Nothing seemed to be going right on Thursday.

Kahuku’s two rental buses for a scrimmage trip to Moanalua didn’t pan out. The Red Raiders boarded the one bus that showed up. They made it to town behind schedule and new coach Lee Leslie was just a wee bit annoyed. Then came an early Moanalua touchdown — even without keeping score, he couldn’t help but get a little more annoyed.

Then everything settled in. Kahuku used its mix of offensive packages and a dominating defense to stifle the home team.

"We’re looking for good execution, get groups going in. Solidify the ground game, jumbo set, pass set and two in between," Leslie said before the scrimmage. "If we get through this like we’re supposed to, we’ll do our checklist and be ready for Campbell next week."

Check list? Checked off. Kahuku clearly can and will deploy its jumbo set featuring big backs in the 270-pound range to bulldoze high school defenses and probably a few at the next level, if necessary.

The twists offered by Leslie are the spread, run-and-shoot and West Coast sets. In all, the first-year coach has inputted 118 plays to the recipe book. It’s not as messy or heavy as it may sound. He’s utilizing an old Boise State-style approach, using different groups of players for the different formations. All but quarterback Tuli Wily-Matagi and the offensive line have a spectrum of variation when it comes to personnel.

Wily-Matagi, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound athlete who was a tight end two years ago, is coming along as the challenges pile higher. He’s never had a moment’s hesitation when it comes to carrying the ball and running over defenders, but hitting receivers on jet play-action out of the spread is something he’s working on.

That’s one of the horror-flick elements to Kahuku’s new offensive strategies. When defenses send their seven or eight best run stuffers to stop the jumbo, Big Red can counter with the spread and run cutback artist Kesi Ah-Hoy up the hash marks. If they stuff the hashes, Soli Afalava can scoot around end for breakaway runs. It all sets up Wily-Matagi for that play-action rollout, which works when his fundamentals are tight.

"Tuli’s underappreciated as a quarterback. He’s got a cannon for an arm, he can run, so we’ve got a lot of fun packages for him," Leslie said.

It matters now, even though he has already committed to Utah — as a tight end.

Kahuku’s seniors, including the eight who returned to the North Shore from various points on end, are locked in on a title run. It’s been such a long time for the Red Raiders, who last won a state championship in, well … 2012. The Red Raiders won titles in ’00, ’01, ’03 and ’05 under Siuaki Livai, then in ’06, ’11 and ’12 under Reggie Torres.

Then came the controversial release of Torres after the ’13 season by a new administration. Leslie is fully aware of the fickle nature of football at Kahuku, yet there he is, newly hired as a character education teacher at the middle school. After all the tumult, football season is here and the focus is on the game. It starts with defense, where Manaia Atuaia is a linebacker/defensive back/hybrid playmaker.

"He’s one of our top three defensive players. He’s so good, I leave him alone. He’ll go to the wide receiver, running back, slot," Leslie said of the 6-foot, 210-pound senior. "He’s kind of in a league of his own. He fills the gap and he gives you a good smack you don’t usually hear from a high school kid. It’s more of a college hit, and he never gets his bell rung."

Supplemented by the return of run-stoppers like Fitisemanu — who was at Punahou — defensive coordinator Sola Soliai has brought the concepts that helped Kaiser take the Division II state title last season. He has the 265-pound Fitisemanu at middle linebacker.

For now, so early in preseason, there might be more entertainment value just watching the jumbo set at work. They have former Kamehameha fullback Salanoa Wily (6-1, 270) there, as well as 6-2, 275-pound Jacob Afalava, a transfer from Utah.

The sturdy maulers up front are led by senior left tackle Siotome Uluava (6-2, 295). They’ve been asked to do a wider array of things compared to the I-formation, smashmouth attack that flourished in the past.

"The kids have picked it up and done a nice job. We don’t have to get that far into the playbook," Leslie said.

Four potential starters went from the Kahuku JV program right to Saint Louis. In other words, ILH programs are continuing to leech talent from the North Shore, whether it’s Punahou or Cal Lee back at Saint Louis. But Leslie counts his blessings. There are returning coaches on staff like Keala Santiago, as well as veteran newcomers like Tommy Heffernan.

Leslie is doing all he can to give the community and his players the best home possible.

"We don’t have money, but we’ve cleaned up the field, and now we have a tunnel (for pregame). We’ve put up 36 flags: 12 American, 12 state and 12 Kahuku flags. We painted everything, the locker room. We’re getting the Red Raider out in Red Raider country."