Kekaula Kaniho helps Kahuku corner the market

There aren’t many young men walking the campus, 3.9 grade-point average, college-qualified, pumping Zac Brown Band tunes into their ears.

It just so happens Kekaula Kaniho’s favorite color turned out to be red, not blue. The Kahuku senior and lockdown cornerback, who attended Kamehameha Schools until the end of his sophomore year, already has five interceptions returned for touchdowns this season. It’s not just unheard of, but five pick-6s at the highest level in the state for the unbeaten, No. 1 Red Raiders is going to be tough to duplicate by anyone, maybe ever.

Kaniho, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound senior with eight scholarship offers, is a dominant player at his position, but at Kahuku it’s a bit different than it is at other programs. Kaniho, fellow cornerback Stokes Nihipali-Botelho and safety Codie Sauvao are elite at their positions, bringing along another talented young player, Kaonohi Kaniho — Kekaula’s brother. So are their teammates up front, the defensive linemen and linebackers. It is a unit that is so well trained and finely tuned that scoring on Kahuku has become a rarity in the past two seasons.

Under Vavae Tata, they are 24-1, the lone loss coming against national powerhouse Bishop Gorman (Nev.), a program that actively draws players from up and down the West Coast (and Hawaii). Against Hawaii teams, Kahuku has permitted only 43 points this season — 3.9 per game.

Kaniho has mastered many elements that are akin to playing football on an island. Kahuku’s defense is flexible and aggressive, partly because its cornerbacks handle the task of covering top receivers one on one. Yet, Kaniho and Nihipali-Botelho aren’t individual artists. Kaniho’s familiarity with any area of the secondary came in handy during last weekend’s Open Division semifinal game against Kapolei in the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships. His 56-yard interception return to the end zone capped a resounding 54-7 win over one of the state’s top passing offenses.

“He is super talented,” Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said. “It’s hard to get past them (Kaniho and Nihipali-Botelho). Great ability to cover and tackle. Both have unreal return capabilities, as well. They are the premier cornerbacks in the high school game. They have speed, quickness and great talent, but they also have smarts and guile. They are very disciplined and adjust well in-game to route combinations.”

Kaniho hails from a long, long line of Red Raiders from Kaaawa, One day, maybe, he will help pen a compilation of memories that go back four generations.

“My great papa, Philip Kaniho, was one of 16 siblings from Lahaina, Maui,” he wrote. “He was a standout football and basketball player at Lahainaluna and later traveled with the Original Harlem Globetrotters and the Hawaii All-Stars basketball teams. He was only able to play sports because his oldest brother sacrificed, working at an early age so he and his older brothers could play. Because of that sacrifice, my great grandpa promised his dad and family he would do his best to make the Lahaina Kaniho name proud. I’m humbled to represent my last name and continue my Papa Pilipo’s legacy. He and my great-grandma Winona Kaniho moved to Kaaawa to raise my papa Clarence Kaniho and his four siblings. My family has been in Kaaawa and attending Kahuku High School ever since.”

Clarence Kaniho became a paniolo at Kualoa Ranch, and his son, Jarrett, became a football and basketball coach after his playing days. Jarrett and Misty Kaniho have three children, the oldest being Kekaula.

Even with that history, Kaniho wasn’t always dressed in red. From kindergarten to sophomore year, Kaniho made the long haul from Kaaawa to Kapalama Heights. A decade wearing the navy blue of Kamehameha Schools.

“I just wanted to come back home and play where my dad, my papa, my uncles played,” he said. “To be part of the legacy. Education is what you make out of it by challenging yourself. I could be wrong, but I think we have eight or nine AP (advanced placement) courses this year.”

It was ninth grade at Kamehameha, during biology class dissections, when he found a subject both interesting and captivating. A visit to physical therapist Pat Ariki sparked a conversation about prosthetics, which remains an interest of Kaniho’s.

“I want to go into biomedical engineering. It’s a pretty diverse field, from everything like the tools in surgery to research to prosthetic limbs,” said Kaniho, who enjoyed dissection of a cow’s eye and a bird’s leg in science class last year. “Building prosthetic limbs for people and giving them hope for a better quality of life. That’s what I want to go into.”

Walter Santiago, who also coached Kaniho’s father, and Les Kekahuna have asked much of their defensive backs. Kekahuna has seen tons of talent in the Laie Park Raiders program, which funnels to Kahuku. The better the student, he says, the better the player.

“It transfers to the field. When you’re smart in the class, you’re smart on the grass,” Kekahuna said. “It’s the preparation, the way Kekaula practices and the way he performs in the game. He attacks every rep in practice 1,000 percent with relentless effort. Kekaula’s talent will get the attention of many, but his character will earn your trust, loyalty and respect as a coach.”