Carrying much of the weight of an entire North Shore community on his not-so-broad shoulders, Kahuku’s Richard Torres stood firm and delivered.

Richard switched from his natural position of cornerback and took over the starting quarterback role for the Red Raiders, who underwent their first coaching change in 10 years.

Facing intense scrutiny and sky-high expectations, he quietly led the Red Raiders to their second straight state championship — throwing the winning touchdown pass with 23 seconds remaining — and was named to the OIA Red Conference Eastern Division all-star first team.

In wrestling, Richard had already proved himself as a winner, capturing four OIA individual titles and finishing in the top three in the state before being named the league’s Eastern Division Wrestler of the Year and winning the state championship at 145 pounds this season.

And two weeks ago, he added a judo state crown at 161 pounds.

In addition, Richard carried a 3.6 grade-point average and participated in monthly church beautification projects.

He will continue his education at the University of Hawai‘i, where he plans to walk on to the football team and work toward an education degree so he can teach math.