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Former waterboy Kainoa Carvalho makes title-game dream come true for Kahuku

By Paul Honda on December 24, 2021

In every possible environment, Kainoa Carvalho has stepped up. Placekicker. Kick returner. Wide receiver. Even a little running back. The 5-foot-7, 160-pound playmaker bided his time as Kahuku used defense and special teams to take an early lead over Saint Louis. When the Crusaders changed its look in the second half, Carvalho got single coverage and wound up in the end zone twice. He finished with six receptions for 135 yards and two TDs. He sent three wind-aided kickoffs out […]

Kahuku’s Leonard Ah You is a human wrecking ball in state title win

By Paul Honda on December 24, 2021

Thursday morning was different for Leonard Ah You and his neighbors in Laie. He was still asleep when the loudest of noises blared through the neighborhood. “I was woken up at 7 o’clock this morning. Auntie Peni Toilolo, she was blasting the tomahawk chop song driving through the community, telling everybody to wake up on the loudspeaker,” said Ah You, who had a state championship football game to play in another 12 hours. “I was like, oh man, the pressure’s […]

A perfect ’10’: Liona Lefau is everywhere in Kahuku’s state-title win

By Paul Honda on December 24, 2021

Where there’s one to begin the job, there’s another to finish it. When coaches say a game can change on three or four plays, they’re also inferring that elite players like Liona Lefau and Leonard Ah You are on the field. Lefau and Ah You capped a perfect season for Kahuku with scintillating plays on defense, offense and special teams in a 49-14 dusting of No. 2-ranked Saint Louis on Thursday night. Big Red’s perfect 10-0 season was punctuated by […]


Jason Mariteragi rebounds from injury, sparks Kahuku to 1st state title since 2015

By Paul Honda on December 24, 2021

Long ago, in another space and time, a young football player named Jason Mariteragi landed a varsity football team. Young Mariteragi wafs a freshman quarterback. “We brought him up to varsity,” Kahuku coach Sterling Carvalho said. “He was 120 pounds.” On Thursday night, all the promise of the humble field general came to fruition. Mariteragi, who suffered a midseason injury and returned only two weeks ago, was nearly flawless in Kahuku’s stunningly lopsided 49-14 victory over Saint Louis for the […]

Slow starts doom Saint Louis in a long season that started more than 4 months ago

By Jonathan Chen on December 23, 2021

Following a season that got off to a slow start, it seemed only fitting that another slow start doomed the Saint Louis Crusaders in Thursday’s 49-14 loss to Kahuku in the Open Division title game of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships. “Tough one to swallow for sure,” Saint Louis quarterback AJ Bianco said. “This [game] is what you work (for), but we just have to bounce back. Hopefully the boys learn from this and can bounce back.” Before […]

Defense is golden: ‘Iolani wins first Division I football championship

By Paul Honda on December 23, 2021

Even after nine state titles, 2021 is different for the ‘Iolani Raiders. Moments after the trophy presentation to runner-up Lahainaluna and new Division I football state champion ‘Iolani — after the Raiders’ 38-0 win on Thursday — the 2020 Raiders could not be forgotten. “This is for you guys, too,” longtime coach Wendell Look said as former Raiders hugged their former coach. “We did it. We did it.” Senior hybrid/punt returner Sterling Sakashita, who finished his career with six tackles […]

The old, the new: Kahuku’s plan to dethrone 4-time defending champ Saint Louis

By Paul Honda on December 23, 2021

Yoda is not real, but Ron Lee certainly is. The guru of four-wide, “run and shoot” football at the high school level in Hawaii is in his sixth decade of coaching, and his offense remains a cornerstone at Quarterback High, a.k.a. Saint Louis School. Then there is young Luke, or Sterling Carvalho, a longtime assistant-turned-head coach at Kahuku. Under his watch, Team Smashmouth has transformed into Team Unstoppable. Facing OIA Open Division foes, the pride of the North Shore has […]

Post-game immaturity marks Sierra Canyon’s well-earned ‘Iolani Classic crown

By Paul Honda on December 23, 2021

Dug McDaniel swallowed his pride. Moments after he missed two contested 3-point tries in the final seconds of a 52-49 loss to national powerhouse Sierra Canyon, the St. Paul VI guard felt the sting. When Sierra Canyon let him know that the win was theirs, waving goodbye, he fired back verbally at mid-court. As they headed back to their bench, Mike Price, Dylan Metoyer, Justin Pippen and Addison Reid wore their white Sierra Canyon uniforms proudly and continued to wave […]