Kahuku senior Vili Fisiiahi had to endure a little ribbing from his teammates and coaching staff.
“We kind of rubbed it in during the week that we’re going back to Vili’s house,” Red Raiders coach Vavae Tata said.
Fisiiahi, a 5-foot-10, 260-pound starting offensive lineman, returned to Kaiser Stadium, where he played for the Cougars two years ago, and scored the game’s first touchdown on a 4-yard run in a 56-6 rout of Kaiser on Friday night.
Sophomore KJ Macatiag got his first start at running back and rushed 15 times for 123 yards and a score for No. 1 Kahuku (7-1, 7-0 OIA Blue), which polished off its second undefeated OIA regular season in a row.
The Red Raiders haven’t lost a regular-season game since their previous trip to Kaiser two years ago. Fisiiahi was a sophomore on a Kaiser team that scored in the final 30 seconds to shock Kahuku, 20-19.
Two years later, Fisiiahi found himself on the other side of the field on Kaiser’s senior night honoring many of the players he grew up playing with.
“I have plenty memories on this field, but I had to move on,” Fisiiahi said. “Coming to Kahuku is a whole different environment and we said don’t let history repeat itself. That was our mentality.”
Kahuku rested a few of its regulars, including running backs Harmon Brown and Elvis Vakapuna and defensive back Kekaula Kaniho.
Freshman quarterback Sol-Jay Maiava threw for a career-high 134 yards and a touchdown and Steven Lombard scored two rushing touchdowns.
Five different Kahuku players rushed for a score and Stokes Nihipali-Botelho added an 84-yard kick return for a touchdown.
“Hats off to the Kaiser coaching staff, because they were deciding whether they were going to play the game or not, but they gave us a game and we appreciate the opportunity,” Tata said. “This was just another opportunity to get better.”
Fisiiahi started at his customary center position but moved to the backfield when Kahuku got inside the Kaiser 10 on its first drive. He carried the ball first for 4 yards to the 4-yard line and then punched it in on the next play to give Kahuku a 7-0 lead.
“We did it just for the fun of it — for the irony, I guess,” Fisiiahi said.
“That was the whole plan,” Tata added. “He’s a really good kid and it was good to see him have fun with the rest of the team.”
Kahuku had shut out its last four Hawaii opponents and had a scoreless quarters streak of 18 snapped when Kaiser quarterback Kainoa Torres threw an 83-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Kaufusi to answer Kahuku’s first score.
Kaufusi took a short pass from Torres and broke two tackles before flying down the Kaiser sideline, doing most of the work after the catch.
Kahuku responded with the next 49 points. It led 42-6 at halftime when Nihipali-Botelho returned the opening kickoff of the second half for a score.
The Kahuku senior has scored a touchdown either on special teams or defense in four consecutive games against Hawaii teams.
Kahuku has a first-round bye in the OIA playoffs beginning next week, while Kaiser will face Farrington.
