HONOLULU — The scaling of the mountaintop was equal parts euphoric and emphatic.
In the return of the HHSAA / First Hawaiian Bank Open Division championship from a one-year hiatus, Kahuku dominated old rival Saint Louis to a degree never seen, 49-14, as the Red Raiders brought the koa trophy back up to the North Shore for the first time since 2015.
Coach Sterling Carvalho’s Raiders dominated the ground game and, in a startling sign of how times have changed, more than matched the four-time defending champion Crusaders in the air. Running back Kana Loa Kaluna recorded a touchdown hat trick with 138 yards on just 16 carries, while quarterback Jason Mariteragi was equally effective with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
The “Red Sea” of Kahuku fans sat — or more aptly, stood — on either side of a throng of Saint Louis fans in the main stands at Farrington’s 3,500-seat Skippa Diaz Stadium. By the end of the game, the sea was no longer parted and the party was on.
“It means everything for the community because they’re always there for us. They always roll deep,” Kaluna said.
After receiving the trophy, players performed one final rendition of their signature haka, the Kaipahua Kura, for their delirious fans.
It capped an emotional 10-0 season that saw Kahuku play all of its games away from home while its field is being renovated, and saw multiple assistant coaches die from COVID-19 complications since the last time football was played on this stage.
Not only that, some players left the program to pursue their football dreams on the mainland when all football was canceled in Hawaii for the 2020 season due to the pandemic threat.
“With the COVID year, I moved up to Utah. It was a good experience, but my heart was always over here at Kahuku,” said star receiver Kainoa Carvalho, who had two spectacular touchdown catches. “When I came back, we knew we had something special and this team was designed for destiny.”
The flags were flying with gusto — both in the packed stands and out of the referees’ pockets — in a raucous atmosphere that featured fireworks and honking horns on all sides of the venue. The teams totaled 315 yards of penalties; 195 of them were assessed to the OIA champs. It hardly seemed to matter, as the Red Raiders churned out big play after big play.
In their storied history, the most lopsided game won by Kahuku was in 2015, a 39-14 decision that preceded the Crusaders’ dominance for the next four state titles. In the teams' 2019 meeting, it was 45-6 in favor of the Crusaders.
Going into Thursday, it was not obvious what would transpire. The Red Raiders had to scrap to come back against Mililani for a 21-14 win in the OIA Open Division title game two weeks ago. They also left plenty of points on the table in a 21-0 win over Campbell five days before the final.
Kahuku coaches and players said they were not surprised by Thursday’s lopsided outcome. Sterling Carvalho was all smiles after receiving a ceremonial dousing from his players for his first state title.
“It’s been building for almost two years. This is what we wanted,” said Carvalho, who credited former head coach Reggie Torres for mentoring him and bringing him into the program.
“Hats off to the players,” he said. “They worked in the offseason for this moment. They put in the time. And not knowing even if we’re having a season, they trained by themselves. The players, the captains, they decided to put in the work. But I’m most proud of those who stayed (with Kahuku), that (showed) we want to be a Red Raider. And they were able to contribute to the cause and be able to finish what they wanted to do.”
Saint Louis’ monopoly on the Open Division — the top-tier classification that was added in 2016 — was long but ended quickly.
Kahuku raced out to a 28-0 lead, gave up two Crusader touchdowns in the second quarter, then responded with force coming out of intermission.
Veteran coach Ron Lee and his staff — including Cal Lee, the former leader of the Saint Louis dynasty — were able to rouse the Crusaders from early-season losses to Kamehameha to win the ILH title, and they squeaked past Mililani 27-25 in the state semifinals. But they had few answers on the field this time.
Kahuku showed an ability to move the ball from the outset in rolling up 394 yards of total offense. Kaluna got the damage started with first-quarter touchdowns of 6 and 4 yards.
Crusaders quarterback AJ Bianco, the University of Hawaii verbal commit who has not yet officially signed, had his difficulties trying to respond. Bianco went 11-for-20 for 143 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, including one run back for six points by Kahuku safety Malosi Lefau that made it 21-0.
“That was a big changing point in the game,” said Lefau’s brother, Liona, a tight end who got his own touchdown on a 19-yard pass the next quarter. “Once he picked it, I was celebrating already. I didn’t even take time to go help out and block.”
The Crusaders put together consecutive effective drives in the second quarter, including a deep ball from Bianco to Trech Kekahuna for a 46-yard touchdown to get it back to 28-14.
Any thoughts of a comeback entertained by the Crusader faithful at halftime were ended in the third by the Red Raiders’ shifty playmaker. The 5-foot-7 receiver Carvalho took a screen pass from Mariteragi 61 yards to the house, showcasing his lethality in open space. On the Raiders’ next drive, he caught a difficult 16-yard fade in the end zone.
“We do that in practice every day, that fade ball,” Carvalho said. “I have chemistry with Jason; I’ve played with him ever since I was a little kid. That’s our play, right there.”
Mariteragi, a senior, had split work with Waika Crawford over the previous weeks, including in the semifinal win over Campbell less than a week ago. But he had exclusive command on Thursday, going 10-for-13 for 186 yards and three touchdowns.
“Once we made those two touchdowns in the third quarter going against the wind, we knew we had it in the bag,” Sterling Carvalho said.
Kaluna capped off the evening with some power running and a 17-yard scoring burst in the fourth.
Kahuku made it nine state titles in the state tournament era (since 1999) to Saint Louis' seven. An HBO crew was on-hand all season to document the Red Raiders' journey for an upcoming series, “The Cost of Winning.”
“Especially now, we’re going to be excited to watch the series come out,” Liona Lefau said.
One of the more remarkable aspects to Kahuku’s run was their relative youth. Many of the difference-makers will be back as seniors next year.
“The coaches always said, 'Remember the guys behind you. They set the path for us,'” said Kainoa Carvalho, a junior. “It was our turn, and now we’re setting the path for the future Red Raiders. It’s something special to have our name on that wall.”
