Lahainaluna football gets a field it can call its own
By Christie Wilson
Neighbor Island Editor
LAHAINA, Maui — Tradition-bound Lahainaluna High School will reclaim a piece of its history when varsity football returns to West Maui this week for the first time in 50 years.
Christie Wilson • The Honolulu Advertiser
Several thousand red-and-white-clad fans are expected to attend Saturday's preseason game against Kapa'a High School of Kaua'i at the school field, which sits on the mountainside high above Lahaina town, offering eye-popping views of the ocean and nearby Lana'i.
With a large "L" looming on the mountainside above, Lahainaluna's varsity football squad practices for its first home game in 50 years. School alumni and Lahaina residents and businesses raised $72,000 to help buy bleachers for the new field.
Old-timers remember that up until the early 1950s, football was played either at the former Malu'ulu-o-Lele sports complex in Lahaina town or on a field above the campus that is no longer used. The games were moved to the old Kahului Fairgrounds and, eventually, to War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku, a 50-mile drive round-trip.
Everyone wins
The school once again is able to host varsity contests after installing new sod, drainage and irrigation, purchasing new bleachers and getting an unused scoreboard from Aloha Stadium.
"We're bringing football back to Lahaina. It's good for the kids, good for the community, and we don't have to travel," said Lunas coach Bobby Watson, who played for the school in the late 1960s.
Diane Delos Reyes, executive director of the Lahainaluna High School Foundation, said excitement is building for Saturday's game. "It's tremendous. We already have one of the best attendance records, even when they have the games on the other side," she said.
Delos Reyes' husband, Walter, is a 1964 Luna graduate, their three children attended the school and two now work there as teachers. Those kinds of multigenerational ties run deep through the school's 173-year history.
Heart of a community
Lahainaluna was founded by missionaries on Sept. 5, 1831, as a seminary to train Native Hawaiian men as teachers. It is often referred to as the oldest school west of the Mississippi, and has the state's only public-school boarding program.
It also is the only high school in the bustling West Maui region, isolated from the rest of the island by the West Maui Mountains. Like the school, the area has a rich heritage as the one-time royal capital of the Islands, a whaling port and home to massive sugar plantations.
With sugar gone, tourism is now the area's economic mainstay, and large-scale resort and residential development has brought not-always-welcome change. That may explain why new and longtime residents alike cherish Lahainaluna's role in community life.
Foundation president Rob Shelton, a Realtor, said the support from alumni, hotels, restaurants and other businesses that raised $72,000 for new bleachers over a six-month period was impressive but not surprising.
"The aloha of alumni, local families, community members, businesses, foundations and corporations keeps Lahainaluna High School at the heart of our community and keeps Lahaina feeling like home," Shelton said.
The donations led to the purchase of 24 portable metal bleachers, each with seating for 100. Among the supporters who will be recognized at halftime Saturday is the Kawaguchi family, which has had a namesake enrolled in the school in each of the past 70 years.
Kenji Kawaguchi was a member of the Luna football team before graduating in 1945, and went on to play for coach and former All-American Tommy Kaulukukui at the University of Hawai'i.
He was also executive secretary of the Maui Interscholastic League for more than 20 years, and still attends Lahainaluna games at War Memorial.
Although he long ago moved to Wailuku, Kawaguchi, 76, said he's pleased Lahainaluna will be hosting home games again.
"I'll go to Lahaina because my roots are there," he said.
At 5 feet 1 and 115 pounds, Sam Kadotani, Class of '41, said he was too small to play football, but vividly remembers the days when high school squads traveled by steamship for interisland contests.
Kadotani, 81, recalled a 1936 Lahainaluna game against McKinley High School at Malu'ulu-o-Lele. "The fans were shocked because McKinley introduced the lateral, and we said, 'What the heck are they doing?' We didn't know about that," he said.
The home team
The current crop of Luna football players said the preseason game against fellow Division II team Kapa'a will be a special occasion.
"The crowd's going to be bigger since we're in our hometown," said senior defensive end Glen Kuresa, 17. "It's more of a pride thing. We've got to do our best and we'll be trying really hard."
Kuresa
Senior quarterback Preston Medeiros, 17, said: "We're the only high school on this side of the island. All our family will be here and we'll be playing for the community."
This year only the preseason contest and the Sept. 25 homecoming game will be played at the Luna field. School and community leaders hope the home schedule will be expanded when lights are eventually installed.
In the meantime, games will be played in the daytime.
Coach Watson said Saturday's kickoff at noon won't give the home team an advantage. "I don't think anyone gets used to playing in the heat of Lahaina," he said.
Fans are advised to bring hats and umbrellas — in the school colors of red and white, of course.
Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
