Kapolei football

There were choices to be made in the thick fog of a global pandemic. Iosefa Tapeni opted to grind as often as possible. Then a sophomore, the Kapolei two-way lineman trained like few others. As a junior, the 6-foot-3, 288-pound LT/DL has nine sacks in five games, a total of 14 tackles for loss. Kapolei is 1-4 in the rugged OIA Open Division, but its defensive unit has played at a high level. That explosiveness that Tapeni uses to take […]

Normally new programs have to work their way into contention, but Darren Hernandez and his Hurricanes reached the top of their league in only their second year of varsity football. The Hurricanes won the OIA White with a 38-21 victory over Radford at John Velasco Stadium. The school was only four years old at the time. The Hurricanes finished the season unbeaten and after going 5-3 in their first varsity experience. Kapolei fell short in the OIA championship, however, losing […]

The Kapolei football team will play a high school team from Texas this fall, according to Hurricanes coach Darren Hernandez. Kapolei will visit Fort Worth, Texas, for a Sept. 4 game against Nolan Catholic, marking the first time a football school from Oahu will play a team from Texas. “We travel every two years,” Hernandez said. “Initially, it was going to possibly be a trip to Boston or Washington, D.C. To me it’s about education, not just football. A lot […]

North Carolina. South Carolina. California. Florida. Kapolei Middle School. The journey of De’Zhaun Stribling is only beginning, even though a close friend, Ikari Stokes, advises Stribling to choose Hawaii over San Jose State. Stribling had big season at wide receiver for the Hurricanes with 64 catches for 872 yards and nine TDs. His focus this week is the Polynesian Bowl. “I’m ready for the competition against all these big names. The level it’s at means a lot. The bowl itself […]

2019 RECORD >> 4-6 overall, 1-4 in OIA Open Division HEAD COACH >> Darren Hernandez is 125-112-2 in his 24 seasons overall as a head coach and 92-84 in 18 seasons as Kapolei’s coach. KEY UNDERCLASSMEN IN 2019 >> WR Bula White, 6-3, 210, Jr.; QB Noa Bailey, 6-2, 205, Jr.; OL Ian Tuitama, 6-4, 290 Jr.; LB Jacob Saole-Su’e, 6-0, 190, Jr.; DE Iosefa Tapeni, 6-0, 229, Fr.; DB Kelekolio Taylor, 6-0, 165, Jr. KAPOLEI THROUGH THE YEARS: 2002-2019 […]