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Kahuku-Kailua game
postponed by weather

At first, they thought it was just a prank.

But once last night's game with Kailua was officially postponed due to inclement weather and road closures, the Kahuku Red Raiders weren't laughing anymore.

The game would have been a first for Kahuku. OC 16 was set to broadcast the game live from Kahuku's Carleton Weimers Field. Instead, the game was postponed to today. The junior varsity will kick off at 4 p.m., with the varsity game to begin 25 minutes after the completion of the JV contest.

The Red Raiders are itching for competition. Since the start of preseason, they have had no controlled scrimmages and only three games thus far.

"My guys are upset about not playing. We need games," Kahuku coach Siuaki Livai said. "The last thing we need is to have a game postponed, but we can't complain to people in Texas and New Orleans."

Kailua's teams and early-arriving fans began the trek back home before closure of roads. In addition to a flash-flood warning, a high-surf advisory was in effect.

"The safety of the travelers comes first," Kahuku principal Lisa DeLong said. "We wanted to make sure they could get home safely."

By 5:30 p.m., there were reports of accidents at Likelike Highway and Kualoa due to heavy rains. At least one part of the highway was a foot underwater.

The field itself was playable, though the track turned into a moat, as usual.

"(The postponement) is more out of convenience. We called dispatch to contact the media about it," HPD officer Bill Ah Sue said.

Games were also canceled the weekend after 9/11.

"That's the only time any games here were canceled or postponed that I can remember," said Jeri Tugman, Kahuku's basketball statistician. She's watched Kahuku sports since 1972.

Discipline and focus seemed to be lacking in the loss to Castle. Kahuku slid from the top ranking to No. 4 in the poll.

"Outside of the field, this team is disciplined. Us captains try to watch out for our guys," defensive end B.J. Beatty said. "But we've been working a lot more this week on being mentally focused."

Kealakehe player dies in crash

Royden Kalavi, a member of the Kealakehe Waveriders football team, died yesterday as a result of injuries suffered in a two-car collision near the school.

Kalavi, 17, was a passenger in the bed of a Ford pickup truck when it rear-ended a Mazda sedan on Kealakehe Parkway, according to the Kona Police Department, which was called to the scene at 2:43 p.m. He was ejected from the truck, police said. Kalavi was pronounced dead at Kona Hospital at 7:36 p.m.

Kealakehe canceled its game with Hawaii Preparatory Academy, scheduled for last night, after news of the accident reached the school.

Another passenger in the bed of the truck was ejected from the vehicle and remains in serious condition.

The passengers in the Mazda sedan were treated and released. Both wore seatbelts at the time of the accident.

Kalavi is the second Kealakehe student-athlete to die in a car accident within the past year. Sarah Rosenberg, a senior class president, died on Dec. 30 in a multi-car accident on Queen Kaahumanu Highway. She was also a cross country runner and swimmer for the Waveriders.