Prep football Top 10: Ground-and-pound pushes Kahuku to No. 1 as states begin

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In the end, it was defense and ground-and-pound football that gave Big Red the edge.

Kahuku’s decisive 33-15 win over previously unbeaten Campbell not only redeemed a regular-season home loss to the Sabers, but the two-defending state champion now opens the state tournament as the top seed in the Open Division.

Kahuku’s balanced offense and disciplined defense limited Campbell to a season-low scoring output. Sabers quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, Hawaii’s all-time passing yardage leader, threw for at least four touchdowns in every game this season with two exceptions: one TD in each of the games with Kahuku.

Kahuku collected all eight first-place votes from the panel of coaches and media, moving into the No. 1 spot of the Star-Advertiser Football Top 10 for the first time since Sept. 8. This ends an eight-week reign atop the rankings by Campbell.

The rest of this week’s poll has some ruffling and shuffling. Saint Louis won the ILH Open title with a 33-9 victory over Kamehameha. The Crusaders switched places with Mililani in the rankings, moving up a notch to No. 3.

Saint Louis’ win prevented a major headache for players, coaches and fans after the ILH declared Kamehameha the second-round winner last week without playing in the tiebreaker series.

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Mililani dropped to No. 4 despite a 41-7 win over Kapolei, as quarterback Kini McMillan shook off the rust of his hiatus due to injury.

The First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships begin Friday. Top seed Kahuku will play OIA third-place team Mililani, and Campbell will battle Saint Louis. Both games are at Mililani’s John Kauinana Stadium.

The Division I bracket begins with regional sites in play. OIA champion Leilehua, coming off a 38-21 win over Kailua, will play at Lahainaluna at 7 p.m. Saturday. OIA runner-up Kailua will play KIF champion Kapaa at the Warriors’ home field, Bryan Baptiste Complex.

The D-I bracket also kicks off Saturday. OIA champion Roosevelt, the fourth seed, will host fifth-seeded Kamehameha-Hawaii, the BIIF champion. Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m. at Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium.

Third-seeded Pac-Five, the ILH representative, will meet OIA runner-up Kaiser at Farrington’s Skippa Diaz Stadium at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Star-Advertiser Football Top 10

Monday, Nov. 11, 2024

Rank School (1st) (record) Pts LW

1. Kahuku (8-4, 3-2 reg. season, 2-0 playoffs) (8) 89 2

> def. Campbell, 33-15

> next: at No. 4 Mililani, Friday, 4 p.m.

2. Campbell (9-1, 5-0 reg. season, 1-1 playoffs) 75 1

> lost to Kahuku, 33-15

> next: vs. No. 3 Saint Louis, Friday, 7:30 p.m. (John Kauinana)

3. Saint Louis (7-3, 3-1 reg. season, 1-0 tiebreaker, 1-0 playoff) (1) 73 4

> def. Kamehameha, 33-9

> next: vs. No. 2 Campbell, Friday, 7:30 p.m. (John Kauinana)

4. Mililani (9-2, 4-1 reg. season, 1-1 playoffs) 69 3

> def. Kapolei, 41-7

> next: vs. No. 1 Kahuku, Friday, 4 p.m.

5. Kamehameha (5-4, 2-2 reg. season, 0-1 playoff) 49 6

> lost to Saint Louis, 33-9

6. Kapolei (5-5, 2-3 reg. season, 0-2 playoffs) 48 5

> lost to No. 3 Mililani, 41-7

7. Punahou (3-6, 1-3 reg. season, 0-1 tiebreaker) 23 8

8. Konawaena (9-2, 8-0 reg. season, 1-0 playoff) 22 7

> bye

> next: bye (vs. Lahainaluna-Leilehua winner, Friday, Nov. 22, 7 p.m.)

9. Damien (9-1, 7-0 ILH D-I) 19 9

> bye

> next: bye (vs. Kapaa-Kailua winner, Friday, Nov. 22, 7:30 p.m., Skippa Diaz)

10. Farrington (4-5, 1-4 OIA Open) 10 10

Also receiving votes: Leilehua 9, Kapaa 6, Lahainaluna 2, Kailua 1.