Kahuku clocks Kamehameha-Kapālama in first-ever trip to the hill

HONOLULU – There’s a reason they play all four quarters.

After getting shutout in the first two quarters of the program’s first-ever trip into the hills of Kapālama, the No. 3-ranked Kahuku Red Raiders (2-0) turned up the heat after halftime on No. 1-ranked Kamehameha-Kapālama (1-2) to earn a hard-fought 13-5 victory over the Warriors on Saturday night.

In a battle between two of the best high school defenses in the entire state of Hawai’i, Kahuku and KS-Kapālama each tallied under 200 yards of total offense and combined for 17 total first downs throughout the night.

Kamehameha took advantage of the stout defensive performance throughout the first half as the offense struggled to get going, getting points on a 41-yard field goal from one of the premiere place kickers in the state, Tyler Fujimoto, before tacking on a safety midway through the game’s opening quarter to take a 5-0 lead.

That advantage would hold for the Warriors until the second half when Kahuku’s offense finally muscled its way down the field for a nine-play, 53-yard go-ahead scoring drive, capped off by a four-yard touchdown dash by QB Lucky Suguturaga with 5:11 left to play in the third quarter.

Kamehameha got the ball back with a chance to take the lead back at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Red Raiders defense stood strong to force a turnover on downs and take over at the Warriors’ 34-yard line with 4:14 remaining in regulation.

The Kahuku offense capitalized on the change of possession, milking three more minutes off the clock before Blake Alo broke away for a 15-yard touchdown to make it a 13-5 lead for the Red Raiders with 65 ticks left on the clock.

Kamehameha failed to move forward, going for one yard in four plays before turning it over on downs back to Kahuku and allowing the fans from the North Shore to head home happy as the Red Raiders kneeled out the victory.

Alo led Kahuku with 61 yards rushing on 11 carries along with his insurance score in the final minutes while Suguturaga tacked on 44 yards on the ground to go along with his 8-of-16 passing performance for 93 yards and two interceptions.

KS-Kapālama QB Loea Keopuhiwa struggled against the standout Kahuku defensive unit, going 8-for-17 passing for 98 yards and three interceptions. Junior running back Maddox Sharrer was able to find small pockets of success for the Warriors, taking 15 carries for 52 yards in the loss.

Kamehameha-Kapālama will head back to the drawing board, looking to clean up where things went wrong before traveling to take on Kapolei next Saturday with kickoff scheduled for 6:30 p.m. HT.

Kahuku hopes to keep cruising as their non-league schedule rolls on next week as well, taking on Punahou (1-0-1) on Saturday, August 29 with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. HT.