Honolulu, HI
A rainy night in Edward Skippa Diaz Stadium held the final oia game of the postseason. The road to November has arrived and the Kahuku Red Raiders and Kapolei hurricanes looked to solidify their standings into the state tournament. Before that can take place, the oia championship was to be played for.
Kahuku being the defending and reigning oia champions, a lot was on the line for them as they looked to make another state title run and come out victorious this year after falling short to the reigning state champs, st Louis crusaders. the raiders, under the interim head coach, nihoa pule, had led his team to the oia championship match after a 24-6 win over the Campbell sabers the week before in the oia semifinal match.
it's nothing new for the red raiders being on this stage late in the year. they schedule themselves against the best of the best in the preseason, so that when the time comes around for the postseason, they'll know what they would have to do to execute and gameplay against the tough Hawai'i teams.
as for the kapolei hurricanes, this is their first appearance back into the oia championship match since 2016, which was led by freshman qb, taulia tagovailoa. The hurricanes always find themselves one game short of reaching the title round and earning a spot into the state tournament. this time, the hurricanes proved everyone who doubted them wrong.
the hurricanes were the team to beat after starting the season 3-1. after upsetting ilh conference, punahou buff-n-blue and mil conference, lahinaluna Lunas, the hurricanes were making a statement before their only defeat to los Alamitos from California. the hurricanes had a lot of confidence heading into the oia season at the time, and to start the regular season off... it was against the red raiders who had just come back from California the week before and almost pulling the upset win over national powerhouse, mater dei Monarchs.
Kahuku handed the hurricanes their first loss of the regular season with a 21-7 victory, but that would be Kapolei's first loss to a hawai'i team of the year. there was a lot of confidence for the hurricanes moving forward, as a lot of teams knew this hurricane squad was a different beast this year.
fast forward to Championship night, you could say that many were surprised to see the hurricanes on this stage... but for head coach darren Hernandez and his 25 season coaching, this was the time for them to show everyone that they belonged and that they can battle against anyone. the hurricanes outlasted the mililani trojans the week before in the oia semifinal match 21-14 and punched their ticket to the oia championship. two weeks before that, they would suffer their second defeat in their division to Mililani on the road, as standings and home field advantage were on the line.
as they would get their revenge against mililani, their eyes were set on Kahuku, as they looked to pull the upset against the reigning oia open division champs.
the first seed of the state tournament and oia plaque was on the line on championship night. both teams knew that it was going to be a difficult night, but the team with the better game plan and winning thru the 3 phases of the game, will be the one hoisting the oia plaque.
the first quarter of the match showed no points on the board, but kapolei defense made their presence felt. they would pick off Kahuku twice in the first half and one more in the second. a pop up on the first drive for Kahuku gave the hurricanes great field advantage but would come up short. they would later find themselves with another interception, but no points came out of that drive. the hurricanes would also fail to convert two field goals to what would've given the hurricanes a 6-0 start.
Both teams defense held each other at 0 until the 2nd quarter. Kapolei would strike first blood off a trick play on 4th and goal by junior linebacker, Noah pupu-muaava, to get the hurricanes their first lead of the game. Kahuku could not find an answer in the first half. after being exposed in the air, their strongest option was running the ball, especially with the weather playing a factor. they would get themselves on the board by halftime, with a field goal of their own made by senior kicker, Jayden Parker.
it was Kahuku's first time trailing at the half against a team from hawai'i since their home opener against st Louis. the 4 point deficit later turned to one after another field goal made by Parker. the hurricanes entered the 4th quarter with a 7-6 lead. a low scoring match in a championship game is always an emotional type of game.
It wasn’t until the 4th quarter when Senior WR, Kea Lerner, would get himself a touchdown on a 4th down play thrown by QB Troy Mariteragi. after a hard fought drive and sacrifices, the red raiders would finally see themselves in the end zone and taking their first lead of the game. with only less than 5 minutes left in the game, kapolei would have to find an answer to pull the upset.
they would march down the field on their final drive after a big 4th down play which ultimately could've lost them the game. the chains came out to check the position of the ball and they would clear the position by half a football. the hurricanes found themselves short of a touchdown off a wide open pass from junior, qb Jacob Ballesteros to junior wide receiver Nikko smith. second were running off the clock and the hurricanes tried to punch their game winning drive, but Kahuku's defense would stop them about a yard short of the end zone. with no timeouts and the game clock running down from 10 seconds, the hurricanes tried to hurry it up to snap the ball one last time to run it again, but felt short due to the clock striking zero.
the red raiders defense helped them survive the game and ultimately being handed a loss on a game winning drive by the hurricanes. Kahuku's defense played a big role all night long, making it difficult for the hurricanes to add more points on the board and stopped them on the biggest play of the game.
the Kahuku red raiders are your 2025 oia open division champions and are also your back to back champs. they have now won five out of the last six oia championships and have earned their 31st title in program history. Congratulations to the Kahuku Red Raiders football Program, School, and Community!
final score: Kahuku 12 - kapolei 7
for more pictures, head over to our photo gallery.
pictures taken by: Kennedy Velasco - @kennnchapo
GR8NESS
Video by: Logan Pactol
