Kahuku senior Stokes Nihipali-Botelho didn’t get a chance to show off his return skills on the opening kickoff of Friday’s OIA Division I playoff game against Leilehua.
He didn’t let a second opportunity skip by and triggered No. 1 Kahuku’s 49-point first-half onslaught in a 63-0 win over the visiting Mules at Carlton Weimer Field.
Nihipali-Botelho, who has four kickoff returns for touchdowns this season, watched Friday’s opening kick sail into the end zone for a touchback. When the Red Raiders forced a punt on Leilehua’s first possession, Nihipali-Botelho raced up to field the short kick on a hop and sped 64 yards for his second punt return score of the season.
“I was actually going to let it go because it was short,” Nihipali-Botelho said. “But when I saw how the wall was set up I knew I had to take a chance. Football is about taking chances. I took a chance and it ended up paying off.”
The Red Raiders defense contributed a 33-yard interception return by Kekaula Kaniho, who had two picks in the first half of Kahuku’s fifth shutout of the season. Freshman quarterback Sol-Jay Maiava led the offense with a 25-yard scoring run and an 18-yard touchdown pass to Pua Falemalu.
Three Kahuku running backs — Harmon Brown, Elvis Vakapuna and Steven Lombard — reached the end zone before halftime and the Red Raiders (8-1) earned a spot in next week’s OIA semifinals and one of the league’s four spots in the inaugural state tournament Open Division bracket.
The Red Raiders, winners of their past 21 games against Hawaii competition, will face the winner of tonight’s game between No. 5 Waianae and No. 6 Mililani in an OIA semifinal matchup next week.
As the top seed coming out of the OIA Blue, the Red Raiders had a bye in the first round of the playoffs and “I think they were hungry to get out here on the field again,” Kahuku coach Vavae Tata said.
Leilehua (4-6) falls into the fifth-place bracket to determine the league’s seeding in the Division I state tournament. The Mules take on the loser of the Mililani-Waianae game next week.
“We just gotta regroup come Monday,” Leilehua coach Nolan Tokuda said. “Twenty-four-hour rule — we have one more day to sulk over it and after that it’s done and we’ll look out for our next opponent, whether it’s Waianae or Mililani.”
Nihipali-Botelho entered the playoffs with seven touchdown returns — two on interceptions, four on kickoffs and one on a punt.
He scored on a 94-yard kickoff return in the Red Raiders 49-15 win in their opener against Leilehua on Aug. 12 and the Mules tried to keep the ball away from him on their first punt of the game.
“With the way the wind was blowing, we tried to kick it this side, but the ball ended up curving that way. Our guys didn’t look at where the ball was and Stokes, the player he is, is going to pick up the ball and make a play,” Tokuda said.
The Kahuku defense scored its ninth touchdown of the season when Kaniho picked off a tipped pass and took it back to the end zone for his third return for a score this season. His brother, freshman Kaonohi Kaniho, added another interception in the fourth quarter.
“That’s our goal every week, to score on defense and get a goose egg,” Kekaula Kaniho said. “That we could do both of those was really a great thing. I credit my other guys who are in position to tip balls and we’re just playing and having fun with each other.”
