Leilehua’s pushback was heavy in the first half, but it wasn’t enough to overcome defending Division I state champion Kahuku on Friday night.

Having lost by 61 points one week earlier, the Mules went in as heavy underdogs, but got within a touchdown midway through the second quarter before the Red Raiders took control and put on the hurt in a 49-15 Oahu Interscholastic Association football victory.

“We’re 1-0, thank God,” second-year Red Raiders coach Vavae Tata said, his tone underscoring the relief he was feeling after the hard-hitting battle. “First-game jitters. We’re still trying to iron it out, but hey, we came out with the win and now we’ll just look at the tape and go from there.”

Kahuku (1-0) started with an impressive 73-yard, 10-play drive to open the game. It took 5:12 off the clock and, after freshman quarterback Sol-Jay Maiava connected with Kaiea Dowling for a 31-yard completion, Royce Pao took a shotgun snap and scored from 5 yards out for a 7-0 lead.

The Mules (0-2), looking quick and nimble on offense, came right back at the Red Raiders, marching deep into opposing territory and showing that no-quit gumption. It didn’t end well, though. Kahuku’s Tema Lindsey stripped running back Kalika Anderson Seumanutafa-Bryant and, boom-boom, Kesi Ah-Hoy picked up the ball and sprinted for an 82-yard fumble return for a TD and a 14-0 bulge with 2:24 to go in the opening quarter.

Not to be outdone, Leilehua’s defense came through with a big play to set up the team’s first score. After a 26-yard gain, Kahuku’s Harmon Brown coughed up the ball on a hit by Kendrick Beitzel, whose teammate Sunny Kanamu Jr. recovered at the Red Raiders 38. Seven plays later, Mules quarterback Kona Andres was in the end zone with a 5-yard TD run to cut the margin to 14-7 with 5:36 left in the half.

“These guys got a whole lot better,” Leilehua coach Nolan Tokuda said. “They decided to trust each other, trust the scheme and started to play for one another and it was nice to see them fight all the way through and play physical with the defending state champion in Kahuku.”

Stokes Botelho, who kicked seven extra points in the game, shifted the momentum back to the Red Raiders with a 71-yard return on the ensuing kickoff, but he didn’t score. Brown, one of four Kahuku players to take snaps, scored on an 11-yard keeper to up the count to 21-7. Brown found the end zone again from 1 yard out for a 28-7 halftime score, capping a 47-yard drive that Maiava kept alive with a 21-yard scramble.

Botelho’s return was a sign of things to come. He capped the game’s scoring with a 94-yard touchdown return.

“On the first one, the whole middle of the field was open,” he said. “I had a wall of blockers, but after a while I just followed one man and ended up getting caught from behind. On the second one, I followed the wall the whole way instead of going my own route. It felt really good (getting in the end zone).”

The Mules stayed in it throughout the third quarter, stopping Kahuku on downs twice. But the Red Raiders broke through with 27 seconds left in the third on Maiava’s first career TD pass — a 23-yarder on an inside slant to Pao. Later, Kahuku’s Cameron Renaud hit Sitaleki Tongi in stride for a 53-yard catch-and-run TD.

The performance for Leilehua was an upgrade from the 70-9 thrashing it took from Punahou a week earlier. Andres completed 26 of 38 passes for 208 yards and kept the chains moving. His 19-yard TD toss to Charles Watson and 2-point conversion pass to Vitale Afoa put Leilehua’s final points on the board.

“I think we did really good, compared to how we did against Punahou,” Mules linebacker Donavon Ugalino said. “I feel real good about how we played, but I think we can do better than that. Kahuku is always a good competitive team to play to test out our strengths. Now we know what we need to fix.”

Maiava, who already has a scholarship offer to Michigan, went 8-for-20 for 108 yards in his first high school start. Brown rushed for 123 yards.

“We were a little nervous, a little bit tense,” Kahuku’s Ah-Hoy said. “We loosened up in the course of the game.”