Both teams put in a few tricky wrinkles, but after a scoreless first half it was obvious that the team deciding to commit to old-school, hard-charging running was going to prevail.
This looked like the 1970s. Waianae at No. 5 Kahuku on the North Shore. Real grass.
And then, the avalanche came. It was the Red Raiders who decided to grind it and grind it and grind it some more to the tune of 26 third-quarter points in a 32-0 victory over the Seariders at Carleton Weimer Field.
“We had to put ’em together,” Kahuku coach Sterling Carvalho said. “First half we had a bunch of drive killers — miscues and penalties. We had to fix that up. The O-line did the dirty work in the trenches and blew the running lanes open.”
>> Click here to see photos of the game between Kahuku and Waianae. Opens in a new tab
Those lanes were there for running back Zealand Matagi, who finished with 139 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 14 carries. Matagi was the catalyst of a 65-yard drive to open the second half, capping it with a 7-yard TD run and a 6-0 lead.
Matagi was at it again to make it 12-0 when he found a gaping hole up the middle for a 58-yard touchdown. He was virtually untouched.
Then the Red Raiders (2-1,1-1) began to pull away. Quarterback Tiger Adolpho found Keoki Annandale with a 20-yard TD pass, and Kaonohi Kaniho made Waianae’s night more of a nightmare with a 35-yard interception return for a score.
Later, Zion Ah You finished the Kahuku scoring with a 1-yard TD run to top off a time-consuming, fourth-quarter drive.
“Our fullback, Jack Tito, like our O-line, they’re unsung heroes doing the blocking,” Carvalho said.
Waianae (1-2, 0-2) nearly got on the board, but Joshua Centeno-Cid’s 31-yard field goal late in the second quarter went wide. Kahuku’s Adam Requilman also missed a field goal in the first half, from 36 yards.
“We just all let the game get to our heads,” Waianae running back Hoku Sylva said. “We thought we were going to come out with the ‘W’, but the scoreboard showed that they won.”
Added Waianae first-year head coach Mike Fanoga, “It was a lopsided second half. The kids lost focus. It’s pretty simple. Missed assignments. Missed keys. Not focused enough. We knew they would come out and hit us in the mouth.We prepared all week for it. It’s a lesson to learn. Kahuku won because they’re a good team.”
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No. 5 Kahuku 32, Waianae 0
At Kahuku High
>> Waianae (1-2, 0-2) 0 0 0 0 — 0
>> Kahuku (2-1, 1-1) 0 0 26 6 — 32
Kahuku — Zealand Matagi 7 run (kick failed)
Kahuku — Matagi 58 run (kick failed)
Kahuku — Keoki Annandale 20 pass from Tiger Adolpho (Matagi run)
Kahuku — Kaonohi Kaniho 35 interception return (run failed)
Kahuku — Zion Ah You 1 run (run failed)
RUSHING — Waianae: Kolu Quisquirin-Sabagala 9-50, Kaai Tambaoan-Kaeo 3-9, Sheldon McLeod 12-8, Austin Coyaso 1-5, Shaydon Lopes 2-3, Hoku Sylva 2-3. Kahuku: Matagi 14-139, Lailo Kaluna 11-55, Robert Chang 4-39, Kade Nakaahiki-Bourgeois 1-24, Jesse Purcell 1-8, Ah You 1-1, Adolpho 2-(minus-7).
PASSING — Waianae: McLeod 12-20-1-128, Lopes 1-3-0-19, Jorden Kaloi-English 1-3-1-7, Saege Ayala 0-2-1-0. Kahuku: Adolpho 7-10-1-99.
RECEIVING — Waianae: Saege Ayala 4-69, Nainoa Machado 3-32, Tambaoan-Kaeo 3-22, Delson Cordeiro 3-12, Chad Pule 1-19. Kahuku: Cole Pruett 4-61, Annandale 1-20, Micah Carvalho 1-15, Kade Nakaahiki-Beourgeois 1-3.
* Junior varsity — Kahuku 28, Waianae 13
