Pula rushes for 216 yards as Kahuku routs Castle
By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
Top-ranked Kahuku did not miss a beat from a week off to trample No. 5 Castle, 57-10, as O'ahu Interscholastic Association football returned last night after a statewide mourning of those lost in last week's terrorist attacks.
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An Aloha Stadium crowd of 5,100 watched Red Raiders' defensive end Jonathan Mapu, a college prospect, lead his team out of the locker room with an American flag. The Red Raiders also had American flag decals on their helmets.
Kahuku's Inoke Funaki throws a pass as Castle's Metui Tautuiaki comes in on the play in the second quarter.
Kahuku (4-0 OIA, 5-0 overall) amassed 568 yards in winning its 14th consecutive game spanning two seasons, and remained unbeaten in the OIA Red Conference.
Running back Mulivai Pula hydroplaned the wet turf for 216 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns, including an 81-yarder up the middle.
"We made a lot of mistakes, but probably more good things," Kahuku coach Siuaki Livai said. "But this group is special. A lot of these returnees, they know what they're doing. If they do the right things, it's going to be hard to stop them."
The same could not be said of Castle (3-1, 3-2), which entered the game tied with Kahuku for first. A harassing defense, led by Mapu whose mean pass rush led to a safety, kept Castle quarterback Joel Botelho in check with 79 yards passing.
"We were very flat and weren't sharp at all," Castle coach Nelson Maeda said. "It was a kind of disappointing performance for us."
Kahuku's offensive line opened car-width lanes for Pula on dives and traps. Its linemen pulled with precision on slotback counter plays for Moana Hafoka (4 for 39 yards) and Loga Fonoimoana (2 for 36). Power-running fullback Earvin Atuaia (6 for 51 yards) had several second- and third-effort runs. Quarterback Inoke Funaki compounded matters with his elusive scrambling.
"We had a lot of breakdowns in our fundamentals," Maeda said. "Pursuit, assignments, effort to the ball — very disappointing performance."
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Castle's fate was decided early. The Knights' opening drive set up a 45-yard field goal by Nolan Miranda, only to be nullified by a penalty. His ensuing 50-yard try failed.
Kahuku’s Mulivai Pula gets past Castle defenders during the first quarter at Aloha Stadium. Pula finished with 18 carries for 216 yards and two touchdowns, including an 81-yarder.
Kahuku responded by scoring on their next two series to take a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Miranda got a 43-yard field goal to make it 14-3, but Kahuku would tack on three unanswered touchdowns and a safety — Botelho was called for intentional grounding in the end zone after being pursued heavily by Mapu — to blow the game open to 37-3 at the half.
Castle scored its first touchdown with 9:06 in the third quarter when Miranda caught a 25-yard pass from Botelho, making it 37-10 by the end of the third quarter.
But Kahuku came back with three touchdowns, including Pula's 81-yard jaunt, a five-yarder by backup running back Robert Tu'ifua and an 39-yard interception return by lineman Darrell Tachibana. It was Tachibana's third defensive touchdown of the year.
Kahuku (4-0, 5-0) 14 23 0 20—57
Castle (3-1, 3-2) 0 3 7 0—10
Kah-—Mulivai Pula 15 run (Solomon Lee kick)
Kah-—Earvin Atuaia 12 run (Lee kick)
Cas-—FG Nolan Miranda 43
Kah-—Moana Hafoka 15 run (Lee kick)
Kah-—Safety. Intentional grounding in end zone
Kah-—Hafoka 15 pass from Inoke Funaki (Lee kick)
Kah-—Loga Fonoimoana 6 pass from Funaki (Lee kick)
Cas-—Miranda 25 pass from Joel Botelho (Miranda kick)
Kah-—Pula 81 run (kick blocked)
Kah-—Robert Tu‘ifua 5 run (Lee kick)
Kah-—Darrell Tachibana 39 interception return (Lee kick)
RUSHING-—Kahuku: Inoke Funaki 10-31, Mulivai Pula 18-216, Loga Fonoimoana 2-36, Moana Hafoka 4-39, Earvin Atuaia 6-51, Robert Tu‘ifua 4-15. Castle: Joel Botelho 12-92, Ola Keliiholokai 3-5, Fale Taupaki 1-4.
PASSING—Kahuku: Funaki 13-19-0—180, Fonoimoana 0-1-0—0. Castle: Botelho 10-23-1—79, Darin Hamada 2-7-0—22.
RECEIVING—Kahuku: Fonoimoana 5-93, Hafoka 3-41, Pula 2-12, James Kammerer 2-32, Gideon Perez 1-2. Castle: Dayton AhNee 2-11, Ikaika Ho 2-(minus 1), Keliiholoka 2-14, Loren Lum 3-30, Nolan Miranda 2-32, Jared Suzui 1-15.
JV—Kahuku 40, Castle 0
Reported by Advertiser Staff
