Hurricanes have gained strength

Timing. Elements. Circumstance.

There’s isn’t a coach in the ILH or OIA who likes to see a disruption in scheduling, whether it’s for games (not so bad) or practice (not very good).

In all, five playoff games on Oahu have been rescheduled from Saturday to Friday because of Tropical Storm Ana. The field, whether wet or dry, remains the same for all competitors. Well, maybe not everyone.

The Kapolei Hurricanes have shown an affinity for wet fields and big droplets falling from the sky. The ‘Canes absorbed defeat and hardship through three early losses to top-10 teams. Then came a battle at Moanalua, where clouds converged and rain fell steadily. Good news for the run-first ‘Canes. Bad news for pass-heavy Na Menehune, and Kapolei won 25-14.

Two weeks ago, Aiea’s field was a collection of mud puddles, as Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez described it. The ‘Canes did just fine in a 12-0 win. Two rainy games, 14 points allowed. When the weather is this wet, their defense, led by linebacker Ronald Matautia, is at its best. Moanalua managed 54 rushing yards on 30 carries. Aiea mustered 40 rushing yards on 21 attempts.

When Kapolei visits Kahuku on Friday in OIA Division I quarterfinal play, Hernandez will have some not-so-distant memories in mind. In 2007, the ‘Canes arrived on the North Shore with quarterback Mason Koa, an outstanding athlete who settled in at the position and sparked his team to a stunning 14-7 upset win. In their previous matchup a year earlier, Kapolei was in a close battle with Koa at QB before losing 33-15.

There are similarities between Koa and current starting QB Alton Panaewa Julius. At 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, the senior can stand in strong and take whatever Kahuku’s big, physical front seven can dish out — if healthy. He passed for 116 yards without a pick in the Week 2 matchup. But he’s been banged up recently. Julius played some tight end against Aiea two weeks ago and sat out last week against Castle.

"Against Aiea, he couldn’t really run, but we put him at tight end a little bit to try to block. It was a terrible decision on my part to even play him," Hernandez said. "He’s still not 100 percent."

The alternative is not a bad one at all. Sophomore Leonard Lee passed for four TDs in a 34-0 playoff win over Castle last week. Lee is a versatile player, an athlete filling in at QB, slot and defensive back when needed. Since their backup QB quit the team, Lee stepped up when his number was called.

"Our offense is completely different with Leonard Lee at quarterback. We were very impressed with him. If Panaewa can’t go, Leonard will start," Hernandez said.

"I think the backup’s pretty close to what the No. 1 is," Kahuku coach Lee Leslie said. "He’s quick, they do a lot of counter trey and sprintout stuff."

Kapolei has gained momentum, winning three of its last four OIA Blue games before beating Castle. The only loss during the late-season run was a narrow 14-13 defeat to Campbell.

Fumbles hurt Kapolei in their earlier matchup with the Red Raiders.

"That’s the biggest danger about Kahuku. Their special teams and defense score a lot. If you can survive, you have a shot," Hernandez said.

Kapolei’s offense, orchestrated by former Kahuku assistant coach Darren Johnson, will have more than Julius to worry about. Running back Trensten Spragling is also injured, which means cornerback Tristan Centeio will be pressed into double duty. Still, the ‘Canes are fairly deep at RB with Ekolu Young and Matautia providing quality play.

Kahuku, of course, is the ultimate in smashmouth football tradition. Even this year, with a new system and multiple offensive packages geared toward more balance, the Red Raiders have a talented group of linemen and running backs.

Sophomore Kesi Ah-Hoy has turned in some spectacular moments, but hasn’t exceeded 74 rushing yards since Week 4 against McKinley.

When Kapolei visited Kahuku in Week 2, Ah-Hoy ran for 97 yards, including a 38-yard TD. He also returned a kickoff 94 yards to the end zone as the Red Raiders pulled away for a 33-19 win.

Fourth-ranked Kahuku has endured some bumps in the road. While most communities would be stoked about a 6-1 win-loss record, that 20-19 loss at Kaiser stirred up a hornet’s nest. The Red Raiders responded with wins over Leilehua (21-14) and Waianae (28-15) to close the regular season. Last week’s bye was hard-earned and timely for Leslie’s squad.

"We had some adversity for a few weeks, but we’ve got our feet back under us," he said. "The bye week was perfect. I’m excited."

Juggling two-way players through most of the season has come with some perks and tweaks. Kahuku’s formidable defensive linemen/running backs, like Reupena Fitisemanu and Salanoa-Alo Wily, will likely focus on defense from this point on. And some of their talented defensive backs will get action at wide receiver.

"We just have to be smart when we do it," Leslie said.

Ultimately, though, shuffling the best athletes to either side of the ball goes only so far.

"Developing the twos, our timing is pretty good now. I think we’re there now," Leslie said. "There are some (plays) that we’ve kicked out."

Much as he wants to keep the offense balanced, last month’s win over Leilehua was a showcase of clock management — substance over style. Kahuku got an early lead and sat on it.

"I didn’t want to get into a crapshoot with Leilehua," Leslie said.

It wasn’t easy, of course, not with injury issues to their first two centers.

"I’d like us to be a dominant run team," he said.

The trip to Kahuku on Aug. 15 turned into a heartbreaking night for Kapolei and sophomore lineman Noah Mahelona, whose father, John, collapsed in the stands during the first half. John Mahelona died that night and Kapolei has grown tighter as a family.

"That was a shocker. That’s something we never want to experience again," Hernandez said. "Going back there, it’s almost kind of surreal. We’re going to honor Big John and try our best. You have to play almost a perfect game against Kahuku. No turnovers."

OTHER FRIDAY OIA PLAYOFFS

No. 8 Campbell (6-2) at No. 7 Leilehua (6-1)

Two dangerous quarterbacks duel in this OIA quarterfinal. Leilehua’s Kalanimoku Pauole has put together one of the finest performances in school history with 1,738 yards and 25 TD passes in just seven games. The Mules have made do despite a knee injury to speedy running back Randy Neverson, utilizing versatile RB Ikaika Piceno and a swift fleet of wide receivers. Campbell’s defense is among the best in the OIA, but showed vulnerability in a loss to Farrington two weeks ago, even though the Governors threw the ball just three times all game.

Waianae (5-3) vs. No. 5 Farrington (6-1), at Roosevelt

The Govs had a bye week and should be relatively healed up and rested. Ranan Mamiya has been highly productive: 725 rushing yards with 13 TDs at 9 yards per carry; 10 receptions for 158 yards and one TD; and TDs by kick return, punt return and a pass.

The Seariders rallied for a 42-26 win over Aiea last week thanks to 191 yards and three TDs by fullback Jurick Valdez. The power blocking up front plus QB Ioane Kaluhiokalani‘s tricky and deceptive hands on Waianae’s misdirection, wing-T maneuvers could baffle Farrington’s powerful front seven.

Waianae has won 13 of the past 16 meetings with Farrington, including a 33-16 preseason victory last year.

No. 10 Kaiser (5-3) at No. 2 MIlilani (8-0)

The mighty Trojans got to rest last week after running the table during the regular season. Kaiser, with relentless defense and a high priority on its ground attack, might have the right ingredients for a worthy challenge to Mililani. Jensen McDaniel and his offensive line continue to amaze. He rushed for 247 yards and three TDs in a playoff win over Moanalua last week and now has 1,108 yards and 19 TDs after eight games.

Mililani’s monster offense gets the headlines, but defensively, the defensive unit has shut down most running backs. The exceptions are Campbell’s Terell Johnson (143 yards, 2 TDs) and Mamiya (93 rushing yards, 81 receiving yards and a TD).

FRIDAY’S ILH PLAYOFFS

No. 3 Saint Louis (5-3) vs. No. 6 Kamehameha (5-2), Aloha Stadium

The season ends for one of these teams after this ILH D-I playoff game. This was a 44-38 shootout victory for the Crusaders when these teams met on Sept. 20. Both offenses are in better sync with every week, and the no-huddle, hurry-up mode of each team leaves defenses gasping for air.

The Crusaders benefited from last week’s regular-season bye, while the Warriors took a 47-7 defeat from No. 1 Punahou. Tua Tagovailoa has passed for 2,042 yards and 29 TDs in his sophomore season at Saint Louis, with just two interceptions. He went for 397 yards and four TDs in the earlier matchup with Kamehameha. In that game, Fatu Sua-Godinet passed for 284 yards, ran for 121 more and had a combined four TDs.

St. Francis (2-6) at ‘Iolani (4-3)

The Raiders beat the Saints 44-7 last weekend in the regular-season finale for each team. QB Austin Jim On and his receivers have been steady, but the emergence of RB K.J. Pascua (790 yards, 13 TDs) has been key. Pascua and Storm Lotomau ran for two TDs each last week.

The young, sophomore-heavy Saints had two QBs take snaps in the loss: sophomore Kawika Ulufale and senior Blaze Umiamaka.

Pac-Five (2-5) vs. Damien (3-4), Aloha Stadium

Last week’s 26-21 win by the Monarchs had no effect on the standings or playoff seedings, but it was a thriller. Damien’s balanced offense got a big night from Samson Low (101 yards) and Dallas Labanon continued to trust his 6-5 senior wide receiver Kapi’ina King (four catches, 79 yards, TD).

Low’s ability to gain yardage in the second kept Pac-Five’s passing attack on the sideline. Kainoa Ferreira threw the ball 38 times in the first half and just 22 in the second, finishing with 338 yards and three TDs. Ferreira has 1,957 yards and 21 TDs in six games. WR Tsubasa Brennan (76 receptions, 952 yards, 10 TDs) is racking up some of the best numbers in the program’s history. Unless the Wolfpack win both ILH playoff games, then make a run through the D-II state tourney, the senior is unlikely to reach the lofty single-season yardage numbers of former Punahou standouts Robby Toma (85 catches, 1,388 yards, 18 TDs in ’08) and Miah Ostrowski (81-1,317, nine in ’06).

STANDINGS, STATISTICS

Compiled by Billy Hull, Star-Advertiser; statistics are for conference games only; see full statistical leaders at hawaiiprepworld.com

FINAL ILH

Division I

Division II

PLAYOFFS
Friday
Division I
Saint Louis vs. Kamehameha at Aloha Stadium, 8:15 p.m.
Division II
St. Francis at ‘Iolani, 3:15 p.m.
Pac-Five vs. Damien at Aloha Stadium, 5:30 p.m.

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing

Rushing

Receiving, by catches

FINAL OIA DIVISION II

Playoffs
OIA Division I
Friday
Campbell at Leilehua, 7:30 p.m.
Kapolei at Kahuku, 7:30 p.m.
Farrington vs. Waianae at Roosevelt, 7:30 p.m.
Kaiser at Mililani, 7 p.m.
OIA Division II
Oct. 25
Radford at Pearl City, 6 p.m.
Kalani at Nanakuli, 6 p.m.

STATISTICAL LEADERS
Passing

Rushing

Receiving, by catches