Kahuku Red Raiders Bouncing Back From Rough Start

Wednesday - September 17, 2008
By Jack Danilewicz
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Reggie Torres can always identify a championship-caliber defense by the pace it sets.

Whether or not his current defensive unit can return the Red Raiders to the top of the prep football heap again this fall will play out in the coming weeks, but for the present, the third-year coach acknowledges that his group has taken a quantum leap in its development since a 35-0 loss to Kamehameha on opening night.

“We’re seeing the kids playing faster, and the reason is that they’re thinking less and pretty much just playing football now,” said Torres, whose team meets McKinley Saturday night at Roosevelt High School. “Defensively, they’ve been doing a great job understanding our blitz packages and our different schemes. (Kahuku defensive coordinator) Kimo (Haiola) likes to attack, so we’re barely in a base defense.”

With a number of position shifts during spring practice, the Red Raiders opened their season with only two true starters - running back St. John Lessary III on offense and Aulola Tonga on defense - although several current starters on both sides of the ball saw significant playing time in 2007. To that end, they looked like a team in transition in the aforementioned opener against Kamehameha, where they surrendered four scores covering 26 yards or more. The defense has given up only 14 points in three games since, all of those points coming in a 28-14 victory over Kailua Aug. 22, before posting back-to-back shut-outs against Kealakehe (30-0) and Roosevelt (28-0), respectively, in the ensuing weeks.


“We knew it was a process with the young kids,” Torres said. “We’re young as far as the number of underclassmen we have - because we have a lot of sophomores - but we also have a lot of starters who played a different position last year or who hardly played at all.”

Torres attributed part of the defensive improvement to the on-the-field leadership his team has received from linebacker Justin Afalava, a 6-foot, 220-pound senior.

“He’s our quarterback on defense,” Torres said of Afalava, whose older brother Al is a former Kahuku standout and current safety at Oregon State.“Justin has great football sense, and he grasped our defense quickly. The kids turn to him to get them to the right spot. He was ‘the guy’ at Roosevelt.”

Fellow senior linebackers A.J. Atuaia and Kamalani Alo also have figured big for the defense so far, ranging from sideline to sideline to make plays.

“A.J. is just relentless. (Alo) has been one of our consistent guys. It’s the same with him as with Justin. He has speed and a great work ethic. Against Kailua, he picked off a ball and ran it back to the house.”

The Kahuku defense also features Jray Galeai, one of the state’s top college prospects at safety, and fellow defensive back Tonga. While up front, junior Hau’oli Jamora has led the way from his defensive end position.

“His work ethic has gotten him to where he’s at. He spent all summer working out, and he spends the time to fix his game. The kids emulate him. They’re constantly hearing the coaches comment on how hard he works, and they want to be noticed themselves.”

In McKinley, the Red Raiders will face a team likely to give them some different looks offensively, according to Torres, but stopping the run remains their No. 1 priority.

“If we can’t stop the run, we’ll be in for a long night,” said Torres. “We’ve done a much better job the last few weeks.


“They (McKinley) went double-tight(ends) against Kailua with a lot of stretch (running) plays. They’ll be multi-dimensional. The two brothers (two-way stand-outs Ionatana and Tavita Woodward) are great athletes, and if we play the way we’re capable of playing, they’ll have to throw.

“They’re very capable of throwing, and their coach (Bobby Grey) is well-versed in the spread (offense).”

For their part, Kahuku will look to get its own run game in gear, offensively. In addition to the play of Lessary III in the backfield, the team also has benefited from strong production by junior running back Viliami Pasi.

“St. John is getting better each week, and Viliami is right on his heels,” Torres said of Pasi, who is 5-9, 180 pounds.“We love the competition amongst the two. They’re both going to be on the field.”

Friday’s game marks the second of three in a row to be played at Roosevelt. The Rough Riders’ stadium was renovated during the off-season and includes a new artificial playing surface, which has more than met Torres’ approval. Count Torres’ wife, Lita, among those who favor the new surface. She has the job of washing all the team’s red-dirt-infested uniforms after games.

“It’s a nice place,” Torres said of Roosevelt, “and my wife doesn’t have to worry about washing muddy jerseys.”

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