Kahuku prepares for Utah power

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

To help raise money for its trip to Hawai'i this week, the Skyline (Salt Lake City) High School football team sold 1,200 boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts.

Kahuku coach Siuaki Livai, center, is hoping running back Mulivai Pula, left, and quarterback Inoke Funaki, right, can help the Red Raiders avenge last year's 24-21 loss to Skyline of Salt Lake City tomorrow. Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser

Skyline could be the most renowned program to make the journey here since, well, Skyline of Oakland, Calif., came to play St. Louis in 1994.

"They won five out of the last six Utah state championships, so they will be well-respected every year," Kahuku coach Siuaki Livai said. "Their coaching staff has been together for over 15 years; they're really a well-coached team and very disciplined. And they're very quick, they have a lot of speed."Livai should know. A year ago, Skyline beat Kahuku 24-21 before an overflow crowd of 10,000 in Salt Lake City. The Eagles were ranked No. 48 in the Fox Sports Fab 50 at the time.

Now, Kahuku is the one with the national ranking. The Red Raiders are No. 31 in the Student Sports Inc. preseason Fab 50, while Skyline, which had been a fixture in the Fox Fab 50 West Region rankings the past few years, lost several All-State players to graduation. But like Kahuku, the Eagles have high expectations and a tradition of winning.

They won five consecutive Class 5A (top level) championships between 1995-99 and have the highest all-time winning percentage (.731) of any school in Utah prep football history, which dates to 1895.

Skyline's title streak was snapped by a 44-29 loss to Northridge-Layton last year.

•	Kahuku vs. Skyline (Salt Lake City) 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at Kahuku High School Kahuku, ranked No. 31 in Student Sports Inc.'s preseason Fab 50, is the defending HawaiÎi state champion. Skyline, unranked, was runner-up in last year's Utah 5A (top level) championships and won five straight state titles from 1995-99.

Livai said that offense gave the Red Raiders problems last year.

"They had an option/wing attack that we were not used to," Livai said. "Hopefully, we'll be more familiar with it now."

In last year's game, Kahuku held a 21-17 lead with about two minutes remaining and was trying to run out the clock. But Skyline recovered a fumble on the Red Raiders' 30 yard line and quarterback Steve Tate scored from one yard out with 18 seconds left to pull out the victory.

Kahuku went on to win the state championship with a 26-21 upset of St. Louis. The Red Raiders return three All-State players in quarterback Inoke Funaki, running back Mulivai Pula and defensive lineman Jonathan Mapu, whom some regard as Hawai'i's top college prospect.

In addition, Kahuku will have a distinct home field advantage. Marlowe said Skyline expects to have about 200 fans from Utah in attendance, but head coach Roger Dupaix said that even at last year's game in Salt Lake City, Kahuku fans outnumbered Eagles fans.

"There were all these people dressed in red, and there were more people cheering for Kahuku than cheering for us," Dupaix said.

Dupaix, who once was stationed at Schofield Barracks for about 18 months, also said his team must avoid being lulled by the tropical atmosphere. Upon their arrival at Honolulu International Airport on Tuesday, the Eagles were given leis by Kahuku players and cheerleaders, and they spent part of yesterday enjoying Hanauma Bay.

"We just got here minutes ago, and I already feel the aloha spirit," Dupaix said. "Wearing these leis, it's hard to put your game face on."