Kahuku dominates

The Red Raiders shut out Waianae and will face Punahou in the final

No. 1 Kahuku continued its Thanksgiving feast last night, stuffing No. 7 Waianae 43-0 in the first semifinal game of the HHSAA/First Hawaiian Bank State Division I Football Championships at Aloha Stadium.

The Red Raiders (10-1) racked up 428 yards of offense, 322 of which came on the ground, and limited the Seariders to only 32 yards. Malosi Teo led the ground attack with 160 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries.

"Our defense set the tone," Teo said. "They really are the head of this whole team. They work harder than the offense, and they deserve all the credit."

Kahuku will face Punahou on Friday for the state title. The Buffanblu beat No. 2 seed Baldwin, the Maui champion, 30-7 in last night's second semifinal.

The Kahuku defense forced a three and out on Waianae's opening drive, and on the resulting punt, Siavalua Fali bobbled the low snap, and the Red Raiders recovered the ball on the Searider 29-yard line. After two Teo runs for a combined 27 yards, Kahuku scored on a 2-yard burst by Teo with 9:06 to play in the quarter. The successful PAT put the Red Raiders up 7-0.

Kahuku stopped Waianae again on its next drive, and after the punt had the ball on its own 30-yard line. The Red Raiders proceeded to drive down the field behind the relentless rushing attack and did not attempt a pass until 3:40 remained in first quarter. Quarterback Kaulin Krebs' first completion went to Devin Unga for 21 yards, but the ball popped loose, giving Waianae possession on its own 9.

But Searider quarterback Jordan Manuel was sacked by Malone Fiso with 1:29 to play in the opening quarter, and forced a fumble that was recovered by linebacker George Tafuna on Waianae's 27-yard line. On the next play, Teo took the handoff and scampered 27 yards to the end zone for a touchdown. After the extra point sailed wide left, Kahuku was out to a 13-0 lead with 1:21 to play in the opening period.

On the ensuing kickoff, Darius Fuller returned the ball to the Kahuku 30, and after a Red Raider personal foul, Waianae was in business at the opponent's 15-yard line.

After being held by the Red Raider defense, Waianae was faced with fourth and goal at the 14, but Kahuku was flagged for pass interference, and the Seariders had new life at the 7-yard line.

But the relentless defense caused Waianae quarterback Liko Manuel to fumble, and Micah Wiley took the loose ball 27 yards for the score with 8:12 to play in the first half. After a failed 2-point conversion, the Red Raiders were in command with a 19-0 lead.

"Our defense played well all year long, and we were able to hold them," said Kahuku head coach Siuaki Livai. "For the moment, I'll just enjoy what we have now, and then get back to basics for (the championship) game."

After both teams traded punts, the Seariders started to move the ball, but Manuel threw an interception with 5 seconds to play in the half. A content Kahuku unit took its 19-point lead into the locker room.

Kahuku picked up the second half right where it left off, moving down to the Waianae 31-yard line, thanks to a 34-yard run by Teo on its first offensive play of the second half. After three more runs, Krebs went to the air and capped the drive with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Redmond Tutor. Another failed 2-point conversion gave the Red Raiders a 25-0 advantage.

After forcing a punt, Kahuku got the ball back on its own 35-yard line and continued to pound away on the ground. The Red Raiders did nothing but run, and put six more points on the board as Joseph Whittacker rumbled for a 30-yard touchdown to put Kahuku up 31-0 with 5:21 to play in the third quarter.

Waianae (9-4) showed signs of life after Henry Keomalu and Douglas Newman hooked up on a 43-yard pass that put the Seariders on the Red Raider 7-yard line. After Nui Stevens rushed to the 1, the red wall of Kahuku defenders stepped up its pressure yet again, causing William Tupola's interception of Keomalu.

"Part of it was lack of execution, but more so their tough defense," said Waianae head coach Daniel Matsumoto. "I don't know how we would have stopped them. They block well and have great running backs, so they're probably going to go all the way (to win the state championship)."

Whittacker set the table again for the Red Raiders with a 62-yard run to the Waianae 10. After 5 more yards from Whittacker, Teo finished off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. Yet another failed 2-point conversion did not affect Kahuku, as the Raiders led 37-0 with 5 seconds to go in the third quarter, and the mercy rule in effect.

The Red Raiders scored the game's final points when Jacob Kahawaii hit Jason Evans for a 29-yard touchdown pass with 6:05 remaining in the game to put the Kahuku up 43-0.

Whittacker ran for 100 yards on four carries for Kahuku. Stevens picked up 41 yards on 13 carries and Newman collected all of Waianae's 63 receiving yards.

Despite the victory, the Red Raiders were flagged 18 times and penalized 160 yards.

"It's always a concern, and I know I always get criticized for that, but we try to teach our kids to be aggressive and to fly around the ball," Livai said. "We can't be perfect, but without those penalties, it would have been a lot easier."

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