Young Red Raiders In Semifinals
By Jack Danilewicz
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On paper, the Kahuku football family has been to this point many times before - one win away from playing in the state championship game. Upon further review, however, the Red Raiders are a team yet to leave its own mark on the program, according to head coach Reggie Torres.
“Some of our other teams, they’d been there before, and those kids knew the level of play that it takes to get there (and win),” Torres said. “This team has never been there. It’s new for them, but they’re enjoying every moment of it.”
While the team is hardly without veteran leadership, youth will be well-represented across Kahuku’s offensive, defensive and special teams Friday night when they play their First Hawaiian Bank state semifinal game at Aloha Stadium. They will meet the winner of last Friday night’s first-round matchup between Leilehua and Baldwin at either 4 or 7:30 p.m. (final starting time was to be set early this week).
Torres viewed last week’s open date as a mixed bag for the Red Raiders (9-1), who have been on a steady ascension momentum-wise since early September.
“It’s good and bad,” he said of having a week off after their win over Farrington in the OIA championship game Nov. 14. “We healed up, and we’ll have two starters back (strong safety/line-backer Kamalani Alo and defensive lineman Kona Schwenke) that we wouldn’t have had if we’d played a game Friday.”
The goal of every team is to be playing its best football at state tournament time, and the Red Raiders have looked like a team hitting its stride in recent weeks - especially defensively, having posted a pair of shut-outs and holding five other opponents under 14 points.
“I don’t want to say we have the secret ingredient (to peaking at the right time),” he added. “Maybe because we’re young, it helps to keep us hungry. The biggest thing is that we’re still improving and getting better each day. At this time of the year, you can get complacent. These kids haven’t gotten to that point.”
For the record, the Red Raiders responded big-time following their earlier bye week with a 42-13 win over Mililani in the OIA playoffs. Another rallying point has been Kahuku’s only setback - a 35-0 loss on opening night to Kamehameha at Aloha Stadium.
“We constantly remind them of where they’ve come from, after our spanking by Kamehameha. We still have a long way to go. We’re still a team that can be beaten, and sometimes I think it’s a fear of feeling that (disappointment of the Kamehameha game) again that drives us.”
On game night, defense has largely carried them, but if they are to capture their first state title since 2006, they’ll need their offense to continue to find its groove. With that in mind, much of the offense rests with a talented but youthful offensive line that features Mafileo Lauhingoa, Malaesaili Saga, Jase Toomalatai, Jamal Napeahi and newcomer Christopher Thee, who will be making his first start Friday night, having recently moved up from the JV team. Napeahi is a sophomore, and Toomalatai is a junior, giving Kahuku three underclassmen on the line.
“For us to even have a shot, our O-line has to show up,“Torres said. “We have good running backs and receivers ... They have to open the holes. At this juncture, our defense can’t do everything.”
Thee, a 6-foot, 220-pound sophomore, moved up the the varsity prior to the OIA championship game, but didn’t see any action.
“He had to learn the plays - the JV runs most of our plays, but not all,” Torres said.“He’s adapting to the speed and size of the (varsity) game. We’re excited about him.”
Torres entered the season wanting his offense to be more balanced and one-dimensional, and the passing game, led by quarterback Allan Kubota, has made strides over the last couple of months to help balance out the offense. Kubota threw two touchdown passes in the OIA championship game.
“Our run game is the reason we’ve been able to throw,” Torres said.
Senior running back Saint John Lessary has remained the workhorse for the Red Raiders and was among the players who benefited from a week off.“He wouldn’t have played last Friday, but he should be full speed for this week,” Torres said.
Kahuku has won state titles in five of the last eight years. The DI state championship game is set for 7:30 p.m. Dec. 5 at Aloha Stadium.
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