OIA Red unbeatens battle for first
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
Darren Johnson was a 5-foot-6, 145-pound all-star quarterback for Kahuku in 1982, playing in the same backfield as former Brigham Young University standout Lakei Heimuli.
Johnson later coached at Kahuku for eight years, putting together offensive game plans with current Red Raiders coach Siuaki Livai when they both were assistants to Doug Semones.
Johnson still lives in the Kahuku area, and his kids go to school there.
But tonight, as it has for the past six seasons, Johnson's blood is not Kahuku red but Kailua blue. Now Kailua's head coach, Johnson will lead the unbeaten Surfriders (4-0 overall) into a key O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red Conference showdown against nationally-ranked Kahuku (5-0).
Kickoff is set for 25 minutes after the 5 p.m. JV game at Kailua High School.
"It's always difficult to see friends and family on the other sideline," said Johnson, whose first cousin Byron Beatty is Kahuku's co-defensive coordinator. "But when you leave, you can't look back. It's great to help other young men here, and I have an administration that treats me well."
"I'm with Kailua whole-heartedly," Johnson added. "I believe in what we're doing here."
Under the guidance of Johnson and six assistants who either played or coached at Kahuku, the Surfriders are off to a 3-0 start in the Red. But defending state champion Kahuku (4-0 Red) presents an entirely different challenge.
"They're playing like state champs, they haven't missed a beat," Johnson said. "Who do you stop? (Quarterback Inoke) Funaki is throwing really well, and he's got receivers. If you try to stop them, they can run it with (tailback Mulivai) Pula and (fullback Earvin) Atuaia. And they have a great defense. They've played outstanding."
Kahuku impressed a lot of people with last week's 57-10 domination of Castle. But Livai wasn't one of them.
"We had a terrible game," Livai said. "We had 17 penalties for 135 yards, and a lot of those were in the middle of drives."
Livai also knows that size-wise, the Surfriders are much bigger than Castle. Kailua defensive linemen Vili Fonokalafi (6-0, 235), Felipo Mokofisi (6-2, 220), Levi Manutai (6-2, 264), Al Kauahi (6-1, 302) and Sione Tuifua (5-10, 289) should provide more resistance than the Knights defense which surrendered 388 rushing yards to Kahuku last Friday.
"I think we match up well with them, but what we don't have is their depth," Johnson said. "They're an unreal football team."
