It was a big test and the North Shore boys passed it with flying colors.
The Kahuku Red Raiders, ranked No. 3 in Bedrock Sports Hawaii’s Top 10, visited Central Oahu and put the hurt on the second-ranked Mililani Trojans 55-20 on Saturday night in Oahu Interscholastic Association football.
Now 5-0, the Red Raiders are certain to move up at least one notch in the rankings this week.
Jamerus Tai Hook caught this TD pass from Waika Crawford.
Kahuku got it done in all three facets of the game, but a handful of players really stood out as leading the way on this night:
>> Kainoa Carvalho, who is fleet of foot and as strong as can be at his listed 5-feet-7 and 160 pounds, caught 10 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns. Carvalho had a WHOPPING 307 all-purpose yards, with 90 on four kickoff returns and 16 on a punt return. In addition, he kicked field goals of 35 and 27 yards and five extra points.
>> Linebacker Liona Lefau had seven tackles, but he was everywhere causing havoc when Mililani had the ball. In addition, he caught four passes for 53 yards and a TD from his tight end spot.
Liona Lefau and Kainoa Carvalho were among the Kahuku standouts Saturday night.
>> Leonard Ah You pitched in with two sacks.
>> Waika Crawford came in for an injured Jason Mariteragi at quarterback to throw for 174 yards and — count ’em — FIVE touchdown passes.
>> Clyde Taulapapa carried the ball 15 times for 51 and two touchdowns and he did most of his damage on direct snaps in the elephant package.
“We knew we had to get this win for coach David Vimahi,” Lefau said afterward.
Vimahi, a Kahuku assistant, died unexpectedly last week, and a banner honoring him was up on the fence near the Red Raiders sideline.
“We wanted to make a statement that we can run and pass,” Lefau said about the victory. “And even when our quarterback went down, our second-stronger stepped in and did a fanstastic job. We had a slow start, but we got to calm down and play our football and got turnovers, started to get the ball back.”
It was a game of field goals early on, with a 6-6 tie early in the second quarter. Crawford’s TD passes of 13 to Lefau and 70 to Carvalho made it 20-6 and Kahuku was on its way.
The Trojans (3-1) got as close as 34-20 when Lando Werner-Celes caught a 57-yard over-the-top TD pass from Emana Tarape, but Kahuku kept the pedal on the metal, thanks to interceptions by Kruze Keanu and Brock Fonoimoana leading to the final two touchdowns.
Carvalho took the opportunity to talk about the Red Raiders’ defensive effort.
“You know, we always lean on the defense to get us by and they always play lights out. They gave us the opportunities with those turnovers and we had to go out and score. It was a big win for us.”
Carvalho is the nephew of head coach Sterling Carvalho and the son of Red Raiders assistant and Sterling’s twin brother Stewart Carvalho.
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ALSO AT BedrockSportsHawaii.com:
>> WATCH: 11 Videos From No. 3 Kahuku’s Dominant 55-20 Win Over No. 2 Mililani
>> Bedrock Sports Hawaii’s Saturday Final High School Scores And Weekend Wrap-up
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