Kahuku holds off Kapolei in tough defensive battle

Kahuku’s offense produced one big play Friday night. 

The Red Raiders defense made sure that would be enough to survive another week.

Kahuku quarterback Tuli Wily-Matagi raced 55 yards for a touchdown on the Red Raiders’ first play from scrimmage and the defense stifled Kapolei in a 9-0 win in the quarterfinals of the OIA Division I playoffs.

"Every practice we push hard, defense always wins championships," said Kahuku defensive back John Farley, who came down with two interceptions. "That’s what we learned. That’s what Kahuku is about."

Kahuku (7-1) advances to face Farrington in a semifinal on Thursday and will have two chances to secure one of the OIA’s three berths in the Division I state tournament.

Kapolei ended its season at 4-5 despite a valiant effort from its defense.

After the opening play, the Hurricanes kept the Red Raiders offense out of the end zone the rest of the way. They snagged four interceptions and recovered a fumble on a punt return in the fourth quarter. 

But the Kahuku defense didn’t allow the Hurricanes to get any traction offensively and extended the lead with a safety in the third quarter. 

"Other than (the touchdown) the defense played great," Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez said. "Offensively, I thought their defense played better than us.

"We felt like we were in this game, we just couldn’t get enough firepower against their tough defense. They played tremendously on D and stopped us big time."

Kapolei drove to the Kahuku 16 on the game’s opening possession, the bulk of the yardage coming on Tristan Centeio’s 21-yard run and three Kahuku penalties for 25 yards. But the Red Raiders defense pushed the Hurricanes back on the next three plays and Farley snared an interception on fourth down and returned it to the Kahuku 45. 

Wily-Matagi scampered in from 55 yards out on the very next play.

Both defenses took over from there, with Kapolei’s Keoni Taylor creating a scoring opportunity late in the second quarter by coming down with the second of Wily-Matagi’s three first-half interceptions inside the Kapolei 20 and taking it back to the Kahuku 2.

But a miscue on first-and-goal resulted in the Red Raiders recovering a fumble and took the shutout into halftime.

The Red Raiders added the safety when sophomore linebacker Sioele Naupoto made a stop in the end zone. 

"I thought the defense was remarkable and I thought (Naupoto) was unbelievable," Kahuku coach Lee Leslie said. "He’s an amazing player."

Kah–Tuli Wily-Matagi 55 run (Gabriel Pinheiro-Alves kick)

Kah–Safety, ball carrier tackled in end zone

RUSHING–Kapolei: Tristan Centeio 9-47, Trensten Spragling 7-0, Ronald Matautia 2-(minus 1), Leonard Lee 5-(minus 13), Alton Julius 3-(minus 19). Kahuku: Wily-Matagi 16-87, Salanoa Alo-Wily 8-36, Kesi Ah-Hoy 10-25, Pena Fetisimanu 3-8, Jrue Williams 1-4, Lisiate Tovo 1-(minus 2).

PASSING–Kapolei: Julius 10-20-2-60, Lee 4-7-0-10. Kahuku: Wily-Matagi 7-18-4-51, Ah Hoy 1-1-0-9. 

RECEIVING–Kapolei: Kekua Marumoto 4-40, Ty-Noah Williams 3-14, Ronald Young 2-5, Naliko Kea 2-3, Jaymin Sarono 1-3, Centeio 1-3, Joseph Kaina 1-2. 

Kahuku: Pua Falemalu 3-24, Chance Maghanoy 2-10, Likio Vea 1-12, Alohi Gillman 1-7, Williams 1-7.

Junior varsity–Kahuku 33, Kapolei 7