Kahuku rolls past Aiea

This was not eye-popping Kahuku, but the top-ranked Red Raiders were good enough to roll over Aiea 50-7 on Friday night on the North Shore.

Playing against a rugged Na Alii defense, the Red Raiders rushed for just 77 yards and passed for another 137 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Blue football contest. Kahuku was the recipient of excellent field position all night long. All eight possessions started in Aiea territory, and that is far from ideal from the visitors’ perspective.

“They’re not the defending state champs for nothing,” Aiea coach Wendell Say said before boarding the team bus. “Kahuku is real physical and real different from us. We’re a little smaller and more of a finesse type of team. They did everything we expected. They’re tough and it’s especially tough to play them over here.”

For the first time since about midseason in 2015, the Red Raiders did not run their jumbo elephant package in which the designated quarterback takes a direct snap from center and runs, usually between the tackles. Kahuku played a traditional offense all night, and it worked.

Steven Lombard rushed for three touchdowns and Elvis Vakapuna, another running back, showed his skills lugging the ball and catching passes. Vakapuna scored twice, once via the run and once via the pass.

“The adrenaline was up,” said Vakapuna, a senior transfer from Utah. “This was my first actual real game playing with Kahuku. I was supposed to stay only as long as the last semester of my junior year, but (the family situation changed and) I stayed. It felt good to be part of the Red Raider party.

“Steven Lombard, he is a beast and he’s also my cousin.”

Holding Kahuku to 214 scrimmage yards was an accomplishment for Aiea, but Na Alii couldn’t keep the Red Raider horde from trampling them in the red zone and getting into the end zone. Two Aiea interceptions helped Kahuku on its way. The Red Raiders didn’t turn the ball over, and the only close call – a muffed handoff — was recovered by Kahuku center Vili Fisiiahi.

“Playing a strong team like this doesn’t define us,” Aiea’s Say said. “What defines us is how we played, and we didn’t quit.”

Kahuku went up 3-0 when Stokes Nihipali-Botelho booted a 29-yard, first-quarter field goal. A short Aiea punt set the stage for a 35-yard Kahuku drive that Lombard capped with a 5-yard TD run up the middle to make it 9-0. Vakapuna got into the act with his first TD, a 17-yard jaunt to boost the lead to 16-0 early in the second quarter.

Na Alii got right back in the thick of things on a trick play — a flea-flicker lateral pass from Zelius Maae-Liupaono to Gage Asing, who then unleashed a 35-yard TD strike to Ty Matsunami. All of a sudden, Aiea was just 9 points down. 16-7.

“I was supposed to fake my block and get up the field so Gage could throw me the pass,” Matsunami said. “We just gotta come back next week and work hard to try to get the W (at home against Campbell).”

That Na Alii momentum didn’t last. Kekaula Kaniho returned the ensuing kickoff 65 yards and the points piled on from there.

Sol-Jay Maiava, the freshman who has a scholarship offer from Michigan, went 7-for-11 for 84 yards and a TD in his second high school start.

Backup Cameron Renaud showed his accurate arm in the second half. He went 3-for-7 for 53 yards and two of his passes were dropped. Renaud was taken to Pali Momi Medical Center on a stretcher after he was hit by Aiea’s Ryan Panuelo late in the game.

“He’ll be all right,” head coach Vavae Tata said. “I called him and he said, ‘Yes, Coach’ and that tells me he’s all right.”

John Hao, the Kahuku offensive coordinator said, Renaud “probably has a concussion” after his head snapped back and hit the ground after the hit. “He was speaking and his hands and feet were moving. He’s a tough kid.”

“The good (for us) is we’re 1-0,” Tata continued. “And another good is we have another opportunity next week. We’ve still got a lot of things to clean up, but we’re looking forward to the challenge (at home against No. 4 Waianae) next week. As long as we’re on the ascent each week — 1-0, that’s all we’re looking for.”