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The Kahuku football machine keeps on rolling.
The Red Raiders held Campbell to negative-15 yards from scrimmage in a 44-0 romp at Kahuku’s rainy and wet Carleton Weimer Field on Friday night.
Elvis Vakapuna rushed for 72 yards and three touchdowns for the Red Raiders (4-0, 4-0 OIA Blue), who are ranked No. 1 in the Star-Advertiser Top 10 and No. 18 in the USA Today Super 25. It was Kahuku’s 17th straight victory.
The Kahuku defense is beginning to look like last year’s unit, which held opponents to less than four points per game. The Red Raiders play Radford on Friday before their big matchup against Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas on Sept. 17. The Gaels are ranked No. 1 by USA Today.
It was the second shutout in a row for the boys from the North Shore, who beat then-No. 4 Waianae 28-0 a week earlier.
“The coaching staff put together a great game plan,” Kahuku head coach Vavae Tata said. “We accomplished our goal. We’re 1-0 this week and were looking forward to our next challenge. We’ll look at the tape and get better.”
Campbell (2-3, 2-2) had trouble snapping the ball in its shotgun offense all night.
Kahuku’s Stokes Nihipali-Botelho, who had two interceptions, returned the opening kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
That’s when Campbell’s snapping troubles started. Two high snaps in a row led to a 25-yard loss and it resulted in a safety and a 9-0 lead when Red Raiders linebacker Miki Ah You downed Campbell’s Kawika Ulufale in the end zone. Vakapuna scored two of his touchdowns before the Red Raiders went to the locker room at the break with a 23-0 lead. Harmon Brown added depth to the Kahuku rushing attack, going for 98 yards and a TD.
Kesi Ah-Hoy, who played quarterback for Kahuku last season, intercepted a fourth-quarter pass and returned it 52 yards for a score.
