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Fourth In An 8-Part Series
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As the saying goes, it takes a community to raise a child. In Kahuku, it is often more succinct to say it takes a community to raise a champion.
The North Shore’s Red Raiders gave their adoring fans a record 10th top-tier state championship and second in a row, capping off a 12-2 season with a 20-0 shutout of Punahou in the finale Nov. 26.
But, as coach Sterling Carvalho is quick to say, what might look on the outside like it was very easy was quite difficult indeed.
“To be honest, there was a lot of pressure on this season,” he said. “We had the undefeated season the year before with the majority of them core juniors who were coming back. Anything less than a state championship would have been a failure. Plus, we had transfers to enhance what we already had. There was way more pressure trying to repeat because of all of that. And the year before, no one expected us to have the passing game or a balanced offense so we surprised a lot of people. This year, everybody knew what we had.”
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A catch-all place for the sights
and sounds, impressions and overheard
things from our colorful
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This time, there were two losses to national powers along the way, including one that was just a few seconds away from becoming a major upset that would have changed Kahuku’s comparative standing on the national map from the size of a quarter to the size of a dollar bill.
As of right now, despite those losses of 34-7 to St. John Bosco (currently the No. 1 ranked team in two national lists) and 22-15 to St. Frances Academy (ranked No. 3 nationally at the time), the Red Raiders sit at No. 26 by MaxPreps.com and No. 52 by Football America 100 with the final rankings set to come out early this week.
That loss to St. Frances was especially painful because Kahuku held a 15-14 lead until the visitors from Baltimore scored with 39 seconds remaining.
The next day, eventual Bedrock Sports Hawaii state defensive player of the year, Red Raiders linebacker Leonard Ah Y0u, told Bedrock Sports Hawaii: “That last drive, they shouldn’t have scored. We tried our best, but we slacked off a couple of plays. We’ll learn from it and move on.”
In talking with many coaches from around the high school football world, Kahuku got better as the season went along.
And, ahhhh, there it is right there. How do you make the most superior team in the state time even better?
Well, it isn’t easy. Carvalho and his boys got it done. Had the Red Raiders flattened out at midseason instead of climbing upward in their abilities, the Punahous, Mililanis and Campbells of the world would have been knocking even more loudly on the door to the kingdom.
After beating Punahou in the finale and putting a clamp on the Buff ‘N Blue’s high-power offense, Kahuku linebacker Liona Lefau — the Bedrock state defensive player of the year in 2021, said this to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser: “Trust. It’s all about trust and brotherhood. We call ourselves a family and you can’t do that if you don’t trust the guy next to you.”
Lefau, in the same interview, said the second championship was better because, simply: “Two is better than one.”
And 10 is better than nine.
Next year, the Red Raiders will be trying for their 11th state crown and third in a row. They’ll have plenty of returnees, but lots graduates going on to college, including Ah You, Lefau, 2021 Bedrock state offensive player of the year Kainoa Carvalho, safety Brock Fonoimoana, defensive lineman Stanley Raass, and quarterback Waika Crawford.
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The Rest Of The 8-Part Series
Already Posted:
>> FOOTBALL WRAP PART 1: Kahuku’s Leonard Ah You Was, Literally, The Closer In Second Straight State Championship Season
>> FOOTBALL WRAP PART 2: Waipahu’s Liatama Uiliata Showed Unique Ability On The Way To Becoming Bedrock’s State Offensive Player Of The Year
>> FOOTBALL WRAP PART 3: Coach Kyle Linoz Revived The Pride Of Waimea Football In Grand Fashion
Upcoming Posts:
>> FOOTBALL WRAP PART 5: Konawaena Took Oahu By Storm For School’s First D-I State Championship
>> FOOTBALL WRAP PART 6: Shang HI Media’s MUST-SEE Video Compilation Of Waimea’s 45-6 D-II State Title Win Over King Kekaulike
>> FOOTBALL WRAP PART 7: Nacnac Productionz’s MUST-SEE Video Compilation Of Konawaena’s 38-28 D-I State Title Win Over Waipahu
>> FOOTBALL WRAP PART 8: Shang HI Media’s MUST-SEE Video Compilation Of Kahuku’s 20-0 Open State Championship Win Over Punahou
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The Season As It Unfolded:
