Saturday, December 1, 2001
[ PREP FOOTBALL ]
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Kahuku edges Kahuku retained the state high school football title with a 21-14 victory over St. Louis last night at Aloha Stadium.
St. Louis
The Red Raiders win the state
title for the second straight year,
in what may have been
Cal Lee's final gameCal Lee wavers on decision to step down
Kahuku 'D' runs on power
St. Louis eager to move onBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comThe Red Raiders successfully defended the championship they won a year ago by beating the Crusaders in the final of the Chevron State Football Championships.
There were 24,841 tickets issued, and it appeared there were few no-shows.
Kahuku, which snapped St. Louis' streak of 14 consecutive championship victories last year, completed a 14-0 season with the win.
"Last year can't beat this year, man, but this is still sweet," Kahuku defensive end Jonathan Mapu said. "The state kept talking, not respecting us. We proved everybody wrong again."
Kahuku's rushing game proved the difference, as running back Mulivai Pula ran for 212 yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns to lead the Red Raiders. Quarterback Inoke Funaki added 105 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown early in the second quarter.The loss ended St. Louis' season at 10-1-1 and likely closed the career of Cal Lee, the winningest coach in Hawaii high school football.
"I'm not upset, just disappointed," Lee said.
Kahuku controlled the line of scrimmage all night, rushing for 337 yards. The Red Raider defense did its part by holding St. Louis to 26 yards on the ground and pressuring St. Louis quarterback Bobby George.
"The run was there, on and off," Funaki said. "But our guys did a great job defensively and bailed us out."
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George, who was shaken up after taking a hit late in the first half, finished with 15 completions in 37 attempts for 145 yards and a touchdown. Chris Sokugawa replaced George for two plays in the second quarter, completing both of his passes for 43 yards and a touchdown to Jason Rivers."George was fine, so we decided to put him back in," Lee said. "Maybe we should have put Chris in, but that's just second-guessing. We had some dropped passes, (catching them) might have helped."
While the spotlight was on Lee, it was a decision by Kahuku coach Siuaki Livai that helped the Red Raiders seal the victory. Leading by a touchdown with less than two minutes left and facing fourth-and-2 at the Kahuku 34, Livai called for a fake punt. Ferron Fonoimoana took the ball 3 yards up the middle for the first down, which allowed Kahuku to run out the clock.
Mapu had six quarterback hurries, while Darrell Tachibana recorded a team-high nine tackles.
The teams traded blows in the first half, but the game was no closer to being decided at halftime as the teams went into the locker room tied at 7.
Both teams featured balanced offensive attacks throughout the season to advance to the championship game, but relied on their traditional strengths to move the ball in the first half. Kahuku picked up 161 of its 170 yards on the ground, while St. Louis passed for 117 yards and rushed for just 12.
Both moved the ball effectively in the first quarter, but couldn't cash in. Kahuku opened the game in a power-I formation and rammed the ball down to the St. Louis 17 before giving it up on downs. The Crusaders passed their way to the Kahuku 7 but were also denied.
After taking over on their own 9, the Red Raiders used option plays to drive 91 yards for the game's first score. Pula, who rushed for 112 yards in the first half, ripped off runs of 20 and 25 yards and capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown scamper.
The Kahuku defense forced St. Louis to punt on its first possession of the second quarter and later stopped the Crusaders on downs at the Red Raider 14. George, who was knocked down six times in the half, was hammered by Tala Esera after his fourth-down pass was batted away and had to be helped off the field.
Sokugawa took over for George after a short Kahuku punt gave St. Louis the ball at the Red Raider 43. Sokugawa completed a flare pass to Tito Sallas on his first play. He then dropped back and lobbed a 34-yard strike to Rivers who snuck behind the Kahuku secondary for a touchdown. Michael Houar's conversion knotted the game at 7.
Rivers had three catches for 73 yards in the half.
Funaki electrified the Kahuku throng by keeping the ball on the option, bursting through the line and sprinting away from the St. Louis pursuit for a 77-yard touchdown run to make it 14-7.
Pula sent the Kahuku faithful into a frenzy again six minutes later, angling off right tackle and running 82 yards untouched to the end zone. The conversion gave Kahuku a 21-7 lead at the 3:11 mark of the third quarter.
The Crusaders closed the gap with 7:05 left in the game when George hit Rivers with a 10-yard touchdown pass. The score was set up by a fumbled snap on an attempted punt by the Red Raiders, which was recovered by St. Louis' Jonah Lakatani.
St. Louis got another break when Funaki fumbled the ball away at the Kahuku 47. After moving the ball to the Red Raider 22, George threw three incompletions. He connected with Kainoa Fernandez on fourth-and-10, but the play came up 2 yards short, giving Kahuku the ball with 4:26 left in the game.
The Red Raiders were able to then run the clock out after Fonoimoana's run for a first down on the fake punt.
Notes: Alumni from both schools now playing for Hawaii served as honorary captains for last night's game. UH quarterback Tim Chang and slotback Gerald Welch represented St. Louis. Defensive backs Hyrum and Leonard Peters served as Kahuku's captains. UH athletic director Hugh Yoshida, who coached Leilehua to a Prep Bowl win over St. Louis, was also on the Kahuku side, while Pac-Five coach Don Botelho joined the St. Louis contingent ... The pregame warmups began with the entire Kahuku squad performing its traditional Haka toward the Crusaders. By the time they were finished, the Red Raiders were on the St. Louis 30-yard line ... Nebraska offensive lineman and Kahuku graduate Toniu Fonoti watched the game from the St. Louis sideline. Fonoti is the older brother of Crusader linebacker Taualai Fonoti.
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