Kahuku accomplished one of its defensive goals early and secured the second late.

Along the way, the top-ranked Red Raiders continued their run of dominance against Oahu competition while earning the opportunity to defend their OIA Division I championship with a 38-0 win over No. 5 Waianae in the front end of Saturday’s OIA semifinal doubleheader at Aloha Stadium.

Cornerback Kekaula Kaniho checked off one of Kahuku’s objectives by returning the second of the Red Raiders’ two first-quarter interceptions for a touchdown. They paired the defensive score with a shutout for the sixth time this season and running back Elvis Vakapuna scored two touchdowns and freshman quarterback Sol-Jay Maiava ran for another in Kahuku’s first-half surge.

“It was our defense’s goal to start off fast and hopefully score and we did that,” said Kaniho, who turned in his third pick-six in the past four games and recovered a fumble to set up the Red Raiders’ final touchdown of the night.

Kahuku (9-1) advanced to Friday’s OIA championship game at Aloha Stadium having allowed one touchdown in its past 30 quarters in OIA play and none in the past 11.

“It feels great. We have to get back to work on Monday,” Kaniho said in business-like fashion befitting the Red Raiders’ performance.

After Kahuku gave the ball away on downs on the game’s opening possession, cornerback Stokes Nihipali-Botelho came up with an interception on Waianae’s first play from scrimmage. Vakapuna carried the ball five times in a seven-play drive, ending it with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone to open the scoring.

A short Waianae punt gave the Red Raiders possession at the Seariders’ 22 and Maiava scored on a 16-yard keeper on third-and-15.

Kaniho extended the lead 48 seconds later with a 22-yard interception return, the Red Raiders’ 10th defensive score of the season.

Vakapuna, who led Kahuku with 79 rushing yards, added a 7-yard touchdown run and Nihipali-Botelho hit a 38-yard field goal to give the Red Raiders a 31-0 cushion. Kaniho’s fumble recovery set up a 30-yard drive highlighted by Maiava’s 25-yard completion to tight end Sekope Latu and capped by Kesi Ah-Hoy’s 3-yard touchdown run.

With the clock running in the second half, the only drama left centered on whether Waianae could break through against Kahuku after going scoreless in the team’s previous three meetings. The Seariders drove to the Kahuku 13 in a 15-play march, but Ah-Hoy sacked quarterback Jorell Pontes-Borje on fourth down.

“Defensively they’re so stingy. The way they play obviously reflects that,” said Kahuku coach Vavae Tata, who improved to 22-0 against Hawaii teams since taking over the program last season. “They take great pride in playing good defense.”

Kahuku held Waianae to 53 yards in total offense, 23 rushing, and hasn’t allowed more than 88 in its past eight OIA games.

The Red Raiders also pushed opponents back for an aggregate loss of 16 yards on the ground in nine league games.

Defensive lineman Aliki Vimahi had three of Kahuku’s 10 tackles for loss and linebacker Sioeli Naupoto had two.

Waianae (8-3) will play for third place next week and both teams have qualified for the inaugural Open Division in the state tournament.

“I’ll get over it and start thinking about states,” Waianae coach Walter Young said. “There’s a lot of season left. Nowhere near the end. We have (another) champions to prep for. The sign of a great team is how we respond.”