Wesley Alo-Maiava rushed for 130 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half, as No. 2 Kahuku thwarted Konawaena 61-9 on Saturday night at Carleton Weimer Field.
Kahuku (1-0) displayed its balanced offensive attack: 29 rushes for 240 yards and 27 pass attempts. Alo-Maiava is fully healthy for the first time in about a year.
“It was frustrating being injured, but I went through the whole rehab process. It made me feel more excited and ready to play going into this season,” Alo-Maiava said. “There’s no words to describe our offense. We’re all good and ready to play.”
Quarterback Robbie Sauvao was consistently unpredictable as he sprayed the football to eight teammates. He finished with 154 passing yards and all three of his TD tosses before halftime.
Kahuku led 41-7 at intermission and got a look at all of its players before game’s end.
“Our discipline was good. Our penalties were minimal. We hustled. We’re not going to be perfect, but we want to see hustle. And everyone was supporting each other as a team,” Kahuku first-year head coach Sterling Carvalho said. “We got to evaluate every single person at every position.”
Konawaena, making its first visit to Kahuku’s home field, got a gritty defensive effort despite the lopsided score. Facing off against Kahuku’s physically dominant offensive line, even with heralded tackle Enokk Vimahi (injury) sidelined, gradually wore down the visiting Wildcats.
Still, it was quite the experience for the defending Big Island Interscholastic Federation Division II champions.
“We weren’t going to focus on anything with the scoreboard. We just wanted to battle, do our assignments and this is what we came here for,” Wildcats coach Brad Uemoto said. “We brought 31 kids and we’re proud of all of them.”
Konawaena’s no-huddle offense didn’t stop. Freshman Sheynen Nahale threw the ball 47 times, completing 19 passes for 244 yards and one TD. He threw just one pick in his varsity debut.
“You saw tonight, he made some really good throws. He made some freshman mistakes and he’s going to learn from it,” Uemoto said. “Kahuku is a great team, and we had attrition. Kahuku’s a class program. They’ve treated us first class. They mixed in a lot of players and I thank (Coach Carvalho) a lot for that.”
NEXT WEEK
FRIDAY
OIA-ILH Open Division
>> Kapolei vs. Kamehameha, at Aloha Stadium, 5 p.m.
>> Saint Louis vs. Waianae, at Aloha Stadium, 7:30 p.m.
OIA-ILH Division I
>> Nanakuli at Aiea, 7:30 p.m.
>> Moanalua at Castle, 7:30 p.m.
>> Leilehua at Kailua, 7:30 p.m.
>> Damien at Radford, 7:30 p.m.
OIA-ILH Division II
>> Kalani vs. Kaimuki, at Skippa Diaz Stadium, 7:30 p.m.
>> Kalaheo at Kaiser, 7:30 p.m.
Nonleague
>> Kauai vs. Maui, at War Memorial Stadium, 7 p.m.
>> Waimea at Honokaa, 7 p.m.
Nonleague 8-man
>> Molokai at Pahoa, 6 p.m
SATURDAY
OIA-ILH Open Division
>> Farrington at Mililani, 6:30 p.m.
>> Punahou at Kahuku, 6:30 p.m.
OIA-ILH Division I
>> Waipahu at ‘Iolani, 3 p.m.
OIA-ILH Division II
>> McKinley vs. St. Francis, at Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium, 3 p.m.
>> Pac-Five at Roosevelt, 5:30 p.m.
>> Pearl City at Waialua,6:30 p.m.
Nonleague
>> King Kekaulike at Hawaii Prep, noon
>> Bartlett (Anchorage, Alaska) vs. Baldwin, at War Memorial Stadium, 6 p.m.
>> Kapaa at Konawaena, 6 p.m.
The ‘Cats didn’t run much and finished with minus-17 yards. With Kahuku’s first unit resting for most of the final three quarters, Kahale and his group of talented pass catchers got better with each series. Kealakai Kihe (32 yards), Hunter Wehrsig (76) and Jesse Canda (68) each caught five passes. Wehrsig’s 29-yard TD haul was the lone Konawaena offensive score of the night.
The Red Raiders didn’t stray far from tradition, scoring on full-house backfield plays, testing the Wildcats between the tackles. But the accuracy of Sauvao and backup Alex Fonoimoana-Vaomu — the latter launched a 54-yard touchdown pass to Paniau Lindsey late in the game — from sideline to sideline has been intriguing in this early season.
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GAME SUMMARY
No. 2 Kahuku 61, Konawaena 9
At Carlton Weimer Field
>> Kona (0-1) 0 7 2 0 — 9
>> Kahuku (1-0) 20 21 7 13 — 61
Kahuku — Duke Heffernan 3 pass from Robbie Sauvao (Heffernan kick)
Kahuku — Wesley Alo-Maiava 55 run (run failed)
Kahuku — Alo-Maiava 5 run (Heffernan kick)
Kahuku — Alo-Maiava 5 run (Heffernan kick)
Konawaena — Hunter Wehrsig 29 pass from Sheynen Nahale (Hunter Hill kick)
Kahuku — Kainoa Crimson 19 pass from Sauvao (Heffernan kick)
Kahuku — Toalei Lefau 3 pass from Sauvao (Heffernan kick)
Kahuku — Zealand Matagi 63 run (Heffernan kick)
Konawaena — Safety, Kahuku snaps ball out of end zone
Kahuku — Kala‘akeaokahaku Faifili 1 run (kick failed)
Kahuku —Paniau Lindsey 54 pass from Alex Fonoimoana-Vaomu (Heffernan kick)
RUSHING — Konawaena: Cyrus Jumalon 10-(-2), Nahale 2-(-12), Orion Smith 1-(-2), Team 1-(-1). Kahuku: Alo-Maiava 9-130, Zealand Matagi 6-87, Sauvao 6-19, Lefau 3-15, Talataina Tevaga 3-12, Faifili 1-1, Team 1-(-9).
PASSING — Konawaena: Nahale 19-47-1-244. Kahuku: Sauvao 14-25-0-154, Fonoimoana-Vaomu 1-2-0-54.
RECEIVING — Konawaena: Smith 1-16, Kealakai Kihe 5-32, Wehrsig 5-76, Jesse Canda 5-68, Marc Basa 2-21, Jumalon 1-31. Kahuku: Mason Paulo 3-49, Lefau 3-20, Lokana Enos 2-21, Ethan Erickson 2-16, Lindsey 1-54, Crimson 1-19, Braxton Cravens 1-17, Kampala Miller 1-9, Heffernan 1-3.
