the Chevron State Football Championship has no shortage of story lines.
Need a reason to be at Aloha Stadium at 7:30 tomorrow night? Pick one.
>> A meeting of the state's last two undefeated teams."They'll be up for this game," Kahuku coach Siuaki Livai said. "It's their coach's last game and they want revenge for last year. For us, we want to prove ourselves and defend our title.>> A battle between the best of the city and the pride of the country.
>> St. Louis' desire to reclaim its place as the dominant force in Hawaii high school football.
>> Kahuku's quest to prove last year's victory over the Crusaders wasn't a fluke.
>> And of course, the possibility of this being the final game of Cal Lee's coaching tenure at St. Louis.
"We don't want to lose any game, that's enough motivation for us. But when you get to this game, coaches, players, the community, everyone has to pick it up a notch. Whatever was being saved, it's all coming out."
The teams have been on a collision course since Kahuku snapped St. Louis' string of 14 consecutive Prep Bowl or state championship game victories last Dec. 1 with a 26-20 win in the title game.
"It put this urgency in us to strive to do better, it's made us play harder," St. Louis linebacker Taualai Fonoti said. "Knowing that we've lost, it made us realize what we need to do to get there again."
St. Louis' drive to the state finals started slowly, but has gradually picked up steam over the course of the season. Meanwhile, Kahuku has steamrolled opponents this fall.
St. Louis (10-0-1) and Kahuku (13-0) enter the game with few obvious weak points.
The Crusader offense took awhile to get rolling, but has been nearly unstoppable for the last month.
St. Louis' late-season proficiency has been spurred by the emergence of its running game. Prince Brown is the power back between the tackles, while Justin Cabansag and B.J. Batts can stretch defenses with their speed around the corner. The trio combined for 367 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in two state tournament games.
The Crusaders' ability to run the ball has also taken some heat off junior quarterback Bobby George. He has rebounded from a slow start to pass for 2,234 yards and 27 touchdowns this season.
All but 10 of those scoring throws have gone to 6-foot-2, 185-pound receiver Jason Rivers. The junior averages almost 26 yards per reception and has six touchdowns in the state tournament.
But the key matchups will be at the line of scrimmage. For George and Rivers to be a threat, the Crusader offensive line must keep Kahuku defensive ends Jonathan Mapu and Darrell Tachibana out of the backfield. The job of containing them will fall to tackles Mesepa Reed and Jeremy Inferrera.
"I think it's the challenge that gets you excited," Lee said. "You're playing a team that you know who is going to give you a good game. They've beaten you, so you can't take anything for granted. You have to play one of the best games you've ever played. In a game of this magnitude, the kids pretty much know that this is it."
The Kahuku offense is equally powerful. Containing running backs Mulivai Pula and Earvin Atuaia will be a priority for the Crusaders, but receivers James Kammerer, Ferron Fonoimoana and Moana Hafoka can break off big plays as well. But the key may be quarterback Inoke Funaki, who runs the show as both a passer and a runner.
"They're very impressive," St. Louis defensive coordinator Delbert Tengan said. "They've got team speed. They can run inside with power. They can go outside with speed. They can throw the ball, and if you try to get after Funaki, he can hurt you on broken plays.
"Tackling is critical in this game," he added. "They've got so many game-breakers on offense that if you miss a tackle, it's going to cost you dearly."
While few teams can match Kahuku's talent, the Red Raiders can also use sleight of hand to score points. In the state tournament alone, Kahuku has scored using the halfback-option pass and the hook-and-lateral.
The Red Raiders will run into a Crusader defense fiercely protective of its territory. St. Louis has given up 91 rushing yards combined over its last four games, and surrendered a total of 233 yards in the state tournament.
"It feels like the last two games we've been showing our true character," St. Louis defensive lineman John Siofele said. "Hopefully our defense will step it up another level for this last game."
Fonoti is the Crusaders' leading tackler, while junior lineman Tolifili Liufau is one of the state's premier pass rushers.
The Kahuku receivers must also navigate around Crusader defensive backs Jonah Lakatani, Timo Paepule, Chad Adviento and Chris Tunoa, all of whom have at least three interceptions this season.
"They're all very aggressive and they have smart, quick linebackers ... so we're going to have to execute everything perfectly," Funaki said. "We're going to have to run precise routes and everything's going to have to be on time."
But for all of the offensive and defensive talent on the field, the game may hinge on special teams. Pula and Fonoimoana are dangerous kick returners for Kahuku, while St. Louis' Kainoa Fernandez averages 17 yards per punt return.
And in a game of high emotion, the edge may go to St. Louis as the Crusaders try to send Lee off with a win.
"As we play for the championship, we play for the team," Dickerson said. "Coach Cal is part of the team so we are playing for our team and our coach."
For a guy uncomfortable with attention, Inoke Funaki sure picked a strange job. QB Funaki leads humbly
By Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comAs quarterback of the state football champion Kahuku Red Raiders, Funaki is smack-dab in the middle of the spotlight. But he's the last player who might have a problem fitting into his helmet.
"You're rarely going to find him as a captain, because he always wants it to be someone else," Kahuku coach Siuaki Livai said. "He's very humble. The most humble kid you'll ever find."
Funaki, the last in a line of three brothers to play quarterback at Kahuku, will lead the Red Raiders against St. Louis tomorrow night in the Chevron State Football Championship game at Aloha Stadium.
"Out here it's hard to find quarterbacks, everybody wants to be a running back," Livai said. "But I'm glad we found a string of brothers that could play quarterback."
Funaki guided Kahuku to a 26-20 win over St. Louis in last year's state title game, and the Red Raiders will need another productive evening from him to successfully defend their title.
"We're trying to take it like it's just any other game, but inside we know it's much bigger," Funaki said. "But we just try to stay focused and try to execute the game plan the coaches give us.
"We can't live on last year's championship game," he added. "We know that that's over and this is a new year and it's a new game. Everything is different and we have to go out and play hard."
This season Funaki has established himself as perhaps the best all-purpose quarterback in the state and has saved his best games for the state playoffs.
Funaki completed 11 of 15 passes for 307 yards and five touchdowns in the Red Raiders' quarterfinal win over Lahainaluna. He then rushed for 129 yards and threw two more touchdown passes in last week's 21-7 semifinal win over Waimea.
"He gives us the balance we always look for in the pass and run," Livai said. "So he's very important to what we do."
Funaki, named the most athletic quarterback at a camp hosted by Brigham Young University last summer, was known as a running quarterback entering the season. But he has emerged as one of the state's best passers, throwing for 2,144 yards and 28 touchdowns going into tomorrow's game.
"Kahuku used to always be a running team," Funaki said. "We tried to open it up more so when teams do stop our running game we have another option. A lot of times teams would stack the box and we wouldn't have anywhere else to go, so we had to work on our passing game."
And Funaki, who plays quarterback like a point guard on the basketball court, has benefited by being surrounded by a bevy of offensive weapons.
He can dish the ball to scorers like Mulivai Pula, Ferron Fonoimoana, James Kammerer or his cousin Moana Hafoka. And if the receivers are covered downfield, Funaki can take it upon himself to pick up a first down or get to the end zone.
"They really relieve a lot of pressure off of me," Funaki said of his teammates. "Our running game helps open up the pass and the passing game helps the running backs get those holes. It's just a privilege for me to work with these guys, because they make it so much easier."
Quick to praise teammates and more than willing to accept blame for miscues, Funaki's unselfishness sometimes irks even his own coach.
"He's too nice to be where he's at," Livai said. "The kids know I always get on him for that. I say, 'You don't have to say sorry if you didn't throw a perfect pass.' ... I told him you don't have to be sorry to anybody, but that's just the kind of guy he is.
"(His teammates) really respond to him and really respect him a lot."
And about the only time Funaki lets his humility falter a bit is when he's ribbing his brothers, Kolo and Vai, about being the only member of the family to win a state championship.
"I used to tease them that the third one's the charm," Funaki said. "I give them a hard time about it."
St. Louis leads the series 10-2 Through the years
Year Winner Score Notes 1959 Kahuku 12-6 1961 St. Louis 25-0 1987 St. Louis 30-26 Cal Lee's first game vs. Kahuku as St. Louis coach 1988 St. Louis 43-7 1989 St. Louis 35-0 Prep Bowl 1993 St. Louis 37-22 Prep Bowl 1994 St. Louis 26-20 Prep Bowl 1995 St. Louis 27-26 Prep Bowl 1997 St. Louis 27-7 Siuaki Livai's first game vs. St. Louis as Kahuku coach 1998 St. Louis 28-20 Prep Bowl 1999 St. Louis 19-0 State Championship 2000 Kahuku 26-20 State Championship
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