Kahuku faces another big challenge in No. 3 St. John Bosco
Sep. 14—There is no place like home, especially for Hawaii's No. 1 football team, Kahuku.
There is no place like home, especially for Hawaii's No. 1 football team, Kahuku.
Following a 55-8 loss to Mater Dei (Calif.), the nation's top-ranked team, the two-time HHSAA Open Division defending state champions are in the midst of preparation for another juggernaut. On Saturday, Kahuku battles St. John Bosco (Calif.), which was last year's national champion and ranked third nationally.
Win or lose, this is the way for Kahuku. The days of filling bye weeks with a variety of teams are long gone. Scheduling the very best teams available has raised the bar. Losses are part of the process. Safe scheduling is not. Miscues against the nation's best have a profound effect.
"You have to take care of the ball. You cannot win if you lose the turnover battle, " Kahuku coach Sterling Carvalho said. "Pay attention to the details of your assignment, then execute."
The margin for error remains narrow this weekend.
"St. John Bosco is similar to Mater Dei in size and speed. They have athletes in all positions and are deep in every position. You can't really tell a drop-off in subs coming in and out. When you are able to recruit nationally, you are going to get the best of the best, " Carvalho noted. "That's what these programs are, the best of the best, the top high school programs every year."
The Braves are off to a 4-0 start with wins over Liberty (Nev.), 42-22 ; St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.), 20-7, Friendship Collegiate Academy (Washington, D.C.), 48-12 ; and Saint Frances (Md.), 37-14.
Saint Frances played at Kahuku last year and rallied for a 22-15 win. The Panthers, gutted by graduation, are 0-4 so far this fall.
Liberty does not play Kahuku this season, but has recent wins over Saint Louis, 34-30, and Campbell, 20-14, in Henderson. Kahuku and St. John Bosco met for the first time last year, a 34-7 win by the Braves in Bellflower.
"The first thing I remember is how athletic they were. They did a really good job of trying to get the ball to their athletes, especially on the offensive side of the ball, " Braves coach Jason Negro said on Tuesday night via telephone. "Defensively, they were super physical. Ultimately, there's no quit in those kids. They fight pretty hard. They compete the whole 48 minutes."
Last season, Negro was selected HSFA national coach of the year following a 13-1 season and a national championship. Negro has led the Braves to five Trinity League crowns and four CIF state championships. He has a record of 144-29 coming into Saturday's battle at Carleton E. Weimer Field.
Negro has an affinity for visiting the islands. The Braves are 3-0 when visiting the islands. St. John Bosco traveled in to the islands in 2014 to play Saint Louis. The current Braves weren't in high school yet when the team had a home-and-home series with Mililani in 2018 and'19.
Bellflower, Calif., was 73 degrees and sunny on Wednesday afternoon when the Braves departed for the 50th state.
"The first thing is, you have to get acclimated to the time change. That's the biggest deal. When we travel to Hawaii, we leave as early as we can. We like to stay three nights before the game, then we come home the day after the game, " Negro said. "We fly out (Wednesday ) morning and arrive in Honolulu around 10 :30 (a.m.). We're going to have lunch and head over to Turtle Bay and start practice. Check into our rooms. We use Wednesday as a travel day and a bonus day. Then we'll have a really solid last real work day on Thursday there on the island, and then we'll do a walk-through on Friday and get ready to play on Saturday. We're lucky we play on a Saturday. That really helps us out. It's one less day that we don't have to miss school."
Senior Caleb Sanchez (6-4, 230 ) has been superb at quarterback with 1, 111 passing yards, seven touchdowns. He has been highly efficient with a 78-percent completion rate and just one interception. It adds up to a superior passer rating of 169.9.
"The biggest thing that I'm most excited about is the play of our quarterback to this point. He's done a phenomenal job in four games, " Negro said. "I don't think anybody expected that."
Senior Chauncey Webster (5-11, 205 ) leads a committee at running back. Webster is averaging 7 yards per carry and a team-high 51 rushing yards per game. Sophomore Daniel Odom (6-2, 190 ) has thrived after a part-time role last year. Odom has 16 receptions for 288 yards and four touchdowns. His 71 receiving yards per game leads the Braves.
"I'm super happy with our O-line, the way that we've protected our quarterback. Our wide receivers are very young, but they've played really well, " Negro said.
Bosco's swarming defensive unit is led by defensive lineman Dutch Horisk (seven tackles per game ), linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (seven tackles per game ) and safety Peyton Woodyard (six tackles per game ). Lineman Max Amasio leads the pass rush with 4.5 sacks per game. Tay Lockett is a sophomore playmaker in the secondary and has three interceptions.
"The back end of our defense is playing really well. It starts with our linebacking corps. It's seasoned veterans there, really good ball players in that area. The two safeties are seniors, Payton Woodyard and Dillon Rickenbacker, " Negro said. "Payton, Marcelles Williams and Kyngstonn, those guys and Caleb are the guys who have emerged as leaders."
The heart and soul of Braves football go beyond talent.
"Our culture, the brotherhood that we have developed here at Bosco. The trust that the kids have in the coaching staff and the trust that the coaching staff has in the kids. Those are the things that don't pop out. They're not going to show up in the boxscore, but I think we've built a pretty good, winning culture here, " Negro said. "The kids have high expectations. The coaching staff has high expectations. Any time that we fall short of those expectations, we're going to be held accountable. That's the biggest intangible, the culture that we've built."
The Braves will make time to visit the Pearl Harbor Memorial.
"I think it's important to make this an educational experience. We're going to visit the memorial and go through the entire program. It's really important to me and our coaching staff to let our kids know why we have such freedoms here in America, " Negro said.
"I want my players to compete against the best of the best. That's why we play these games, " Carvalho said. "I'll never say no, but always accept the challenge and opportunity."
STANDINGS ILH Team Conf. PF PA Overall PF PA Open Kamehameha 0-0 0 0 3-0 116 37 Punahou 0-0 0 0 3-1 160 71 Saint Louis 0-0 0 0 2-2 124 144 Division I 'Iolani 2-0 81 28 3-0 140 54 Damien 0-0 0 0 2-2 140 152 Division II Pac-Five 0-1 0 41 0-1 0 41------KS I-AA 1-0 24 7 1-0 24 7 Saint Louis I-AA 0-1 28 40 1-2 62 123 Punahou I-AA 0-1 7 24 0-1 7 24 OIA /D1 A Standings Team Conf. PF PA Overall PF PA Campbell 3-0 151 7 4-1 227 61 Kahuku 2-0 55 20 4-1 164 92 Farrington 2-1 97 75 3-1 141 89 Leilehua 2-1 62 62 3-2 100 97 Nanakuli 0-2.0 82 1-3 80 149 Moanalua 0-2 34 58 0-4 41 154 Aiea 0-3 7 102 1-4 40 177 OIA /D1 B Standings Team Conf. PF PA Overall PF PA Kapolei 3-0 180 45 4-1 256 117 Mililani 2-0 117 14 3-1 168 38 Kailua 2-1 58 94 3-2 103 125 Waipahu 1-1 104 70 1-3 153 170 Waianae 0-1 20 21 0-4 35 138 Castle 0-2 18 84 1-2 35 97 Radford 0-3 28 197 0-4 42 141 OIA Division II standings Team Conf. PF PA Overall PF PA Pearl City 3-0 88 37 4-0 130 49 Kalani 2-1 52 25 3-1 80 31 Kalaheo 2-1 102 71 2-1 102 71 Kaiser 2-1 67 64 2-2 80 81 Roosevelt 1-2.59 58 2-3 123 106 Waialua 1-2 50 70 1-3 50 100 Kaimuki 1-2 92 108 1-4 130 205 McKinley 0-3 13 90 0-4 13 124 OPEN DIVISION STATISTICS PASSING Player, team C A I Yd TD Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, Camp. 111 163 2 1, 523 13 Tama Amisone, Kapolei 79 122 1 1, 226 22 Kaunaoa Kamakawiwoole, St.L. 80 136 9 1, 188 10 Ty McCutcheon, Punahou 39 61 2 655 5 Kini McMillan, Mililani 46 65 0 550 6 Tuli Tagovailoa-Amosa, Kahuku 36 51 0 446 8 Jevin Bolos-Reyes, Kamehameha 18 27 0 406 4 Tayden-Evan Kaawa, Moanalua 26 48 3 341 4 George Mier, Waianae 15 24 2 161 1 Donny Faavi Jr., Campbell 11 22 2 147 2 RUSHING Player, team Att. Yds TD YPC YPG Tama Amisone, Kapolei 45 441 7 9.8 110.3 Moe Passi, Kamehameha 45 283 5 6.3 94.3 Vaaimalae Fonoti, Kahuku 36 279 4 7.8 93.0 Reeno Teo, Kapolei 15 244 0 16.3 122.0 Keola Apduhan, Saint Louis 45 232 5 5.2 77.3 Chase Camarillo, Kapolei 29 217 4 7.5 54.3 RECEIVING Player, team Rec. Yds TD YPC YPG Kaina Kamohalii. Kapolei 40 676 11 16.9 135.2 Titan Lacaden. Saint Louis 33 589 7 17.8 147.3 Tana Togafau-Tavui. Camp. 26 373 5 14.3 93.3 Jordan Nunuha, St.L. 15 318 3 21.2 79.5 Rusten Abang, Campbell 20 299 1 15.0 59.8 Astin Hange, Punahou 15 289 1 19.3 96.3 DIVISION I STATISTICS PASSING Player, team C A I Yd TD AJ Tuifua, Damien 46 78 6 788 9 Romeo Ortiz, Kailua 55 106 5 741 5 CJ Villanueva, Iolani 60 70 1 729 10 Joshua Manu, Waipahu 41 67 1 650 5 Kanoa Torres, Nanakuli 66 118 6 613 5 Hanohano Plunkett, Leilehua 51 87 4 526 2 Afi Togafau, Radford 52 81 3 454 4 Bennett Strobel, Waipahu 24 43 2 360 3 MJ Moreno, Farrington 27 55 1 344 2 Nai Kalauokaaea, Castle 21 46 1 289 1 RUSHING Player, team Att. Yds TD YPC YPG Sitani Mikaele, Farrington 73 516 7 7.1 129.0 Cole Northington, Leilehua 99 463 7 4.7 92.6 Ikaika Quidashay, Kailua 44 233 1 5.3 46.6 Christian Asinsin, Nanakuli 52 212 3 4.1 53.0 Sylas Alaimalo, Daien 27 202 1 7.5 101.0 Camren Flemister, Leilehua 29 177 2 6.1 44.3 RECEIVING Player, team Rec. Yds TD YPC YPG Timothy Arnold, Leilehua 28 409 3 14.6 81.8 Eric Stephens, Waipahu 20 378 2 18.9 94.5 Richard Federico, Nanakuli 20 346 4 17.3 86.5 Dayton Savea, Damien 17 296 4 17.4 98.7 Tai Aipia-Barrett, Waipahu 14 287 3 20.5 71.8 Jayden Chanel, Waipahu 22 279 3 12.7 69.8 DIVISION II STATISTICS PASSING Player, team C A I Yd TD Trey Dacoscos, Pearl City 74 136 5 1, 036 13 Iosefa Letuli, Kaimuki 78 127 2 963 8 Sean Connell, Kaiser 64 120 8 744 7 Ioane Kamanao, Roosevelt 52 107 3 678 8 Jude Weber, Kalaheo 35 82 5 518 5 Kynan McCartney, Kalani 36 76 6 481 6 Emey Abilla, Waialua 25 66 6 307 2 RUSHING Player, team Att. Yds TD YPC YPG Dillon Reis, Kaiser 72 440 3 6.1 110.0 Zechariah Kuratsu-Cook, Kaim. 79 310 4 3.9 62.0 Iosefa Letuli, Kaimuki 55 251 5 4.6 50.2 Makoakai Fierro, Waialua 69 239 2 3.5 59.8 Sonny Iaea, Kalani 55 230 3 4.2 57.5 Seth Miller, Pac-Five 43 213 1 5.0 106.5 Sean Connell, Kaiser 47 205 2 4.4 51.3 RECEIVING Player, team Rec. Yds TD YPC YPG Keaton Tomas. Pearl City 19 345 3 18.2 86.3 Jeremiah White. Kaimuki 25 335 4 13.4 67.0 Kamalu Jordan. Kalaheo 14 326 3 23.3 108.7 Jesse Shinagawa. Kaiser 27 322 1 11.9 80.5 Keagan Lime, Kaiser 27 320 5 11.9 80.0 Tobias Vazquez, Pearl City 15 309 7 20.6 77.3 Taimane Souza-Fautanu, Roos. 17 228 3 13.4 57.0 Compiled by Billy Hull, Star-Advertiser ; see full statistics at
