East rolls over No. 3 Kahuku

SALT LAKE CITY » It’s certainly understandable that Tuli Wily-Matagi wasn’t ready to talk about the moral victories, the silver lining, as he walked off the field Saturday night.

The Kahuku junior quarterback was still stinging from a 38-15 pounding against Utah’s East High, still trying to get his head around how the Red Raiders could fall so flat so fast from the opening whistle.

"We felt we could compete, but we opened up slow," Wily-Matagi said after Kahuku (1-2) fell behind by three touchdowns in the game’s first 11 minutes. "They got that big lead. We just started so slow."

Kahuku allowed an 80-yard touchdown on the game’s first offensive play, then dug a deeper hole when a botched snap on a would-be punt set up a second quick East touchdown.

The Red Raiders — younger, smaller, slower than their opponents — had no answer when it came to stopping the Leopards’ run game. East amassed 276 yards on the ground and scored four rushing touchdowns.

"We tried to stop their running game but had no success," Kahuku coach Reggie Torres said. "They got off the ball so quickly, much quicker than us."

The hole grew to 35-2 in the third quarter before Kahuku finally found some offense. Polikapo Liua Jr. punched in a fourth-and-goal carry from the 1-yard line and Wily-Matagi connected with Soli Afalava for a 25-yard touchdown pass following an East turnover.

"We didn’t give up so quick," Wily-Matagi said. "The turnovers didn’t help, but we stayed on each other. It sucks, but it’s a learning experience."

Torres echoed that sentiment, saying the defeat exposed the Red Raiders’ weaknesses and will make them a better team when they return home.

Perhaps more important, though, was the bonding the team did during the 6,000-mile round-trip journey.

"It’s a good experience, and I think we are closer as a team," Torres said.

The game, which was scheduled in March, drew a standing-room-only crowd that the hosts announced was the largest in school history.

The teams squared off in dueling hakas during a pregame ceremony that featured fireworks and a smoke machine.

Kahuku, ranked third in Hawaii, had several hundred supporters in the visitors’ stands, a turnout that didn’t surprise East coach Brandon Matich.

"Kahuku has very good fans, very loyal, very generous," Matich said. "They have a good following, and I thought we’d have as big a crowd as turned out."

Wily-Matagi and the Red Raiders surely would have liked to perform better in front of the raucous crowd. He finished 10-for-19 for 155 yards and one interception — one of two Red Raiders turnovers for the night.

Their best chance at a first-half touchdown was turned away by a goal-line stand at the 1-yard line. That drive did lead to a safety three plays later, when Kahuku’s Taliauli Vaifoou sacked Isaac Valles in the end zone.

The Red Raiders managed just 98 total yards of offense in the first half and trailed 28-2 at the break. Their two second-half touchdowns came less than four minutes apart. Polikapo Liua Jr.’s plunge was set up by a screen pass to Liua that covered 33 yards down to the 4.

"We tried to stick to the game plan because there was still so much time left," Torres said of falling behind early. "But East is just a great team."

Kahuku took to the air after an East fumble and struck quickly. Wily-Matagi hit Kuuliko Carvalho for a 35-yard gain, then connected in the flat with Afalava, who rumbled 25 yards for the score.

Afalava had 55 of the Red Raiders’ 78 rushing yards. East (2-0) rolled up 410 yards of total offense.