Last January, eight Kahuku football players stood on the same field at Kunuiakea Stadium one final time for the Polynesian Bowl, an annual high school football all-star game that invites the top players in the country along with the best players in the state of Hawaii.
Among the group were three players selected to the HHSAA Hall of Honor and another who was the All-State offensive player of the year as a junior.
Five of them signed with FBS schools for college and another headed to Air Force wasn’t even selected to the game.
Nobody is going to feel sorry for Kahuku head coach Sterling Carvalho as the talent level on the North Shore remains as high as ever for the two-time defending Open Division state champions.
But even with all of that talent coming up, replacing a group of seniors who never lost a game to a Hawaii high school opponent since the COVID-19 pandemic is a challenging task.
That task is even more difficult considering the expectations at a school that has won more top-tier state championships than any other.
Carvalho has once again established Kahuku as the premiere high school football program in the state since he was hired in 2018 to replace Makoa Freitas, who was one of four head coaches the program had over a five-year span.
It was only 10 years ago that Kahuku, after winning back-to-back state championships, fired Reggie Torres after a rare 6-5 season.
The five losses were more than Kahuku had over the previous five seasons under Torres, in which he went 56-4.
But on the North Shore, football is king, and one missed state tournament is all it takes for a new head coach to be brought in. In this case, Kahuku went with Lee Leslie, a successful coach from Idaho who was brought in to help establish relationships to help get more Kahuku kids into college.
That started a merry-go-round of coaches that has ended with Carvalho, who has taken the Red Raiders from a 7-5 record in year one to a 22-0 mark against Hawaii opponents over the past two seasons.
Stability has put Kahuku back on top, but winning state championships isn’t the end goal.
Last year, Kahuku scheduled two top-five-ranked programs in Saint Frances (Md.) Academy and California powerhouse St. John Bosco.
The Red Raiders nearly shocked the world before losing a one-point lead in the final minute against Saint Frances.
This came two weeks after a 34-7 loss to St. John Bosco, showing the gap between Hawaii’s best and the nation’s best as the Braves went on to win the de-facto national championship as the top-ranked team in most national polls.
That gap is one the Red Raiders clearly want to close. If two top-five nationally ranked teams in three weekends seems daunting, don’t take a look at this year’s schedule.
Using a gap in the middle of the season, the Red Raiders will again play St. John Bosco, this time at home on Sept. 16. That will be just seven days after playing at Mater Dei in California, which was largely regarded as the No. 2 team in the country a year ago.
“If we can hang with these guys, we can hang with anybody else, and that’s why we take on these challenges — to make ourselves better,” Carvalho said after last year’s game against St. John Bosco.
Last year’s team was one of the best in a long line of great Kahuku teams over the years and decades.
This year’s squad returns at least 10 players with at least one FBS scholarship in hand.
Senior Hyrum Moors, a Washington State commit, and juniors Aiden Manutai, Faleali’i Atuaia, Maximum Moe Fonoimoana and sophomore Madden Soliai will all be a part of another great Kahuku defensive 11.
Leading rusher Va’aimalae Fonoti returns at running back and could be counted on early as Kahuku focuses on replacing graduated quarterback Waika Crawford, who threw for 31 touchdowns with only eight interceptions over his last two seasons. Senior Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa transferred in from Kapolei, where he was the backup to Tama Amisone last season.
RED RAIDERS FACTS
Head coach: Sterling Carvalho
Career record: Fifth season, 38-11 (.776)
Schedule
DATE OPPONENT TIME
8/12 Waianae 6:30 p.m.
8/19 Saint Louis 6:30 p.m.
8/26 Aiea* 6:30 p.m.
9/1 @ Farrington 7:30 p.m.
9/9 @ Mater Dei (Calif.) 4 p.m.
9/16 St. John Bosco (Calif.) 6 p.m.
9/23 @ Nanakuli 6:30 p.m.
9/30 @ Moanalua 6:30 p.m.
10/7 Campbell 6:30 p.m.
10/14 Leilehua 6:30 p.m.
* — @ Radford
—
OIA OPEN DIVISION
Campbell Sabers
Head coach Darren Johnson has brought stability to the Sabers with five straight non-losing seasons entering his sixth year.
Junior quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw for 3,488 yards and 31 touchdowns and returns after a big summer in which he earned a scholarship offer from Washington. Hawaii, San Diego State and San Jose State have also offered.
Campbell has reached the state tournament the past four seasons but hasn’t quite broken through against powerhouses Kahuku and Mililani. Utility Tana Togafau-Tavui, defensive back Kela Moore and offensive lineman Joshua Tavui, a UH commit, could change that in 2023.
SABERS FACTS
Head coach: Darren Johnson
Career record: Sixth season (16th overall), 106-60-1 (.638)
Schedule
DATE OPPONENT TIME
8/11 @ Waipahu 7:30 p.m.
8/19 Aiea* 4 p.m.
8/26 @ Leilehua 6:30 p.m.
9/1 @ Liberty (Nev.) 4 p.m.
9/8 Nanakuli 7:30 p.m.
9/15 Punahou 7:30 p.m.
9/22 @ Farrington 7:30 p.m.
10/7 @ Kahuku 6:30 p.m.
10/13 Moanalua 7:30 p.m.
* — @ Radford
Kapolei Hurricanes
Darren Hernandez’s 21st season as the program’s only head coach has some promise with junior quarterback Tama Amisone leading the way.
Last season, Amisone helped Kapolei average more than 30 points game for only the second time since 2009 and the Hurricanes had their first winning season since the Taulia Tagovailoa-led squad with June Jones at offensive coordinator made the state tournament and beat Punahou in 2016.
The Open/DI combined schedule should provide ample opportunity for the Hurricanes to make some noise.
HURRICANES FACTS
Head coach: Darren Hernandez
Career record: 21st season (27th overall), 133-121-2 (.523)
Schedule
DATE OPPONENT TIME
8/12 Saint Louis 6:30 p.m.
8/19 Radford 6:30 p.m.
8/25 @ Waipahu 7:30 p.m.
9/1 @ Calabasas (Calif.)4 p.m.
9/8 Castle 7:30 p.m.
9/15 ‘Iolani 7:30 p.m.
9/23 Kailua* 6:30 p.m.
10/7 @ Mililani 6:30 p.m.
10/14Waianae 6:30 p.m.
* — @ Castle
Mililani Trojans
Averaging more than nine wins a season since taking over in 2010, Rod York has made the Trojans a perennial state-title contender.
Saint Louis, Kahuku and Punahou are the only Hawaii teams to have defeated the Trojans dating back to 2016.
Junior quarterback Kini McMillan returns but has struggled with knee injuries that enabled him to only play two games his freshman season and miss the final two games last season.
Senior linebacker Aizik Mahuka, a transfer from Aiea who holds nine FBS offers, is a big addition to the defense.
TROJANS FACTS
Head coach: Rod York
Career record: 13th season, 105-37 (.739)
Schedule
DATE OPPONENT TIME
8/12 Punahou 6:30 p.m.
8/19 Kailua 6:30 p.m.
8/25 @ Radford 7:30 p.m.
9/1 @ Sheldon (Ore.) 4 p.m.
9/15 Saint Louis 7 p.m.
9/22 @ Castle 7:30 p.m.
9/30 @ Waianae 6:30 p.m.
10/7 Kapolei 6:30 p.m.
10/14 Waipahu 6:30 p.m
Moanalua Na Menehune
Moanalua’s first year in the Open Division was a struggle as expected after going 23-5 in its previous three seasons in Division I.
Enter Andrew Manley, the former Leilehua quarterback who led the Mules to a state in 2007. He begins his first head coaching stint with a schedule that includes last year’s state finalists, Punahou and Kahuku.
Sophomore quarterback Tayden-Evan Kaawa already holds six FBS scholarship offers and is a gift for Manley to have behind center to begin his coaching career. Junior receiver Jayce Bareng was limited by injuries last year, but is a big-time playmaker.
NA MENEHUNE FACTS
Head coach: Andrew Manley
Career record: First season, 0-0 (.000)
Schedule
DATE OPPONENT TIME
8/12 Kamehameha* 6:30 p.m.
8/18 Leilehua 7:30 p.m.
8/26 @ Punahou 3 p.m.
9/8 Farrington 7:30 p.m.
9/23 Aiea** 6:30 p.m.
9/30 Kahuku 6:30 p.m.
10/6 @ Nanakuli 7:30 p.m.
10/13 @ Campbell 7:30 p.m.
*— @ Farrington; ** — @ Radford
Waianae Seariders
Former University of Hawaii defensive coordinator Thom Kaumeyer became Waianae’s fourth head coach in four seasons last year and is back for a second season.
Quarterback Maximus Kahalewai-Sapigao is expected to take over for Tarent Moniz-Babb. The lines should be the strength of the team with Elijah Peau anchoring the offensive line and Aliipomakai Acedillo and Lorenzo Nimoai leading the way on defense.
Waianae will play a mainland team for the first time in 22 years when it hosts Lincoln (Calif.) in Week 2.
SEARIDERS FACTS
Head coach: Thom Kaumeyer
Career record: Second season, 3-5 (.375)
Schedule
DATE OPPONENT TIME
8/12 @ Kahuku 6:30 p.m.
8/17 Lincoln (Calif.) 7:30 p.m.
8/25 Kamehameha 7:30 p.m.
9/9 Kailua 6:30 p.m.
9/15 Waipahu 7:30 p.m.
9/22 @ Radford 7:30 p.m.
9/30 Mililani 6:30 p.m.
10/6 @ Castle 7:30 p.m.
10/14 @ Kapolei 6:30 p.m.
