It’s time.
Game day is finally here. Hawaii’s top team, Kahuku, faces the nation’s No. 1 team, Bishop Gorman, in a hugely anticipated game in Las Vegas. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. Hawaii time and we will have live updates throughout the game.
Bishop Gorman 35, Kahuku 7, FINAL
PHOTO GALLERY OF KAHUKU/BISHOP GORMAN
FINAL STATS FOR KAHUKU
Sol-Jay Maiava 6 carries, 18 yards, TD
Elvis Vakapuna 20 carries, 58 yards
Harmon Brown 10 carries, 41 yards
team 1 carry, -8 yards
Sol-Jay Maiava 3-9, 33 yds
Steven Lombard 2 rec, 26 yds
Kai’ea Dowling 1 rec, 7 yds
142 TOTAL YARDS
FOURTH QUARTER
Gorman will take a knee and that will be it …NO. They fake the run and throw a deep ball to the end zone. Incomplete. Absolutely classless move by the Gaels. Now it’s over. Red Raiders have 18-game winning streak snapped. Bishop Gorman has now won 44 in a row.
Kahuku turns it over on downs after picking up a first down.
Gorman starts on the Kahuku 47 with 4:03 remaining. Cianelli picks up 3. Thompson-Robinson with a 14-yard catch to the 30 as Gorman still throws it around. Cianelli stopped by Ah You for a yard. Ah You, Kaniho, Sauvao have been really good tonight for Kahuku. Red Raiders whistled for a defensive pass interference. Ball at the 14 with 2:31 remaining. Tate Martell 14-yard TD pass to Dorian Thompson-Robinson. 35-7.
Another touchback. Haven’t gotten to see Stokes Nihipali-Botelho return one tonight. Second intentional grounding call on Maiava loses 20 yards to the 2. Kahuku punts to the 47.
Cianelli runs twice for 8 yards. Third-and-2. Martell hits Nailor for 20 yards to the 22. Martell runs for about 8 yards but fumbles again. Nihipali-Botelho has a shot to recover it but can’t and somehow Gorman jumps on it. Kahuku missed what might have been its last chance there. Martell can’t get away from Kesi Ah-Hoy who tries to rip the ball loose. Third-and-3 at the 5. Pitch to Dorian Thompson-Robinson who gets the first down at the 2. Kaniho blows up the run at the 2. He’s had a good game showing off for scouts in Las Vegas. Brevin Jordan 3-yard TD pass from Martell. 28-7.
Kahuku starts on own 43. Second play of drive, miscommunication in the backfield and Maiava gets popped and fumbles. Gorman recovers on the Kahuku 40.
Two incomplete passes as Kahuku gets pressure on Martell and Gorman will go for it on fourth-and-8 from the 43. Martell overthrows a receiver deep in the end zone and Kahuku takes over.
THIRD QUARTER
Cianelli with a 15-yard run to the 45 of Kahuku. Cianelli picks up 2. Quarter ends.
Kahuku comes out in a different formation and Bishop Gorman has to call timeout. Red Raiders start on their 20. Kahuku moves it inside Gorman territory as Harmon Brown picks up 7 and then 14. False start on Kahuku makes it second-12 at the Gorman 48. Play-action pass and Maiava finds Lombard for 8 yards. Third-and-4 at the 40. Fourth-and-4 after no gain. Play-action and Lombard has the catch but is drilled by Bubba Bolden and drops it. Huge hit forces turnover on downs.
Gaels start on their 20 and Cianelli picks up 6. Now 11 more as Gorman picks up a first down. Second-and-6 and Kekaula Kaniho with a HUGE sack to force third-and-long. Martell is forced all the way back inside his own 10 and then he somehow eludes everybody and picks up 20 to the Kahuku 49. What an unbelievable scramble run by Martell to move the chains. Cianelli now breaks off a 27-yard run to the 17. Martell’s first-down pass is batted down at the line. Third-and-3 at the 10 as Sauvao stops Cianelli after a gain of 7. Kahuku stops the run on third down. Derek Ng attempts a 27-yard field goal but Kahuku is called for roughing the kicker to give the Gaels a first down. First-and-goal at the 5. Pass is incomplete. Second down. Cianelli stopped at the 3. Third-and-goal. Martell rolls out and scores on a 3-yard TD run. Roughing-the-kicker penalty is costly. 21-7, 5:54.
KAHUKU STATS
Sol-Jay Maiava 4 carries, 42 yards, TD
Elvis Vakapuna 14 carries, 35 yards
Harmon Brown 4 carries, 12 yards
team 1 carry, -8 yards
Sol-Jay Maiava 1-2, 18 yds
Steven Lombard 1 rec, 18 yds
After the half ended, Bishop Gorman coach Kenny Sanchez was whistled for an unsportsmanlike call as he continued to yell at the officials after the fumble ruling when Martell tried to spike the ball.
SECOND QUARTER
Vakapuna runs for 3 and Kahuku calls timeout with 11 seconds left on the 41. Maiava called for intentional grounding. Third-and-28. Kahuku takes a knee. Halftime.
Good 30-yard return on the kickoff is stopped by Stokes Nihipali-Botelho at the 31. Big hit. Martell stopped for a loss of 1 and then Nailor gets 8 on the screen. Third-and-3. Cianelli just gets the first down. 4-yard carry. Martell completes a 7-yard pass to the 50. Timeout Bishop Gorman as Kahuku keeps the receiver inbounds. Nailor gets open deep but he drops what might have been a TD. Cianelli carries for 14 yards on third-and-3. Timeout Gaels with 40 seconds remaining. Martell with a short 5-yard pass to the 31 but the receiver is drilled by Kaniho. Martell has to spike it but the officials call it a fumble and Kahuku recovers. Red Raiders ball on the 38.
Kahuku starts on its 20. Vakapuna runs it three times and just gets to the 30 on third-and-2 for a first down. Play-action pass and Maiava hits Steven Lombard for 18 yards to the 48. Kahuku into Bishop Gorman territory and will go for it on fourth-and-3 at the Gaels 45. Sol-Jay Maiava keeps and he’s GONE. 45-yard TD run. Huge score late in the first half for Kahuku.
The Gaels start on the Kahuku 43. Bishop Gorman has dominated field position. Cianelli with 10 yards on the run. Another run of 4 yards to the 29 as Ah You gets another tackle. Cianelli stopped for no gain by Codie Sauvao and it’s third-and-6 from the 29. Austin Arnold with a 15-yard reception to the 14 on a quick pass. Another missed tackle by Kahuku. Cianelli for 3 to the 11. Third-and-6 from the 10 as Sauvao stops the RB for no gain. Martell has all day and finds Austin Arnold in the corner of the end zone. 10-yard TD pass makes it 14-0 Gaels.
Kahuku with a personal foul on the kickoff so it will start on its 10. Now with a false start. First-and-15 from the 5. Harmon Brown with the direct snap at QB and he has two 3-yard runs to make it third-and-9. Now a delay of game. Kahuku piling up the penalties here. Vakapuna stopped for a loss of 1 by Haskell Garrett and Kahuku will punt from own end zone.
Screen to the TE, Brevin Jordan and Kahuku misses about 4 tackles. 18-yard TD pass from Martell to Jordan on a play Kahuku should have wrapped up near the 10. Gaels score on first play of second quarter.
FIRST QUARTER
Bishop Gorman starts on its 44 after a 19-yard punt return. Cianelli runs for 2 yards with Ah You making the stop. Martell scrambles and hits Jalen Nailor deep for 39 yards to the 15. Martell stopped for a loss of 1. Martell takes too much time and it’s a delay of game. Martell breaks contain and scrambles inside of the 5 but a flag is thrown down field. Illegal block on Gorman. Martell scrambles for a yard. Quarter ends with Gorman facing third-and-13 from the 18.
Vakapuna runs for 3 yards. He runs for 5 to set up third-and-2. Maiava keeps on the read-option and takes it 18 yards to the 32. First down Kahuku. Injury timeout as a Kahuku OL is down on the play. Vakapuna picks up 1 to the 33. False start on Kahuku. After nine straight runs, Kahuku goes play-action and Maiava misses an open Christopher Tuliloa who was open and had a lot of room. Vakapuna runs for 4 and Kahuku will punt.
QB Tate Martell and the Gaels start on their 35. Amod Cianelli rumbles for 25 on the first play and then Martell keeps for 23 yards to the 17. Miki Ah You with the sack of Martell on first down. Martell loses 2. Cianelli runs for 6 to set up third-and-6 from the 13. False start on the Gaels. Third-and-11. Martell runs for 12 to the 6 but he fumbles. Kahuku recovers. Holding on Bishop Gorman is declined. Red Raiders take over on their 6.
Elvis Vakapuna with a 6-yard carry on first down. He is stopped for no gain on second down and Bishop Gorman is whistled for a late hit. 15-yard penalty moves it to the 41. Vakapuna with four carries for 9 yards. Kahuku facing third-and-7 on its 44. QB Sol-Jay Maiava picks up nothing on the QB draw. Kahuku will punt.
Kahuku wins the toss and will receive. Close to 12,000 people tuned in to the live stream at kickoff.
Captains for Kahuku: Kekaula Kaniho, Aliki Vimahi, Vili Fisiiahi, Kesi Ah-Hoy.
RB Biaggio Walsh and WR Tyjon Lindsey will not play for Bishop Gorman.
••••••••••••
To get you ready, here’s a look at our coverage leading up to the game.
Score prediction: Kahuku vs. Bishop Gorman
Q&A: Bishop Gorman coach Kenny Sanchez
Kahuku community pumped for Gorman game
Physical Kahuku team faces ultimate test
Kahuku still close to Semones’ heart
Bishop Gorman roster
Kahuku roster
Kahuku has won 18 in a row. Bishop Gorman has won 42 in a row. Live updates follow below:
Calm and collected but focused mirror there energy with your own some times to beat a crowd you need some attitude your as strong as your weakest link so look for there mismatches against you and take care of it right away. Hear insults on deaf ears keep close together and till the end and you can have a shot I believe there strenght is thru the air mostly so press and/or penetrate with authority hard hitting lay the wood 4 QTRS from the line to the backs. hydration field and clock management important. Here’s a little something you can expect in a Big Game Which is better to give then receive!!! I HopeThe Best!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb8vYwW8mnU
12th man aka the RR faithful will play a huge roll in pumping up the kids and helping them to believe. The week leading up to today and the support shown by the community was an excellent start. Go Big Red!!!
About the return flight home; Kahuku Red Raiders 28 and Bishop Gordon 19 Go Big Red
Gorman got speed!!
Missed tackles
at the half it’s 14-7 BG; Kahuku can do it and looks they want it more then BG
Kahuku putting up a fight at halftime. BG is very discipline playing like a top dog.
87 September 17, 2016 at 5:08 pm
Kahuku putting up a fight at halftime. BG is very discipline playing like a top dog.
I disagree. Many penalties that Nanakuli wouldn’t commit. And this game isn’t that exciting. The view is not bad form the end zone in the box.
We are going to the Cosmo to throw dice tonight at 11:00pm. Come by people if you wanna win big. I will be wearing the multi colored Robert Graham Shirt.
Night night kahuku! Hit the freemont and get ur ass home. Get plenty competition right at home. #dreamin
Starting to pull away now
Looks like BG is playing more smashmouth football than Kahuku after watching the BG safety put that smackdown on the receiver who couldn’t hold onto the ball on that 4th down conversion. Hold onto the ball and that drive continues. I guess the guys not as physical as everyone made them out to be….
Lucky the refs are incompetent. This game could be much worse. Score should be 28-7 now.
How come no one is chopping anymore?
88, I miss you!
I also have an issue with allowing these kids to get to LV on Tuesday. That means they missed 3 days of school. These kids shouldn’t be missing 10 minutes of school, let alone 3 whole days.
The only chance Kahuku had to win tonight was to open up the playbook and pass. But if they did that the game would have been worse wince they couldn’t milk the clock.
But I guess when the game plan is to keep the game close instead of taking chances to win, this is what we will see.
I don’t know, but it seems like it’s a lot of wasted money and time. At no point was BG challenged in this game. Kind of disappointing with a game plan of not to be embarrassed and to keep the score respectable instead of putting it all on the line and taking chances.
But no worries, you guys will win another Hawaii High School State Title.
I know my man 88 would have went for it!
Kahuku kept it close to the vest, and do what they do best. This game will only make them better.
proud of our boys, our community is behind them 100. BG is a great team.
It’s 28-7. Kahuku is lucky it’s not worse.
1) BG receiver beats Kahuku deep on 4th down and the ball goes through his hands. Possible 7 points.
2) BG spikes the ball in Kahuku territory with under 1 minute left to stop the clock. Refs call it a fumble when the entire stadium sees that the qb is stopping the clock. Possible 7 points.
3) Kahuku scores on busted coverage/containment. Adjustment made in 2nd half and Kahuku cannot run wide again.
***Observations. BG is more talented. BG is more skilled. BG has more team speed. BG is more physical. BG is just a meaner and tougher team. They wore down the “alleged” tough kids from Laie/Kahuku.
This game has been a yawner from Quarter 1. At no point was this game ever in doubt. At no point was BG challenged.
I expected Kahuku to be more of a bully, but in actuality they are the ones who are getting bullied all night with several minutes left in the game.
That’s going to be a long flight home.
Chloropicrin September 17, 2016 at 5:55 pm
Kahuku kept it close to the vest, and do what they do best. This game will only make them better.
I didn’t know 35-7 was close? And that is with Kahuku milking the clock from the first drive. Run up the middle. Let the clock run. Take long to get the play in. Run to the right. Let the clock run. Take long to get the next play in. Run up the middle. Don’t get the first down. Let the clock run. Punt. Play defense.
They basically eliminated 5-6 extra possession for BG. If the goal is to keep the score down, then that is great strategy. But if the goal is to challenge yourself, give yourself a fighting chance, and teach the kids to take risk, then this strategy sucks.
35-7, when honestly it could have been 49-7 is not very close in my opinion. This was a butt-whooping given how they chose to play.
Down 35-7 with a few minutes left, and they are still running. Yeah, great play calling and way to put it on the line!
I expected Kahuku to lose, but I expected Kahuku to go down fighting. They didn’t choose to fight. They decided to mile the clock and keep the score somewhat close.
I feel for the community that wasted their time and money to travel to see a game plan that featured about 7-8 plays.
@ilove88 use you private school reading skills,…”kept it close to the vest” meaning they played their game and didn’t stray away and do things they are unfamiliar with.
Kahuku should easily win another OIA title…Waianae and Farrington matches up physically, but has one dimensional offenses, Mililani and Kapoleiʻs will be outmatched when Kahuku goes Jumbo / Heavy sets…no one else poses a threat.
Good job boys. Big costly mistakes from the O. Give props to Tata for going with Maiava all game. The BG O line was awesome. Martell, flawless. Even the announcer thought Martell was going to take a knee. Lol, guess that what put you up on the polls.
Karma says=the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences. Kahuku running up the score on Div. 2 high schools in the islands met it’s fate tonight. I wonder how RR Nation feels now?
I am impressed with how well Gormanʻs Oline played, they opened up running lanes, took good angels and used leverage. They did get beat at times, but that was credit to Kahuku defensive line.
Really classless to throw at the end.
Proud of the boys. Sure, could’ve been worse, but also could of been better. They won’t face another D like that the rest of the year, so no worries offensively. Defense played awesome most of the game, but BG with way too many weapons. Good luck to St Louis and the Puns against this D….no, really, good luck. lol. I like that Kaula’s younger bro got in some work against some talented receivers.
Now we know how we stack up against the bully on the block. Back to work and get primed for states.
RRFL!
Lol. Radford wanted to move up to play with the Big boiz. Big Red wanted to see how we stack up against the nations best. Live and learn and move on. It’s what you do in the face of adversity that determines what kind of person you are. Big Red will learn, and honestly, I feel sorry for the rest of the teams on the schedule.
RRFL!!
It is what it is and BG could’ve scored more but that was expected from them. Kahuku did what they can do and that’s that. Also, it was expected that people are going to bash kahuku for losing big and Im okey with that.i mean, we are playing with the best in the nation. BG showed that they are in a league of their own and everyone knows that. At the end it was a low blow by BG for trying to score at the end with seconds left. Team red will learn from this and will push harder to be better and go home to defend our title! Red raider for life.
Its okay boyz. Lick your wounds, learn from your mistakes, come home and kick some muli. RR4L!!! They was still choppin till the end.
Everyone can bash if you like! Only gonna make them stronger, but if you all noticed! Not a single kahuku fan left da stadium. Das Pride right there! Win or lose da community got da boys backs!!! Atleast took da best in da country to knock dem down! We see how everybody else back here does??? Good job boys
Good job Boys, even in this lose, there is lots to learn. Keep your head up and reload for the next game. As for our haters, sorry we gave your team lickings year in and year out, bad news, its going to happen again this year, so live your life precariously by depending on the #1 team in the Nation to beat Kahuku, its all good, our Raiders are still Champs.
And no matter how much you hate, you see how our fan base stays PAST the end of ALL Red Raider games, win or lose, to support out Red Raiders, we don’t walk out when they losing unlike other fans. So Sad. Now go cheer for your school.
RR4L
@Karma says: We say, bring it on to anyone in the state. All you haters will get your sasa pretty soon. No worries, have some patience, we got you ILH×2.
Suck it up, you lost, no excuses, the ILH waiting for Kahuku, you lost and you drop from the rankings, simple as that, long flight home from Vegas.
@Karma Says
Don’t be a coward. State what team you rooting for to see what happens when Karma comes your way…
I don’t like to write post just like to read post lol but I have to say, after watching the RR boys play from the beginning to the end I couldn’t been more proud of how much class and pride these boys showed Bishop Gorman players. We may not have shock the world with our game but let me tell you, when the game ended we shock the Gaels with our pride, love and support till the end of the game..that even the Gaels (including the Gaels girls lol!) turned around in awe with our alma mater and haka taking photos of our football boys like they won the game lol. So whether you were against us or with us we represented Hawaii well, showing them The true meaning of ohana.
Chloropicrin September 17, 2016 at 6:15 pm
@ilove88 use you private school reading skills,…”kept it close to the vest” meaning they played their game and didn’t stray away and do things they are unfamiliar with.
I went to Kahuku. That’s how i met the love of my life, 88. Thanks for the lesson! I will whisper it to 88 tomorrow when I see him.
@karma says??? We feel just as proud of our boys as we did before the game! We not band wagon jumpers!! Kahuku not gonna let one little road block phase them! Only gonna make them stronger!
Gotta mega salute to the entire Red Raiders Nation whereas for the tonnage of support from the islands and the 9th island like you all won every ones hearts and we proud of you all so anyway stay focus for the endless RR4L you honor like todays lost is definitely a win for experience that’s will benefit you all and definitely a rematch is imperative like to only play against the best, the number #1 like the feeling is only at the highest when the game is at the height of sportsmanship; anyway you all celebrate the mahalo’s and the aloha’s and rest up on your flight home to Hawaii Nei. RR4L got to get ready for Moanalua next..
Let’s be honest. Kahuku wins because they are physically superior than other team. They are not more skilled. Today’s game was a test of skill. When Kahuku cannot man-handle someone and has to rely on skill this is what will happen.
Unfortunately, in Hawaii they are 100% physically superior to all teams. They will win.
But is the goal to win? Or is the goal to be excellent? If being excellent is running the ball up the middle and basically winning due to your genetics then the standard for excellence is low.
I believe you go for it and play to win. Kahuku didn’t go for it and played not to get blown out. That isn’t being competitive. That is playing scared.
Kahuku will win another title. They will win probably 10 titles over the next 13 years. But when they had a chance to slay the dragon and shock the world, they were more content to lie down and play dead so they wouldn’t get massacred.
That is not impressive for a team and community that talks so much smack on here.
No ones being sore losers here @ilh. We save that for you guy to do at the end of States.
@ILH
Is there any excuses here? We lost and we know we lost to a far better team! You probably think your damien could’ve done better lol.
No disrespect to the boys. They are just doing what they are told. I have an issue with the play calling. Man, how about open your playbook to more than 3-5 plays. Metro Tigers flag football team has more plays for their 8 year old team.
Karma Says…Shhhhh! Be humble RR Nation and learn from this whooping. It could have been a lot worse tonight.
Wow. What a first class facility. The end zone 40 yard digital TV and scoreboard must have cost a million. The locker room , awesome. The whole school is beautiful.
@ilh
Lol nobody making excuses, we got beat plain and simple. Period. Just make sure you start thinking up some good excuses when states come around lol! Gonna have fun reading it..cuz I doubt both punahou an St. Louis got that same kinna speed Gorman got.
@I Love 88: The point is to win the game, and yes Kahuku played conservative, but we play to our strengths. Sorry that doesnt please you, but if we keep winning state titles then isnt that the point.
@I Love 88: Yeah we didnt shock the world, but we forced three fumbles and played tough D against the #1 team in the nation. The offense struggled, plain and simple, gave up bad field position and too many fale start penalties.
i love 88 is one ex red raider coach or parent of a bench warmer bcause he so critical and negative not to mention jealous of Kahukus program. lol, he got tickets and was at the game….what a poor example of one part time red raider, wearing red at the game but come online and talk smack…lol, what a bitter life.
Big props to Big Red for coming up to Vegas and take on #1 Gorman,not the results you expected but you made the state proud by competing to the end.Congrats to all the local boys for Gorman.Gorman may have put it to us but the community had your back from start to finish.Glad they kept us on opposite sidelines,game was getting a little chippy
If you play to your strength and it doesn’t work then you make an adjustment. There were barely any adjustments made.
If you only shoot 3 pointers and the other team has stellar perimeter defense guarding 3’s then you attack the hole.
If your pitchers only throw fastballs and it strikes out all your opponents but you finally face a great fastball hitting team, then you better starting throwing some off speed pitches.
It’s unfortunately that the kids and families traveled several thousand miles to watch a game where the coaching staff never even have them a chance to win.
The goal shouldn’t be a state title since they have been there done that. What they should be doing is loooking to travel and compete on the national level. But if you are going to come up with this game plan and not really develop your skill players then this goal is not attainable.
I mean if I am playing teams with inferior athletes and less physical specimans then a new goal should be made. They are going to win because it’s physically unfair. You are not winning because you are running more sophisticated schemes. Or your skill players are outperforming the other teams.
You win because you are physically superior. And unless the genetics change by producing offspring with Filipinos or small Asians then it will stay this way.
I would have hoped Kahuku would have made the state proud by going for it and leaving it all out on the line. I don’t think this was done. Like others have said, it looked like they were content to lose by 20-30.
I love 88, get a life. You need to start coaching a team and share your knowledge and see how it translates to the players rather than living off of your tech bowl victories of tester year. So what if Kahuku chooses to run, why should it bother you so much to the point where you continue to tear down kids who are doing the best they can and a community that continues to support their kids? Do you truly have nothing better un your life than to micro analyze all that KHS does and their community only to come on here to share your negative attitude with us? If it makes you feel better I guess we can accommodate you but if you rather talk story come on down and we can gab a papa ole’s plate lunch and talk up football and you can share all that knowledge so at least one Red Raider may be enlightened by your majesty and mana so seem to possess. Try staying positive and stop acting like we are racking up the scores when it is not our fault we are scheduled to play teams that should be in D2. Thats HI football because the lack of schools and it is the same throughout the country where teams blow out half of their opponents weekend in and weekend out. You just have a bone to pick and chose KHS as the outlet. But for real, ley me know and we can have lunch and talk story, my treat. RRFL and Go Big RED.
Ouch!
Yep I can sure relate, whereas COACH VAVAE TATA you the man like everyone should be so proud of you for taking our Red Raiders Varsity to the highest of competition and at the beginning Bishop Gorman had mixed feelings up to the first half. Definitely it takes time to groom and build your players by the best means toward your coaching objectives considering what techniques and strategy works best for your coaching concept and so along with the slips and slides there’s fixes and surely you got many of them too so again here’s letting you know that you are on track and your varsity men are on track too only ready to grow better then the best; in closing, I leave this old rationale with you and your varsity men:
Strength (mass) is power and yet Speed (acceleration) is more overpowering.
Notice the projectile of a mini bullet head, now that’s acceleration with tremendous power.
Again great job Tata like your services should be extended indefinitely whereas only noticing the JV is on standby; mahalo for your concept of coaching like only hoping financial support for athletics come your way;…Best Wishes RR4LE