As for those of you who are sour grapes and predicting loss of player talent from teams because of recruitment by private, big bucks schools like Punahou, you probably don’t know what sacrifices are made by families from Kahuku who make the choice to move their child to school far away from home, particularly when that child is a football player whose parents feel such pride and love for their home school.

Most Red Raiders want to pass that legacy of Kahuku pride to their children – so when they do take that step to send their child elsewhere. it is not a decision that is made lightly or just because of a single factor. Ultimately, they see better long term outcomes for their children – be it in terms of better educational opportunities, playing opportunities, and opportunities beyond high school. Sending your child out of Kahuku to a school like Punahou for example, means tremendous sacrifices for both the child, the parents, and the rest of the family as well. It means that that child will be dedicating at least 13 hours away from home, then have to come home, do homework and chores, and maybe get six hours of sleep if he or she is lucky – before it is time to get up and do it all over again. Parents also make financial sacrifices, because even with some financial assistance, you still to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket for other things that are not covered by financial aid. And finally, there are the unspoken but very real vibes you get from others in the Red Raider nation when you do this- vibes that are not meant to give you a good feeling for what you did.
On the flip side, there are those parents who turn down offers from the big gun high schools, because they feel Kahuku provides their children with the best future outcomes, and they too look at what advantages their children will experience by not moving out of area, including the fact that Kahuku has a far greater legacy of football successes in college AND the NFL than Punahou. Additionally, there are kids from the North Shore who go to private schools out of the area to play football, but return home because they want to play for Kahuku.

As for future recruitment out of Kahuku, the fact that Reggie Torres now coaches there will not go unnoticed by certain parents, so it was a brilliant strategical move by Punahou Athletics. Reggie is a great coach and Kahuku’s loss is Punahou’s gain.
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Anyways I totally agree with you about the future. This is Punahou’s best and probably last chance to win a State Championship. With St Louis back in the picture, It will be hard for Kahuku to hold on to their home grown talent with Punahou and St Louis battling for those players. St Louis all probably be taking some town side players too. Farrington is lucky to have a young team. But I think they’ll lose some future players to St. Louis too.

Next year, I think it’ll be between Kahuku, St Louis, Mililani and Farrington.

Oh well a win is a win and red raider nation will take it into next season and come back with a chip on our shoulder as we always do when the refs decide who they want to win. Oh and BTW pun nation enjoy your last playoff season because the big boy is back on your block and he recruits better then you. j/k #notreally

Same Ol Same Ol well they’re fine with being one of the last 2 defenses still playing in D1. Personally I’d rather still be playing and for a Champioship at that the be ranked top 2 defenses that turned in their pads already.