Kahuku vs. Wai'anae a classic matchup

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

Prep football fans will not have to wait until Sept. 21 to see an intense, hard-hitting and high-powered matchup at Aloha Stadium.

Kahuku, the two-time defending state champion, will play nationally ranked Long Beach (Calif.) Poly on Sept. 21 in the First Hawaiian Bank Classic. But by agreeing to play that night, the Red Raiders surrendered a preseason game last week.

Wai'anae, meanwhile, has one game under its belt after defeating Kapolei, 28-0, last Friday.

That gives Kahuku coach Siuaki Livai cause for concern.

"I don't care how many times you practice, you need to play a full game to figure out what you're doing," Livai said. "Knowing Wai'anae, they're going to be solid already."

Wai'anae coach Dan Matsumoto, however, acknowledges no such advantage.

"We haven't seen them, so we don't know what to expect," Matsumoto said. "I know they got to see us, so they know what we have."

What Wai'anae has, apparently, is a traditionally strong running game along with an improved passing attack. Fullback Sautia Lave, a 5-foot-11, 220-pound senior, rushed for 80 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries against Kapolei.

Senior halfbacks Chad Rodrigues (5-10, 160) and Chevy Teves (5-8, 155) provide the outside threat.

Junior quarterback Uilau Faliuga (5-10, 185) showed the Seariders' ability to strike through the air, completing 7 of 9 passes for 105 yards and one touchdown.

"I feel like we can throw the ball," Matsumoto said. "Our offense will be well-balanced. And our kicking game is not too bad."

Matsumoto said his biggest worries are injuries and a big jump in competition. The Seariders know Kahuku presents an entirely different challenge than Kapolei.

"Our game pretty much went as expected," Matsumoto said. "It's not that (the Hurricanes) were junk, but it's hard to get away from the fact that they were all sophomores and juniors. Kahuku — man, hopefully they're not the same as last year. But their JV took (the OIA championship), so I'm pretty sure they're just gonna reload."

The Red Raiders return only two starters on offense — center Jeremy Perry and left guard Joe Napeahi. Livai said he intends to run the same type of wide-open attack he did last season.

"We're gonna spread things out," he said.

With much of the talk in fall camp revolving around the Classic, Livai said some Kahuku fans may have forgotten that the more pressing matter is Wai'anae.

"(The Classic) is disturbing our season, but realistically we cannot block it out," Livai said. "When an opportunity like this comes, it comes, and we've got to take it. But for Wai'anae, I'm sure this is their biggest game of the year."

The Seariders are the only Hawai'i team to defeat the Red Raiders in the past two years, and the only OIA team to beat Kahuku since 1998. Wai'anae won regular season games in 1999 (43-7) and 2000 (12-7).

"We told our guys that if anyone doesn't think we can do it again, they should quit right now," Matsumoto said. "But they're all excited to play Kahuku. This is a big game."