Once the final seconds ticked off the scoreboard at Kaiser Stadium on Friday night, No. 1 Kahuku immediately shifted its focus to the biggest OIA football game of the season.
Senior Aofaga Wily rushed for 120 yards and four touchdowns — all in the first half — to lead the Red Raiders to a 42-7 victory over Kaimuki in an OIA Red East game.
Kahuku is 5-0 for the fourth straight season and, like last year, will take a 4-0 record in OIA play into a must-see showdown with No. 3 Farrington next Saturday at Aloha Stadium.
“It’s going to be a battle,” Kahuku coach Reggie Torres said. “They got two good running backs. They got a quarterback that showed against Castle he can throw the ball real well. They’re strong defensively — it’s going to be tough.”
The Red Raiders hope to get a different result than last year’s 14-13 loss to the Governors — Kahuku’s only blemish on a season that ended with a state championship.
“It’s the game of the year,” said senior Kawehena Johnson, who scored on a 26-yard interception return against the Bulldogs (0-5, 0-7). “If we play Kahuku football and take care of assignments, we’ll get the job done.”
The Red Raiders avoided any significant injuries against Kaimuki, scoring at least 35 points for the fourth straight game.
Playing in his 25th career game, Wily surpassed the 3,000-yard mark in his career on an 18-yard run early in the second quarter.
He needed just 11 carries to record his 16th 100-yard rushing game and scored four times to give him 13 for the season.
He has now rushed for 3,035 yards in his career and is 370 yards shy of breaking the school record set by Mark Atuaia in 1990.
“I’m just glad we had an away game to (help) prepare us for next week,” Wily said.
Kahuku left the North Shore for the first time this season to play a Bulldogs team limited in numbers.
The Red Raiders put the game away early with a healthy dose of Wily mixed in with a strong defensive performance.
Johnson scored the Red Raiders’ first touchdown 20 seconds into the game , returning an interception of Kainalu Spencer 26 yards for a score.
Johnson also had two catches for 42 yards, including a 27-yard reception with under a minute remaining in the first half where he was knocked out of bounds at the Kaimuki 1.
Wily finished off the drive with his fourth touchdown, forcing a running clock for the entire second half.
Johnson also had an interception and an 86-yard kickoff return for a score both called back because of penalties.
Kaimuki managed its first touchdown in its last 11 quarters against Kahuku when Randon Tuitama scored on an 11-yard run with 2 minutes, 59 seconds remaining in the game.
It was the Bulldogs’ first touchdown against Kahuku since 2008, when Red Raiders defensive coordinator Darren Johnson was the head coach for the Bulldogs.
Tuitama finished with 67 yards on 12 carries, and Chansen Exzabe carried the ball nine times for 63 yards.
| At Kaiser Stadium |
KAHUKU (5-0, 4-0) 21 14 7 0 — 42
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| KAIMUKI (0-7, 0-5) 0 0 0 7 — 7 |
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| Kah—Kawehena Johnson 26 interception return (Jake Samsel kick) |
| Kah—Aofaga Wily 3 run (Samsel kick) |
| Kah—Wily 10 run (Samsel kick) |
| Kah—Wily 6 run (Samsel kick) |
| Kah—Wily 1 run (Samsel kick) |
| Kah—Tuli Matagi-Wily 3 run (Samsel kick) |
| Kaim—Randon Tuitama 11 run (Dathan Lloyd kick) |
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| RUSHING—Kahuku: Wily 11-120, Quayd Ah-You 5-47, Polikapu Liua 5-31, Soli Afalava 4-28, Vililami Livai 3-6, Pupi Siilata 2-4, Lia Uelese 1-4, Matagi-Wily 1-3, Team 1-(-1), Kaimi Hurlbut 1-(-9). Kaimuki: Tuitama 12-67, Chansen Exzabe 9-63, Jorge Rios 2-2, Kainalu Spencer 5-(-1). |
| PASSING—Kahuku: Livai 4-8-0-59, Hurlbut 0-1-0-0. Kaimuki: Spencer 6-19-1-81. |
| RECEIVING—Kahuku: Johnson 2-42, Wily 1-12, Matagi-Wily 1-5. Kaimuki: Tai Boyd 2-44, Exzabe 1-16, Rios 1-9, Fano Tuisila 1-8, Jonah Lapitan 1-4. |
