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Kahuku crushes Kailua
Kailua usually represents Kahuku's biggest obstacle in Oahu Interscholastic Association football.
Not last night.
The top-ranked, defending state champion Red Raiders made it look easy, forcing five first-half turnovers on the way to a 46-0 romp over the Surfriders in Kailua.
Despite the loss, the Surfriders (3-4-1, 2-3-1 OIA Red East) qualified for the league playoffs because of Roosevelt's 29-28 loss to Castle last night.
Red East champion Kahuku (7-1, 6-0) had a much easier time than last year, when the Red Raiders barely snuck by Kailua 6-0 in the league title game.
"I honestly expected Kailua to come out and play much better than they did tonight," said Kahuku defensive lineman Micah Wily. "This was a big win because these guys are our East rivals and they always try to come out and play us strong."
Surprisingly, the Red Raiders didn't play many of their top backs in the first half, including Micah Strickland, who rushed for 305 yards against Roosevelt last week, and Malosi Te'o, who has been a go-to guy much of the year.
Instead, Kahuku relied on two of the many reliable backs in its never-ending stable to churn out the yards. Kamuela Aisa and Siaosi Lauhingoa combined for more than 100 rushing yards in the first half as Kahuku took a 28-0 lead.
Lauhingoa finished the night with 195 yards rushing and three TDs.
In addition, junior quarterback Jacob Kahawaii threw touchdown passes of 44 yards to Redmond Tutor and 10 to tight end Viliami Tilini in the first 24 minutes. Kahawaii also added a 2-point conversion pass to Tilini.
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Defensively, Kahuku's Wily, Kaniela Tuipulotu, B.J. Adolpho, B.J. Beatty and others kept pounding on Kailua running back Damien Torres, one of the state's top running backs, who was held to 54 yards on 18 carries. They also put loads of pressure and hits on Surfriders quarterback Kelroy Kohatsu.
Overall, Kahuku caused six Kailua turnovers, including three interceptions by Kohatsu.
"We played OK in the beginning of the game," said hard-hitting Kailua defensive back Nicholas Tepea, who had an interception. "But Kahuku had a couple of drives and a couple of long runs and they just kept coming back at us. They wore us out. Looking at the score, it's disappointing because last year was such a good game."
The Red Raiders tacked on 18 unanswered points in the second half. Lauhingoa had TD runs of 72 and 15 yards, while backup quarterback Koga Moe threw a 10-yard scoring pass to tight end La'auli Fonoti.
"It feels great," Lauhingoa said after his first 100-yard-plus game. "I just came back from not playing for three games because of grades."
Lauhingoa thinks the Red Raiders, who have a bye next week, have an excellent chance to win their fourth state title in the last five years.
"If we can continue working together, we can probably make state champs," he said.
Kailua first-year coach Gary Rosolowich wasn't totally down after the 46-point loss.
"Kahuku's 6-0 and that means five other teams were in the same position as us," he said. "(If we make) the playoffs, it will be a fresh start."
