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Kahuku High sports end 2009 with distinctionIf you're don't see a video window above this line, please go to: Red Raider AD announces 2010 mainland football match Before talking about Kahuku High's second-place finish behind Kamehameha in the First Hawaiian Bank/Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) state football championship at Aloha Stadium on December 4, 2009, Red Raider Athletic Director Joe Whitford made special announcements about a mainland football game and a new athletic yearbook: "Next school year the Kahuku High football team will be traveling to Utah to play Bingham High on Saturday, September 11, in the 20,000-seat Real Soccer Stadium [Rio Tinto] in Sandy [near Salt Lake City]," said Whitford, who spent approximately the last two months of 2009 temporarily serving as Vice Principal for grades 9-10 — while Assistant Athletic Director Garth Spurrier took over as interim AD. "They were the Utah State 5A champs last year. The last time we went up and played them we lost 28-0, but the score was 0-0 until the beginning of the fourth quarter when we cleared our benches and let everyone play. That same thing probably won't happen this time." "A sponsor for the game is picking up our air fare, accommodations and two dinners for 65, so if we take more than that, we need to come up with the funding," Whitford continued. "We may fly out Tuesday or Wednesday night and come back on Sunday." "There were several hurdles we had to jump to make the mainland match-up. First, we had committed to play Waianae for home-and-home preseason games: They were scheduled to come to our stadium this coming Fall, so I had to find an opponent for them to play — Nanakuli, at Nanakuli," he explained, "and we will keep to our second-year commitment and travel to Waianae in 2011." Whitford added he also had to get OIA approval to go, "but my fellow athletic directors voted 20-0 in favor of us going. Everybody supported our proposal." "With traveling to the mainland we lose our only preseason game here, which is normally like a fundraiser for us because we normally get to keep all of the gate receipts. We knew this as part of our decision-making process, but still felt it was better for the kids to have an opportunity to travel in these tough times." Whitford also said next Fall Kahuku would first play its inter-league game against St. Louis of the ILH, "then go right into our season for two regular games before going to Utah." While there, he said the coaches would also try to visit either the University of Utah or BYU "so the boys can get exposure to one of those programs." 2009 Hawaii State football finals: "It's unfortunate we didn't win state in football, but making it to the finals was an accomplishment," Whitford said, pointing out that Kahuku has "won the OIA league title eight out of the last 10 years, with Leilehua and Castle winning the other two, so that's a very high standard. Plus, we have a lot of young players returning next year. It's exciting, and we're optimistic about what's ahead of us." Going into the game, Kahuku was seeded number-one against the 11-1 second-ranked and second-seeded Kamehameha Warriors of Kapalama campus — coached by Kawika Stant Jr., who grew up in Laie, graduated from Kahuku in ‘81, and now lives in Hauula after a long career coaching professional football in Japan. Over 21,000 saw the game in person, and an estimated 50,000-plus viewed the match billed as a "battle of defenses" on OC16 pay-per-view. In the end, the description definitely proved true for the Warriors, who kept Kahuku from crossing mid-field in the first half. The game was also notable locally for generating some intra-family rivalry. For example:
Post-season football honors galore So, even though the Red Raiders had to content themselves with the second-place finish in the 2009 Hawaii state championship, the record they accumulated in getting there generated significant post-season honors, beginning with… The Honolulu Advertiser Hawaii State All-Star team named 6'3" 235-pound senior Red Raider lineman Hauoli Jamora Co-Defensive Player of the Year (along with Beau Yap of Kamehameha), and third-year Kamehameha head coach Kawika Stant Jr. as Coach of the Year. The Advertiser reported the All-Star selections were made by a cross-section of Division I coaches and consultations with other coaches, media and independent sources. Other All-State First Team Honors went to: OL Jase To'omaletai; DL Kona Schwenke, Ben Mamea, Johnny Tupola, Hauula resident Kawika Stant III, who plays linebacker for Kamehameha, and former Hauula resident VJ Fehoko, who played for Farrington; and kicker Cameron Mercado. All-State Second Team honors went to OL Jamal Napeahi and Steven Si'ilata. Honorable Mention went to: DL Veteson Sauni, linebacker TJ Tito; DB Tigi Hill and Kawehena Johnson. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin's picks were similar, but also included: First Team: LB Ben Mamea; Second Team: LB TJ Tito, CBs Johnny Tupola and Walter Santiago Jr., the latter of Hauula who plays for Kamehameha; and Third Team: DT Veteson Sauni. OIA Red Football All-Stars The Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) Red Conference also recognized the skills of the following Kahuku players: Kona Schwenke, DE: Defensive Player of the Year; and head coach Reggie Torres, Coach of the Year. First Team: Steven Si'ilata and Jase To'omaletai, offensive linemen; Hauoli Jamora and Kona Schwenke, defensive linemen (as well as former Hauula resident VJ Fehoko, who now lives in Honolulu and played for Farrington); linebacker Ben Mamea, and DB Johnny Tupuola. Second Team: Quarterback Evan Moe, running back Hans Brown, and receiver Lopaka Morris; defensive lineman Veteson Sauni, linebacker TJ Tito and DB Tigi Hill. Honorable Mention: Andrews Crowell, Kawehena Johnson, Trayson Medeiros, Viliami Pasi, Christopher Thee, Shairone Thompson and Punga Vea. In the private-school Interscholastic League of Honolulu, Kawika Stant Jr. of Hauula was also named Coach of the Year for leading Kamehama to the ILH title, and his son, Kawika Stant III, was named to the First Team. Walter Santiago Jr. of Hauula, who plays for Kamehameha, was named to the Second Team The Advertiser also recognized the following three Kahuku players for their outstanding performance in Division I football for the 2009 season:
First All-Decade (2000-2009) football honors: A bunch of names very familiar to Koolauloa fans and family recently popped up in online voting for the Honolulu Advertiser's first All-Decade (2000-2009) high school football team:
During the same decade, Kahuku topped the OIA records by winning 107 games vs. 16 losses, or an 87% win ratio and capturing eight titles — almost double its closest competitors: Mililani and Waianae.
Other Koolauloa athletes recently in football news include:
All-State Girls Volleyball Kahuku senior 6'1" middle blocker Amanda Tonga was named to the All-State Girls Volleyball Team. Honorable mention went to: Amanda Blake and Malia Tonga. In the OIA Red Conference, the Kahuku girls volleyball team finished at 11-1 and tied with Moanalua for the Eastern Division title. OIA Red girls volleyball All-Star honors went to: Amanda Tonga: Player of the Year, and head Coach Uila Vendiola: Coach of Year Other OIA Red honors went to junior Amanda Blake, First Team; Malia Tonga, Second Team; and Ho'onani Apo, Liza Domingo, Natalia Cravens and Teuila Nautu, Honorable Mention. Upcoming scholarship offers Whitford said he expects "for sure, we'll have four kids sign Division I scholarship offers: Cameron Mercado, our kicker, has already gone back to Florida for the spring. He spent one year here, and he's being recruited heavily by USC [the University of Southern California]. Jackson Kaka just went on a trip to New Mexico State, Kona Schwenke spent a weekend at BYU on his official visit, and Hauoli Jamora still has a couple of more visits to make." "Amanda Tonga, our 6'1" middle blocker in girls volleyball, may also sign a Division I scholarship," Whitford continued. "She's still considering her decision." Boys basketball Turning his attention back to 2010 sports, Whitford reported that the boys basketball team is currently undefeated. "They're 6-0 in the first round, and have started the second round," he said. "Shairone Thompson, the junior forward, is doing really well this year. He scored 26 against Kalaheo. We were down 18-6 at the end of the first quarter, and then we went on a 25-7 run, I think, to take the lead. It was a convincing win." Whitford said the JV players are 5-1 for the season, "currently tied for first place. They lost to McKinley early on, but beat everybody else." Girls basketball "The varsity girls are also tied for first in the OIA White Division. They recently lost to Kaimuki by two points, 40-38," Whitford continued, singling out the play of guard Rachel Ta'ilele, who's on the Hawaii Select Team, and Natalia Cravens: "She transferred from La Jolla, near San Diego, and she's been a surprise. We also have a transfer from Roosevelt, whose parents live in the area — Joslyn Noga." "They'll play their last season game this Thursday, then they'll go to the playoffs. The girls are two weeks ahead of the boys in their schedule." Soccer Whitford reported "our soccer teams are doing okay. Our girls JV team is in second place, under coach Glenn Fujita; and our varsity girls, who just lost to Kalaheo, have a 7-4 record. Their new coach is William Mahoni, who's replaced Krisha Kai." He added that the boys, under coach Richard Oei, are in fifth place, "barely hanging on to a playoff spot: They could make it." He also said a new transfer from Tahiti has helped the team: "He's been on the French Polynesian national team." JV baseball cancelled The AD reported Kahuku has had to cancel its JV baseball team this winter season because "we didn't have enough eligible players: We had enough boys who wanted to play, but only six of them were eligible after we ran grade-check. So, we'll let the varsity coach know who the eligible JV players are for his consideration in the Spring." "We've never had to cancel a sport before because we haven't had enough eligible players," Whitford said. Other sports Whitford noted other winter sports include paddling and wrestling. "The girls and boys are doing very well," he said of the latter. The AD announced that the Athletic Department is publishing its own yearbook this year. "We will still provide team photos for the regular school yearbook, but our major concern was that Spring sports weren't getting adequate coverage because of deadlines: Everything has to be handed in by the end of February, so we can get the yearbook by the end of the school year." "Our athletic yearbook will afford us a little more flexibility, especially in covering Spring sports. We can go to print at the beginning of May, and have most of the statistics and results," Whitford continued. "Angus Christy has a big hand in this, and we may bring in other people to help. Right now we're looking at about $15 per copy of a 112-page yearbook. We're doing this on our own time." "As an Athletic Department, we've been trying to get our own yearbook for years," Whitford said. "We're going to try it for the first time ever, and just want to see if we can do a decent job." He added that a new name is "still under wraps, although we did have a competition to name the new yearbook: We had about 50 suggestions, and we offered prizes." Looking for new coaches Whitford said he is looking for new coaches in cross-country, cheerleading, and girls volleyball: "Uila Vendiola has stepped down after four years," he added. "Résumés need to be into me by February 16, and we'll interview right after." "Once we hire the varsity coaches, they will pick their own JV and assistant coaches," he continued, noting however that current budget constraints mean assistant coaches serve as volunteers without compensation. "They've been understanding, which is how we've gotten by. We lost $40,000 from our budget for coaches salaries, so the assistant coaches in some sports have been responsive, while others only have the one paid coach." Other budget issues Speaking of budget, Whitford reported the various teams have "raised their own money" to make up for transportation cuts. "The school pays for weekday buses, but either the parents take them or pick the players up on Saturday, or they raise their own money for buses." And on the state level, Whitford reminded us that HHSAA Director Keith Amemiya is stepping down in June after serving for 11 years, so they're accepting applications and hope to get the new person on board in March. "In reference to the HHSAA Save Our Sports program, his goal was to raise an extra $1.2 million, but he has already eclipsed $1.4 million. That money is going to be disbursed among the 44 public schools, depending on the number of teams. We should see something come down to our level in the next month: That will be a boost, but some of that money might have to be held over for next year, in which the budget could be just as bad as this one." "Sometimes it's good to tighten your belts, make sure you're more efficient in different areas and account for everything," Whitford continued. "I need to thank all the parents who have been supportive, as well as the coaches and student athletes. We've been able to carry out the programs thus far because of everyone's dedication." Bookmark to
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