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Kahuku keeps
Saint Louis
second best
The Red Raiders beat the Crusaders
37-17 in a rematch of last year’s
Division I state title game
It had all the fixings of a championship game -- three months early.
The state's two monster high school football programs met in front of 6,602 at Aloha Stadium last night and put on their customary show.
Kahuku sprinted past Saint Louis 37-17 in a highly anticipated early-season interleague contest. The victory was the fourth in a row for the Red Raiders over the Crusaders. The previous three wins came in state-title contests in 2000, '01 and a year ago, when Kahuku rallied in the final minute for a thrilling 27-26 victory.
The win solidified the Red Raiders' position as the team to beat for the Division I crown again this year.
"Any time you beat Saint Louis, it's rewarding," Kahuku coach Siuaki Livai said. "I don't know the last time they lost like this. We're lucky things turned out our way and that some of our key players turned up big tonight. But we can't depend on that every week."
Due to the loss, the Crusaders (1-1) are relegated, at least temporarily, to second-fiddle status. That could change in December, when the defending Interscholastic League of Honolulu champions may get another crack at reigning Oahu Interscholastic Association winner Kahuku (1-1). That is, of course, if both teams continue to dominate the opposition as they've done for years.
Saint Louis once had a stranglehold on the right to be called Hawaii's best team, winning 16 championships (14 Prep Bowls and two state titles) between 1983 and 2002.
Nine times throughout the years, the two teams met in high-stakes matchups to end the season, with the Crusaders holding a 6-3 advantage.
Just like a year ago, Saint Louis captured some solid momentum in the early going, but had no answer for a furious, determined and sudden Kahuku onslaught.
The Red Raiders wiped out a 10-6 second-quarter deficit with two big-play strikes late in the half for an 18-10 lead. Speedster Spencer Hafoka and transfer Micah Strickland, an all-state player for Punahou last year, were the major engines.
Strickland's first carry late in the first half picked up 21 yards and set up Hafoka's 59-yard TD romp on an inside reverse to give the Red Raiders a 12-10 edge -- a lead they wouldn't relinquish -- with 2:41 left in the half.
The touchdown came two plays after Crusaders quarterback Stanley Nihipali fumbled the ball away in Kahuku's end zone while trying to punch it in from the 1.
That mistake was a crushing blow to Saint Louis, which missed the golden chance to increase its lead.
"That was the turning point," Crusaders coach Delbert Tengan said. "We didn't cash in with the ball at the 1. After that, our defense wasn't resilient enough to hold the lead."
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In the final minute of the half, Kahuku took command 18-10 as Hafoka found a hole and outran the Crusaders after catching a short Bronson Ponciano-Ahue screen pass for a 41-yard TD.
"We were still all right when it was 12-10," Tengan added. "But then we gave up that big play to Hafoka and that really hurt."
The comeback was a miracle of sorts, if you factor in the Red Raiders' extremely poor start, which was punctuated by four early turnovers. All told, they lost the turnover battle 7-3. In their opener, a 27-8 loss to Skyline in Utah last week, turnovers plagued Kahuku as well.
"We kept giving it up on turnovers, but our defense just kept on getting it back and getting it back," Livai said. "We have a lot of work to do. We'll keep on working on (cutting down the turnovers). We've been working on it. And if we cut that down, man, we'll be a lot better team."
Joseph Medeiros was a defensive stalwart for Saint Louis, recovering a fumble and intercepting a pass, while Crusaders running back Kevin Sullivan was one of his team's offensive guns, rushing for 91 yards on eight carries, including his team's final touchdown with a 15-yard burst late in the fourth quarter.
"We'll look to the next game now," said Saint Louis' Jared Silva, who recovered one of the Red Raiders' fumbles. "This one doesn't count."
Kahuku's Fuller, B.J. Adolpho, Max Fairclough, C.J. Aalona and Al Afalava led the Red Raiders' hard-hitting defense. All except Fuller had tackles for loss, but Adolpho caused a lot of the damage by sacking Nihipali twice. Fuller recovered a fumble and added his TD interception return early in the fourth.
Hafoka finished with three TDs. He galloped for a 64-yard score on a Ponciano-Ahue pass for Kahuku's final points.
"We really bounced back from that loss to Skyline and I'm so glad we did," Hafoka said. "That loss really showed us where we're at -- our strengths and weaknesses. We had a good week of practice, came out strong for this one and now we're back on top."
Ponciano-Ahue had a smooth night, throwing the ball just seven times, but completing six for 196 yards and three TDs.
Nihipali finished 17 of 37 for 208 yards.
Other Non-League Results
Lahainaluna 40, Kapaa 8: Six different players scored a touchdown to lead the Lunas past the Warriors at Lahaina.The Lunas scored in each quarter, including Wayne Phillips' 54-yard touchdown run in the first.
Phillips rushed for 93 yards as the Lunas improved to 2-0.
Kapaa scored in the first on Kalima Leong's 2-yard run.
Kwansei 34, Hawaii Prep 13: Kwansei of Kobe, Japan, scored 21 points in the second quarter to run past Ka Makani on the Big Island.
Kwansei, the defending national American high school football champion in Japan, was making its ninth trip to Hawaii.
