The Kahuku Red Raiders came back from close to a two-touchdown halftime deficit to beat rival Saint Louis in their season opener last weekend. But facing a larger hole at intermission against national No. 2 Bishop Gorman (Nev.) on its home turf Friday night, the Red Raiders found the going a little too tough in a 33-7 loss in Las Vegas.

A strong contingent of Red Raider fans tried to shake off the 100-degree heat at kickoff and make itself heard at the academy that was bestowed the 2023 high school national championship by MaxPreps and USA Today. Big plays for Big Red were hard to come by, however, as Kahuku quarterbacks threw four interceptions and its ground game, diminished without one of its top backs, never found traction.

Kahuku went to a five-wide passing attack in the second half behind Christian Sanford-Tupuola, and that’s where it found its best offensive success on the night with the backup quarterback taking it for a 43-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

Coach Sterling Carvalho talked about better execution and discipline as musts for his team in their six days of preparation from Saturday’s 14-13 comeback win over Saint Louis on the North Shore. However, miscues included a long snap that sailed into the end zone for a safety in the first quarter.

For a little while, the Red Raiders were stout enough on defense to hang around.

Kahuku shut down the hosts’ first drive, but muffed the punt return, allowing Gorman to take over in the Red Raider red zone. Aiden Manutai, one of Kahuku’s best performers on the night, then intercepted Melvin Spicer inside the 10 to keep the game scoreless.

After allowing a touchdown and giving up the safety on the long snap, Kahuku got some momentum back by forcing a turnover on downs near the end of the first quarter.

Starting quarterback Troy Mariteragi scrambled early in the second for Kahuku’s first first down of the game. But after completing a pass to move the chains again, Mariteragi underthrew a ball that was picked off.

The Gaels tacked on a 30-yard field goal with under two minutes left in the half for a 12-0 lead, and when Kahuku went three-and-out, the Gaels managed the clock well to tack on a swing pass touchdown from Spicer to Myles Norman with 13 seconds left for a 19-0 lead at intermission.

Aided by a Gaels personal foul and with Sanford-Tupuola in for a full passing attack, Kahuku advanced its deepest into Bishop Gorman territory on its first drive of the second half. But Sanford-Tupuola was picked off at the 5 throwing into heavy coverage.

Kahuku got it back in hostile territory on a recovered fumble on Bishop Gorman’s ensuing drive. This time, Sanford-Tupuola made it count on a lengthy run on a quarterback sneak and the Red Raiders got on the board, 19-7 with 5:20 left in the third.

Bishop Gorman responded immediately with a long running play that produced a Maika Eugenio touchdown, and tacked on one more in the fourth.

One of Kahuku’s featured running backs, James Steffany-Fiame, suffered a severe injury in the first half against Saint Louis and is expected to miss significant time.

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.