Kaiser vs. Kauai: How they match up

Tommy Cox and Rich Miano are as far apart on the sports celebrity spectrum as two coaches can be.

Miano has coached the game all his life — post-NFL career — parlaying his expertise into popular conditioning clinics and even the occasional TV color analyst gig. His two-year stint at Kaiser has been successful; the Cougars are 19-4 overall and won the OIA White Conference this season.

Cox? He was a long-time assistant, a 30-something former lineman and cleanup hitter at Kauai High School. When he walks into the gauntlet of cameras and interviewers wearing his baseball cap, he looks more like a college grad student than high school head coach.

From there, it’s almost all similarities between the two. Cox, like Miano, is all about ball control and the line of scrimmage. The Kauai Red Raiders, once a wide-open run-and-shoot force, use that same spread formation to grind down defensive lines.

Kaiser? The Cougars have their smashmouth sets and a front seven that has size and quickness unmatched in Division II.

The teams will meet on Saturday in the Division II final of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA State Football Championships, a first-ever meeting between the two coaches. Kauai hadn’t left its home island all season until last weekend.

The Red Raiders (10-0) went to ‘Iolani and dethroned the six-time defending state champs 28-7.

Kaiser (12-1) was on the road for a come-from-behind 20-9 win over Lahainaluna, creating a final that has neither the No. 1 seed (Lahainaluna) nor No. 2 seed (‘Iolani).

Cox’s first season as a head coach has been, plainly speaking, perfect.

"The last game, we kind of surprised ourselves with the way we play on both sides of the ball," he said.

Unlike Kaiser, which has a few standout athletes who have recognizable names to fans and recruiters, the Red Raiders have been shrouded in mystery to an extent. Not that Cox minds. He’s just thankful his team has avoided a lot of injuries.

"We only have 33 on our roster. We brought up eight kids from the JV. We don’t have the depth we’d like, but it’s worked out," Cox said. "Everybody’s healthy."

One area of concern is Kaiser’s size.

"Our defense, whatever you throw at them, they’ll be OK. They’re fast. The thing with Kaiser is, they’re huge and they have the big boy (Fitou Fisiiahi) back there," Cox said.

That speedy defense has permitted just seven points per game. It seems logical that Kaiser will use its ground-and-pound game against the smaller Red Raiders.

"Kauai is well-coached," Miano said. "They have tremendous size on the offensive line, but their skill people, their defensive backs, you know that’s kind of a forte of mine. I watched their coverage. I watched their techniques and I think, wow, they’re very well coached up. They do a good job in terms of fundamentals and schematics, and they’re good athletes, so it’s going to be an exciting game.

KAISER OFFENSE

Kaiser has been a little less predictable, but there’s no doubt about coach Rich Miano’s penchant for controlling the line of scrimmage. The Cougars don’t have a 320-pound pancake artist up front, but they have a plethora of skilled blockers who fit well in their various schemes, from unbalanced lines to power-I formations.

The beneficiaries are Fitou Fisiiahi, the durable 6-foot, 235-pound senior who also plays linebacker. Fisiiahi can line up as a tailback and break away for scores — he dashed for a 44-yard touchdown run to give Kaiser the lead against Lahainaluna last weekend. Thomas Buntenbah-Leong (5-11, 185) isn’t as bruising a ballcarrier as Fisiiahi, but his acceleration around the edge might be the best in the state. The former cornerback relishes his opportunities with the football, averaging 8.8 yards per carry.

Combined, the two featured backs have scored a whopping 34 touchdowns.

The Cougars added a trump card to the mix with more carries for defensive back/running back Canaan Saole. He rushed for 81 yards on nine attempts against Lahainaluna as the Cougars used a textbook toss sweep to control the second half.

Quarterback Kahoalii Karratti has been efficient in directing Kaiser’s multiple sets. He has completed 64 percent of his pass attempts, looking most often for Buntenbah-Leong, fullback Parker Higgins and receiver Justin Ikei.

KAISER DEFENSE

Fisiiahi has been a force of nature since his sophomore season, a former international rugby player who never seems to tire.

His only goal is to help bring a state crown to Kaiser. After orally committing to Oregon State a month ago, he’s had no other distractions.

Kaiser’s defensive front was tested mightily by Lahainaluna, surrendering 190 rushing yards in the first half. Lahainaluna managed only 59 rushing on 24 carries after the break, including minus yardage on 13 of those snaps. 

Miano credited his defensive coordinator, Sola Soliai, and D-line coach, Matt Faga, with making the adjustments at halftime. Kauai will bring the same smashmouth mentality to Saturday’s title game.

"We faced a few of those type of teams this year," Miano said. "Kauai does it well. They’re very big, but we feel we match up well. We’ve got Manase Palu (5-9, 310), Zeno Choi (6-1, 229) and Fitou Fisiiahi (6-0, 235) as well as Derek Costa (5-11, 260), and those guys are playing as well as anybody I’ve seen in high school. I’m very confident they’ll play at their level and it should be a great matchup."
Saole had a team-high 12 tackles in the win. 

The Cougars also have some playmakers in the secondary, where Melvin Kahunanui and Jeshua Bitanga have contributed with key plays.

KAISER SPECIAL TEAMS

Buntenbah-Leong may be the finest returner in the state regardless of classification. Teams that have kicked to him have usually paid a steep price. Even when they try to squib kick, the ball sometimes finds its way into his hands. Fisiiahi lateraled to him in the Lahainaluna game, resulting in a 78-yard touchdown return. Kaiser place-kicker Matt Sai has been busy thanks to his team’s 40-point average. He has made two field goals, including one against Konawaena, and 55 PATs.

KAUAI OFFENSE

Red Raiders coach Tommy Cox doesn’t mind low-scoring games at all. Against rival Kapaa, his team won by scores of 6-3, 7-6 and 6-3.

That puts the onus on an offensive line that averages 259 pounds per man.

The Red Raiders will usually line up in a shotgun and go four-wide, but that’s probably because they don’t use tight ends. The power comes from left guard Nate Herbig (6-3, 310) and center Devan Ferreira (6-4, 320). Running back Reggie McFadden has followed his big blockers all season long.

The Red Raiders are basic, for the most part, with blast plays up the middle and an occasional jet sweep by the slotback. Quarterback Kelson Andrade can go deep to a capable corps of receivers. Versatile Tristan Bukoski, Kalawaia Judd and Kanoa Iwasaki have seen action on pass routes, but the aerial game acts more as a pressure-reliever than a weapon.

Most of the time, it’s about grinding down opponents behind Ferreira and Herbig.

KAUAI DEFENSE

The Red Raiders rely on quickness and speed defensively. James Bukoski (5-8, 170), Tristan Bukoski (5-10, 155) and Keanu Hanohano (5-7, 175) are the anchormen. Damian Butac, a 5-5, 135-pound sophomore, had a team-high five tackles against ‘Iolani.

Smaller, quicker defenses haven’t had a strong track record against the Cougars. Konawaena’s mobile defensive unit started well, but got worn down in a 59-6 loss in the first round of the tourney. Every indication points to a smashmouth battle on Saturday, a battle for field position from the opening kick. It will be an ultimate challenge to every defender on the turf at Aloha Stadium.

How will the Red Raiders’ fare against a big Kaiser O-line? Pearl City crossed the goal line just once in a 13-7 opening-round loss two weeks ago at Vidinha Stadium. The Chargers lost to Kaiser in OIA White play by scores of 31-6 and 41-21.

Pearl City mustered 102 rushing yards on 29 carries (3.5 per attempt) and 133 passing yards in the loss to Kauai, throwing three picks. James Bukoski led the Red Raiders with 10 tackles and two picks in that game.

Kauai will need contributions from the entire lineup, from 5-7, 155-pound defensive end Kelii Efhan (eight tackles against Pearl City) to linebacker Nicholas Gabriel (5-6, 175) to cornerback Shaedon Tallano (5-7, 130).

KAUAI SPECIAL TEAMS

Kauai has some fleet feet in the kicking game, too. Twins Kaiea and Kanoa Iwasaki share the return duties.

Tristan Bukoski has been steady as the Red Raiders’ placekicker with cousin James Bukoski as his long snapper.

“We try to make sure we don’t give up big plays,” Cox said of his coverage units.

___

KICKOFF: 4 P.M. SATURDAY   SITE: ALOHA STADIUM   RADIO: KHKA 15000-AM    TV: PPV (260)