Sept. 28th, 20007
Kahuku overcame a week??s worth of adversity
off the field, plus twelve penalties on the field, to hold off
upset-minded Farrington, 27-7 Friday night on Homecoming night in
Kahuku. The win kept the Red Raiders undefeated in the tough OIA
Red East and gave the Governors just their second loss in divisional
play.
??Thanks for the support,? Red Raider head
coach Reggie Torres said afterwards. Torres felt the support of
both players and fans just a night after a community meeting in Kahuku
addressed a petition that was calling for the ouster of the second-year
head coach despite the fact that he guided the Red Raiders to a state
championship last season.
|
|
The
Hawaii Army National Guard donated $950.00 to the Kahuku Athletic
Department during half time as well as being Digital Sports Hawaii’s
Major Sponsor! Kahuku High School’s Athletic Director Joseph
Whitford excepts the check. Pictured left to right- Kingsley Ah
You Digital Sports owner, Haunani Kahiapo Hawaii Army National Guard
Marketing Assistant, Bob Hogue Digital Sports Hawaii Senior
Correspondent and SSG Gary Cabacongan Jr. National Guard Recruiter at
Kahuku High School. Click on any of the National Guard’s ad’s to
find out more information.
|
|
Torres allowed the players to perform the popular Haka
to its own Senior Night crowd before the game and that seemed to give
energy to the entire Red Raider team. Then, Kahuku energized its
traditionally run-oriented offense by going to the air.
??We run a lot, but our scheme was to come out
passing. We??ve been practicing a lot with our passing,? said
Kahuku junior quarterback Jray Galeai, who completed 5 of 8 passes for
177 yards and three touchdowns in just three quarters of work.
His touchdown passes went to Junior Mataafa, Paipai Falemalu, and
6-foot 6-inch Willie Ching, who gave the Red Raiders breathing room
with a 3rd-quarter touchdown catch that pushed the score to 20-7.
Kahuku added a late touchdown when linebacker
Coleson Pukahi intercepted a pass from the endzone by Farrington
quarterback Alefiso I??u and returned it three yards for the final score
of the game.
|
|
| Kahuku Red Raiders (R-L)- #2 Shiloah Te’o, #16 Jray Galeai and #94 Jerome Acoba
|
|
The Red Raiders also got a stellar effort from
kicker/runningback St. John Lessary III, who carried the ball 11 times
for 124 yards and also kicked three extra points for a Kahuku program
that has been known to have problems in the kicking department over the
years.
??I??ve been kicking since back in Pop
Warner. My Dad helped me a lot,? said Lessary, whose father of
the same name was a runningback and defensive back on the powerful
Kahuku teams of the late ??80??s.
Both Lessary and Galeai also credited a strong
performance by the enormous Kahuku offensive line??a line that averages
well over 6-foot 3 and over 300 pounds from tackle to tackle. ??It
was all the O-Line,? Lessary said. ??I trusted my line. I
give them all the props,? said Galeai.
|
|
|
|
|
The Faithful Farrington GOV’S FANS!
|
Kahuku??s win came despite an outstanding performance by
I??u, the Governors quarterback, who completed 19 of 29 passes for 213
yards and a touchdown. It was I??u who completed six straight passes
right before halftime, including a 25-yard touchdown toss to Josh
Fernandez, to make it a 13-7 game at intermission.
But I??u was injured late in the ballgame as he attempted to
scramble away from pressure. He suffered a potentially season-ending
knee injury and had to be carried off the field by his teammates. That
would be huge loss for the Governors as they head toward the OIA
playoffs.
Meanwhile, Kahuku appears to be headed towards
another Red East crown, but not without challenges both on and off the
field.
Such is life amongst the Red Raider Nation
where excellence and championships have almost come to be
expected.
|
Processing your request, Please wait....
