Red Raiders resume rolling
Sep. 24—The front seven on defense unleashed a relentless pass rush on the previously undefeated Hurricanes that prevented an upset, but it was slow going on offense for much of the first half in an eventual 35-0 win over the host Hurricanes.
Six days removed from playing national No. 1 St. John Bosco, and seven days away from hosting national No. 3 Saint Frances Academy, Friday night's OIA game against Kapolei had all the makings of a trap game for defending state champion Kahuku.
The front seven on defense unleashed a relentless pass rush on the previously undefeated Hurricanes that prevented an upset, but it was slow going on offense for much of the first half in an eventual 35-0 win over the host Hurricanes.
The Red Raiders (6-1, 4-0 OIA Open ) scored touchdowns on Brock Fonoimoana's pick-6 on defense and Aiden Manutai's 81-yard kickoff return for a score to begin the third quarter.
Waika Crawford finished 16-for-27 for 175 yards and scored Kahuku's first touchdown on a run in the second quarter. Even in a 35-point win against a Top 5 opponent in Hawaii, Crawford wasn't impressed with the offense.
"A lot of mental mistakes and a lot of stuff we did wrong as a team, " Crawford said. "Tonight was probably one of our worst games on offense."
Kahuku coach Sterling Carvalho admitted his team was flat to start, but said they didn't overlook the Hurricanes (5-1, 2-1 ).
Kahuku extended its winning streak to 10 against Kapolei and is 12-1 all-time against the Hurricanes, with the lone loss coming in the 2007 OIA playoffs.
"They were the only undefeated team in the Open Division, so it was a big game for us and we harped on that all week long, " Carvalho said. "A loss to this team puts them in the driver's seat. It wasn't a rubber game, it was a big game. It was a battle of unbeatens in the Open."
Kahuku shut out Kapolei for the second time in the past three meetings and held sophomore quarterback Tama Amisone to 91 passing yards and zero rushing yards on 11 attempts.
Kahuku had four sacks and defensive lineman Stanley Raass had three tackles for loss, with two coming in the span of four plays.
Amisone entered the game with 16 passing touchdowns and eight rushing TDs in his first five games.
"I guess this past Bosco game was a wake-up call to this defense, because we have a lot of potential, " Raass said. "This game was just a little reminder to let you guys know who we are."
Kahuku's first four drives ended in three punts and a fumble, and it took nearly 10 minutes for the state's No. 1-ranked team to record a first down.
After a scoreless first quarter, Crawford put the Red Raiders on the board when he tucked the ball away and burst up the middle of the field left uncovered by the Kapolei defense for a 33-yard touchdown with 6 :50 remaining in the first half.
Kapolei kept it close with two turnovers on defense in the first half. Senior linebacker Maika Kahele-Akeo recovered a Crawford fumble, and a screen pass fell right into the lap of linebacker PJ Freitas for an interception.
Kapolei took over on its 32 but lost 12 yards on a busted option play before backup quarterback Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa was picked off by Fonoimoana, who returned it 28 yards for a touchdown.
It was the second game in a row with an interception for Fonoimoana, who also had three catches for 24 yards on offense.
Seven Red Raiders caught passes, including linebacker Liona Lefau, who leaped to make a one-handed grab surrounded by two defenders for a 14-yard TD to make it 28-0 late in the third quarter.
Receiver Kaimana Carvalho accounted for more than half of Kahuku's offense in the first two quarters with nine catches for 113 yards going into the break.
It was the second straight game Carvalho went over 100 yards after he finished with 106 receiving yards on 10 catches against St. John Bosco.
