After listing both Saint Louis and Kahuku in its list of top 100 teams in the nation for the upcoming 2017 season, Max Preps released its preseason top 25 on Monday with one of the two schools making the cut.
Kahuku, not defending Open Division state champion Saint Louis, was ranked No. 25 according to the web site.
The Red Raiders, who are 24-2 over the last two years with the only loss against a Hawaii opponent coming in the 2016 state final against the Crusaders, open their season Aug. 11 against Leilehua on the North Shore.
First-year coach Makoa Freitas takes over for Vavae Tata, who spent two years in charge. Freitas is Kahuku’s fourth head football coach in the last five seasons.
Here is our summer preview of the two-time defending OIA champs.
Max Preps listed five players to watch from Kahuku:
QB Sol-Jay Maiava (6-1, 170, Soph.) — Next big QB prospect out of Hawaii has offers from Fresno State, Michigan and Utah.
OT Izaya Vimahi (6-5, 270, Jr.) — Ranked as the No. 4 tackle in the country for Class of 2019 by 247Sports.
DE Samson Reed (6-3, 250, Sr.) — The state’s No. 4 recruit has already committed to Virginia.
LB Miki Ah You (6-1, 190, Jr.) — Already has offers from Oregon and BYU.
CB Kaonohi Kaniho (5-9, 150, Soph.) — Don’t be fooled by his lack of size. He’s growing fast and ultra talented.
Let the trolls begin…
RR4L.
Isn’t Kaonohi a Sophomore this year?
If what I heard is true regarding certain kids coming back from the mainland, the D is going to be monstrous.
RRFL!!!!
On paper right now I think Kapolei has a better run stop defense then Kahuku but all that dont matter because in the post season its the pass coverage that will be heavily tested. Other then Kaonohi at CB the new Red Raider DBs have not proven themselves yet.
I think Kahuku is tied or has passed STL for most D1 offers. Amazing for a public school.
The number one ranking is with the MEN on the Hill and everything else is irrelevant. Earn it!
Really a Monster defens in 2017. With the D1 college defensive front, and that’s ALL 6 of them, you don’t need DBs. Those boys will pound the rock, and no one can stop them. Let Sol Jay play 100%. I suspect Punahou will be ILH chanps.
Kapolei History in the making! Kahuku has strong underclassmen! The Junior class is loaded with homegrown studs! With the return of Fiatoa on the Defensive line and Breakaway Running Back Wes Maiava
This year’s team could develop into a better team than the last 2years!
All those Orem Red Raiders need to return to Kahuku because Orem is not even ranked in the top 20 teams in Utah. Kahuku will give them better exposure.
United we stand, divided…we still reload!
WHAT ARE THE MAXPREPS LOOKING AT, SAINT LOUIS SHOULD BE AHEAD OF KAHUKU, UNTIL KAHUKU BEATS THEM. CAL LEE WILL HAVE THEM CRUSADERS ON A ROLL AGAIN THIS YEAR. TUA MIGHT BE GONE BUT HIS BACK UP FROM LAST YEAR WILL BE THE QB THIS YEAR IN THE STATE, NOT MAIAVA FROM KAHUKU, OVER RATED THAT MAIAVA, SHWN NOTHING SO FAR.
I don’t know how you guys can say kahuku’ s defense is better then last years. Do you know what players they are trying to replace last year. Big shoes to fill. There secondary was unreal.
Actually, Stl. will not have much and may lose twice to Pun.
HS Rankings are meaningless. Gods luck Kahuku, St Louis, and all Hawaii teams. It should be a great season. I can’t wait.
I hesitate to respond to trolls, but really, no need to hate on any players. It’s a bit creepy.
ILH – If Tua were still playing at St. Louis I might agree. Tua is a huge loss for them. It’s not the same team. Get ready for a rebuilding year at St. Louis.
HYN – Agreed. No way these kids are as good out the box as last years secondary.
Granted, the secondary has a lot to prove, but the front 7 is shaping up to be Monstah! And honestly, don’t be surprised if at the end of the year the secondary becomes another special unit.
This Years Kahuku Team Is No way near Close to last years Team.
Oia- I don’t know how you think punahou will beat St. Louis . Yes Tua is gone but they have a better group of receivers this year probably the best in the state. Most of there defense is returning except the recent lost of toilolo.
Kahuku 6 DLinemen, 1LB and 2 Db with D1 offers. The LBs are undersized and the weak point this year. I think they will still hold opponents below 10 pts but their offense will be better this year.
Just so we’re clear here. This years defense is new. Last years was pretty good. The year before… way better than last year (secondary same but with way better line and backers). The line and backers from this past season… ok. They could get no pressure on Tua like they did the previous year.
Fyi…The Vimahi in question here is Enokk Vimahi and Yes he’s a junior.
Anywaays- yes they will hold opponents to 10 points but look at there competition.
Historically when Kahuku holds their OIA competition to below 10pts a game they usually continue on to beat the ILH in the state title game. So if you are saying that the OIA competition is weak then all im saying is that if we defend 10pts or less then our chances of beating a high octane ILH team in the playoffs look good.
To all you doubters who think St.Louis won’t be good this year just cause we don’t have Tua and the lost of Toilolo is absurd…My prediction is that St.Louis will be there in the D-1 Open Championship Game…Mark my words
That’s because you scrubs live in the past, the team itself could develop and be better than the past 2 yrs. The talent is there, those who knows Kahuku, knows the talent is there. Crusaders is the team to beat! But we got no control of the rankings and stop hating on the kids. Hawaii is loaded with talent. Kahuku over everybody!
Yup, the ranking is nice, but it is just pre-season, and until proven otherwise, the road to the ‘ship still goes through the boys on the hill.
Like mentioned above, if you don’t know, you don’t know.
The funny thing, is that Big Red never uses the level of competition as an excuse. They just go out there and play. The ILH always talks about how competitive and tough it’s league is; so if iron sharpen iron, why doesn’t it have more State championships? As far as the OIA, regardless of how they align teams, Big Red still owns the league
Good luck to all the boys! Play hard and let us keyboard guys do all the smack talking so you guys don’t get in trouble on the field.
RRFL!
Kahukus front 7 is just ridiculous this year. The weakness is the secondary. I believe only one of their DBs has actual playing time from last year. But the DLine and LBs are loaded.
just for giggles…
talked to friends/rellies at Bingham… not even focused on KHS. They are focused on East HS and their games that “count.:
likewise…we need to be focused on HI competition…not Bingham…
don’t get me wrong – I’ll be there and will enjoy the event…and it’ll be a great experience/exposure for the kids… but that’s about it…
Hyn – Puns has FIVE returning STARTERS…just on their OL… FIVE.
And ALL five of dem were at different levels of ALL-ILH teams last year.
Plus…dey get da best OL coaches in da ILH…and arguably da state as well (ps – dey RR4L alumni).
St LuLu’s D-front is gonna need a LOT of help this year vs Puns.
St Lulu’s O has TWO returning starters on their ENTIRE offense. And the BIGGEST hole is at QB – their most important position. I don’t care what anyone says – you cannot replace da #1 QB of the ENTIRE NATION… Not happening.
TooMeke its a team sport, the #1 QB almost had zero titles his high school career as a 3yr starter,
– as a soph in 2014 PUN beat Tua to win the ILH
– as a Jr in 2015, Kahuku beat Tua because STL didnt have receivers that could catch.
– as a Sr in 2016 STL finally won.
All that im saying is that STL offensive system is a fine tuned machine where they plug players in and it goes, they develop their intermediate kids for that system similar to Kahukus smash mouth offense where its next man up. The STL 1st, 2nd and 3rd string QBs are more then capable of running the system, they dont need to be superman they just need to be capable, which they are. STL has the edge in the ILH.
Big Red will focus on Bingham when the time comes, but that’s just bs if Bingham is thinking that the game doesn’t count. IF Bingham upsets East, then trust me, the last thing they want to do is lose to the boiz from the North Shore. Bingham has been a “national” team for awhile, they’re not just going to be happy in winning the Utah state championship.
But until then, Big Red needs to take care of business here in the Isles first. Playing Waianae in Waianae will be a good barometer of the mettle of this team.
Just putting it out there, I can’t stand the Puns or Crusaders, but when you all play the mainland teams, Go Get’em Boiz and rep the Islands; at the end of the day, we all love our island state.
RRFL!
But what is the team’s cumulative GPA? How about test scores? Academics are critical in life and too often ignored. There should be a formula that combines GPA, SAT/ACT scores with on-the field results to determine playoff berths. Honor students could be recognized with a gold stripe “Polynesian tat” on their jersey and honored with special “shout-outs” over the PA system before kickoff. I never played HS sports and have seen the “passes” athletes received in class just to remain eligible which in the long run robs them of their most valuable asset…an education.
Hi education first. How are you buddy
Look its education first the next Albert Einstein
Education First July 25, 2017 1:34 pm
But what is the team’s cumulative GPA? How about test scores? Academics are critical in life and too often ignored. There should be a formula that combines GPA, SAT/ACT scores with on-the field results to determine playoff berths. Honor students could be recognized with a gold stripe “Polynesian tat” on their jersey and honored with special “shout-outs” over the PA system before kickoff. I never played HS sports and have seen the “passes” athletes received in class just to remain eligible which in the long run robs them of their most valuable asset…an education.
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For the record this is not me. But I do agree. The academics out there is horrible! It’s great that you guys ONLY live through football. You guys are Al Bundy Version 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, etc.
It sickens me to think that you do not care about the lack of academics out there, but continue to blog about a very meaningless game where maybe like 0.1% of your student body (I am going high end) can actually turn it into a career.
And for the record, I bet the GPA’s out there are not that bad. I mean if you are learning 1 digit counting, your ABC’s, and other elementary school level material, then the GPA should be high right?
Edu 1st,
Hawaii Prep World is the source of Hawaii’s high school sports. We come here to read about sports. Just because we enjoy high school sports and reading the articles and following the teams does not mean that we do not care about academics. It seems you look for any chance to take a shot at Kahuku and their academics, but what you are saying is simply not true. Do you live in the community? Do you have children attending Kahuku schools? Based on the latest (2015-2016) standardized testing scores, Kahuku Intermediate and High ranks in the top half of all public high schools in Hawaii. Far from the “near the bottom” that you falsely make it out to be. Please stop trolling.
@atatiava don’t be to hard on education first. He just having a rough time that kahuku players having successful in football. He always wanted to play football but was never good enough please understand why he has hatred. He will say the same thing over and over again so just ignore him just like everyone else but I will protect him because we do believe education is first!
Al bundy’s son or nephews never played football. I have a “real” nephew this year and many many calabash nephews on the team every year. My sons will be playing in a few years, so like it or not we will be on these blogs for years to come. That is why Kahuku fans are not Al Bundy.
…and because we are alumni and parents to future red raiders, we are looking out for the best interests of our community. Take a look around the state of Hawaii, everyone elses issues are more important then that of our own polynesian and native peoples. We make everyone elses issue more important than our own. We suffer because we are not our own priority yet. Aloha maddaphakan Kakou!
Sports is a tool to getting a college education and jumpstart into a career, nothing wrong with polynesians on the football field just like the asians on the golf course and soccer fields or hauole surfers in the water.
Toomeke- yes they do return starters on the o- line but have zero experience elsewhere. I’m telling you now that this year is the best year for receivers by far in the Ron Lee era at St. Louis. Just wait till the season starts and you will soon find out .
Atatiava July 25, 2017 3:19 pm
Edu 1st,
Hawaii Prep World is the source of Hawaii’s high school sports. We come here to read about sports. Just because we enjoy high school sports and reading the articles and following the teams does not mean that we do not care about academics. It seems you look for any chance to take a shot at Kahuku and their academics, but what you are saying is simply not true. Do you live in the community? Do you have children attending Kahuku schools? Based on the latest (2015-2016) standardized testing scores, Kahuku Intermediate and High ranks in the top half of all public high schools in Hawaii. Far from the “near the bottom” that you falsely make it out to be. Please stop trolling.
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Please provide information or documentation for evidence. Here is some evidence for you since you like numbers:
Here are the 2017 rankings:
College Readiness Index: 18.0
AP Tested: 27%
AP Passed: 55%
Mathematics Proficiency: 23%
English Proficiency: 31%
Source: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/hawaii/districts/hawaii-department-of-education/kahuku-and-intermediate-school-6132
Now Atatiava, everyone has their opinion and their right to decide what is a good score. But the scores listed above (and authenticated by a credible source) is absolutely horrible.
The fact that you are trying to defend it just shows how sad you are. In my opinion, the numbers clearly show that most students can barely read and count out there.
So continue with the name calling such as “trolling.” I mean if my kid was struggling to learn so badly I would hope that name calling and putting the focus on a sport would hide the fact that he/she really isn’t good in school and their future really isn’t that bright unless they plan to say, “Would you like fries with that?”
All of you people who continue to defend yourselves are irresponsible and are the main reason the academics will never get better.
You are too busy pointing the fingers at others or making excuses. There are kids with learning deficiencies that score better than the scores listed above.
Edufirst for the past two years some parents and other individuals in the Kahuku community have been volunteering their time to tutor the athletes in a 2nd study hall after their normal one after school.
This is a sports forum where we come to talk sports, educational issues are being discussed and addressed in its own forum. Now please tell me exactly what you are doing to help the kids in your neck of the woods? or are you just a hypocrite?
Edu 1st,
Hawaii DOE uses the Strive HI Performance System. You can read about it by going to this link: http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/DOE%20Forms/Advancing%20Education/StriveHI.pdf
The most recent results are from the 2015-2016 school year. Kahuku High and Intermediate ranked 22 out of 53 public high schools.
https://www.schooldigger.com/go/HI/schoolrank.aspx?level=3
This ranking uses the Hawaii DOE results for their ranking. The USnews link you gave contains the numbers from the same system, except for 2014-2015 data. Check your own link and it even says on the bottom “Data are based on the 2014-2015 school year.” Kahuku moved up 20 spots in the 2015-2016 rankings. Yes, they are currently in the top half of all public high schools.
There is definitely room for improvement and as a parent of multiple children that attend Kahuku schools and as part of a united community that is concerned for the academic well being of all Kahuku kids, I will continue to be actively involved in helping them achieve greatness in the classroom, at the workplace, and on the playing field. You are not from here, so stop pretending like you know.
Btw, an Internet Troll is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting quarrels or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion, often for the troll’s amusement.
@ Atatiava, this link shows nothing specific about Kahuku. Nice job buddy! http://www.hawaiipublicschools.org/DOE%20Forms/Advancing%20Education/StriveHI.pdf
Here is the latest data off the hawaiipublicschools.org (Hawaii Department of Education Site) with regards to the 2015-2016 Strive High Scores for Kahuku High and Intermediate.
Math Meeting Standard: 38%
ELA/Literacy Meeting Standard: 54%
Science Proficiency: 29%
Now this is straight from the Hawaii Department of Education’s public information. These scores suck. I don’t care if you are comparing it to 1000 schools. Crap is still crap no matter where you put it.
If your claim to fame is Kahuku is ranked 22 out of 53, then your standards are very low, cuz these numbers listed are bad. 38/100 kids can count. Almost half of your students cannot read or write.
And you are supporting it by saying, “Hey, there are worst schools out there. But let’s spend our time blogging about football and defending these atrocious scores.”
SHAME ON YOU!
anywaaaays!! July 25, 2017 9:10 pm
Edufirst for the past two years some parents and other individuals in the Kahuku community have been volunteering their time to tutor the athletes in a 2nd study hall after their normal one after school.
This is a sports forum where we come to talk sports, educational issues are being discussed and addressed in its own forum. Now please tell me exactly what you are doing to help the kids in your neck of the woods? or are you just a hypocrite?
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Well buddy it doesn’t seem like that tutoring is helping much based on your scores. Maybe start off slower. I can offer picture books with simple sentences like “See Bill run.” Then it can become more advanced like, “See Bill run fast.”
I candidate base 10 blocks to help the kids learn how to count using 2 digits. Hopefully by their senior year they can start moving into more challenging math such as regrouping using 2 digit numbers.
Some private schools have old Wordly Wise Books. Maybe I can make a few phone calls to get them to donate them to you. I figure Grade 1-3 should suffice.
As for helping, I have donated both time and monies to many local community centers and organizations. HUGS, IHS, Palolo Community Center, Shriner’s, etc.
You see ma’am, I have taken school seriously where I can hep easily by cutting a check.
Infinitus est numerus stultorum *looking at Edu 1st*
anyways!! – you telling me St LuLu would’ve won States last year with a QB other than Tua?? c’mon now…
Hyn – that’s great about the WRs… how about an OL to give the rook QB time to throw? All those great WRs can’t catch a ball that is not thrown. Or establish a running game to take pressure off the rook QB?
St LuLu won because Tua was the best double-threat QB in the nation…behind a great OL…and it showed in the Championship game last year. They have neither this year. And they lost Toilolo… I know they have a bunch of Seniors this year…but that is a lot to replace…
Puns has NINE returning starters on offense…what are you talking about “zero experience elsewhere”? That will be to their new QBs advantage. The reality is St LuLu has to beat Puns twice…and they barely did that last year WITH Tua and a very talented squad.
Toomeke- what nine starters are you talking about. They lost all there receivers and slot backs and not to mention there Qb. They also lost there RB nawahine to kahuku. So only returnees are offensive lineman. If you want I’m willing to put a friendly wager on that game. Just remember St. Louis is the defending champs and every year they have been getting better.
Hyn – shoots! just lemme know which game…1st or 2nd.
“every year…getting better”… with Tua.
I got those numbers from none other than Hawaii Prep World.
Toomeke- just so happen he was there when they took over. Don’t get me wrong Tua is good but this years team will be better as a unit from last years team. Mark my words….. we can bet on both.
@anywaaaays!!!!… I didn’t attend Punahou nor did I play HS sports but Punahou alumni/parents I speak with are fed up with football in general. Bringing in mercenaries to stack teams and taking away slots and resources from worthy children in other areas. Admission process is a joke and insiders feel sports should be deemphasized. If you’re in the know, you’re aware of the tutors and special classes that exists for the sole reason of keeping athletes eligible. Or athletes living in units owned by sponsors near campus. Believe what you apologists as you may be an ex-athlete who took advantage of the diversity scholie, a parent of such athlete or just someone who is sports oriented.
Education First July 26, 2017 6:25 am
anywaaaays!! July 25, 2017 9:10 pm
Edufirst for the past two years some parents and other individuals in the Kahuku community have been volunteering their time to tutor the athletes in a 2nd study hall after their normal one after school.
This is a sports forum where we come to talk sports, educational issues are being discussed and addressed in its own forum. Now please tell me exactly what you are doing to help the kids in your neck of the woods? or are you just a hypocrite?
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Well buddy it doesn’t seem like that tutoring is helping much based on your scores. Maybe start off slower. I can offer picture books with simple sentences like “See Bill run.” Then it can become more advanced like, “See Bill run fast.”
I candidate base 10 blocks to help the kids learn how to count using 2 digits. Hopefully by their senior year they can start moving into more challenging math such as regrouping using 2 digit numbers.
Some private schools have old Wordly Wise Books. Maybe I can make a few phone calls to get them to donate them to you. I figure Grade 1-3 should suffice.
As for helping, I have donated both time and monies to many local community centers and organizations. HUGS, IHS, Palolo Community Center, Shriner’s, etc.
You see ma’am, I have taken school seriously where I can hep easily by cutting a check.
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STALKER ALERT. Hey phony me, go back on your imaginary vacation and leave the heavy lifting to the grown ups. Your clumsy attempts to sound like a “somebody” are pathetic. We LOL at you. Thanks.