High School Football Gallery: Waiʻanae vs Lahainaluna August 8, 2025

High School Football Gallery: Waiʻanae vs Lahainaluna August 8, 2025

Seariders power past Lahainaluna, 42-21, in 2025 season opener

PHOTOS BY ANDREW LEE
PUBLISHED AUGUST 9, 2025

SCORINGLIVE SCORING SUMMARY
1ST QUARTER
WNAE Keonakoa Malaia, 6 yard pass from John Michael Kaio. (Shawdan Pacheco kick)
WNAE Jaylum Pelen, 39 yard pass from Memphis Baker. (S. Pacheco kick)
2ND QUARTER
WNAE M. Baker, 1 yard run. (S. Pacheco kick)
WNAE K. Malaia, 21 yard pass from J. Kaio. (S. Pacheco kick)
3RD QUARTER
WNAE Kalani Meyers-Tuinei, 3 yard run. (S. Pacheco kick)
LAH Joseph Arcangel, 10 yard run. (K. Thomas kick)
WNAE Chevin Kamai-Espinueva, 42 yard pass from J. Kaio. (S. Pacheco kick)
4TH QUARTER
LAH J. Arcangel, 28 yard run. (J. Arcangel kick)
FINAL 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q  T
Lahainaluna (0-1-0) 0 6 8 7 21
Waianae (1-0-0) 14 14 14 0 42

PHOTOS BY ANDREW LEE

Q&A with new Castle head football coach Eric Stephens

Q&A with new Castle head football coach Eric Stephens

First-year Castle coach Eric Stephens addresses his team during the first game week of the 2025 season. | Photo: Brian Bautista

Q&A with new Castle head football coach Eric Stephens

BY MICHAEL LASQUERO | HSRN
PUBLISHED AUGUST 6, 2025

The standard is the standard.

Eric Stephens is the new head coach at Castle High School, which is his first gig as the head man of a program after being a longtime assistant for nearly a decade.

He was previously the offensive coordinator at Waianae a year ago and was the co-offensive coordinator at Waipahu in 2023 when the Marauders won the Division I state championship.

The Knights dropped down to Division II last season and went 7-4 for their first winning season since 2010, but was shutout in their playoff opener.

HSRN got a chance to catch up with Stephens ahead of Castle’s season opener against Kailua.

 

The Knights line up in an I-Formation package in 2024 in a regular season game against Kaimuki. | Photo: Michael Lasquero

Congratulations on being named the head coach at Castle! What was the feeling and emotions like when you got the news?

“I was super excited. When the AD called me back in for my follow up interview, she really just interviewed me again and then at the end of the interview is when she made the offer so I was super excited. I’ve been waiting for awhile to kind of have an opportunity to do my own thing as far as establishing a program and building something so I’m just excited for this opportunity.”

How has the offseason been in preparation for the upcoming season?

“It’s been really good. These kids have really bought-in to the standard that we’re trying to set from the weight room to the offseason training, speed and agility, getting on the field working on the new offense, the new defense, getting acclimated to the new coaching staff, the offseason has been great just building the training program from scratch.”

Who are some of your coaching mentors and inspiration?

“Vince Nihipali (head coach at Waianae) is a really close friend and mentor. I’ve had an opportunity to really coach with him almost every year I’ve coached here in the state of Hawai’i, I think except for one or two years; I’ve been coaching for eight-plus years. Of course Bryson Carvalho at Waipahu, just another good relationship and good guy and just all the other legends around the island that I’ve had a chance to talk to and meet. DJ (Darren Johnson) at Campbell and of course Sterling (Carvalho) from Kahuku. All those guys have done a great job of just embracing young coaches and really helping me and help bring me along.”

First-year Castle coach Eric Stephens addresses his team at practice. | Photo: Brian Bautista

How would you describe your coaching style?

“I would say I’m pretty firm, just in general. I want the kids to follow the process, take their time, work everyday and really hold themselves to a high standard. I really believe in things like: mindset, attitude, discipline, holding each other accountable. I think that’s what’s important because it helps the kids not only on the field, but also off the field. I think that’s the really the most important part of being a head coach.”

Castle made the playoffs last season but came up short of a championship. How do you guys break through and secure the title this year?

“I think a lot of that has to do with the mindset. Having a championship mindset in everything that we do. We talk about making sure people come up to us versus us going to them or playing down to them. That’s what I call closing the gap. When you set a high standard, when everyone else comes around and everyone else is doing everything, they have to meet your standard, so they have to close the gap. I think we have to do that at all times. We have to be disciplined. I looked back at the film last year, there were some undisciplined plays that happened, so we really just want to focus on playing at that high level, following the process and just being disciplined.”

What are some positives that you saw from the Knights last season watching from afar?

“The physicality of the team overall on both sides of the ball. The offensive line, the defensive line, the linebackers. The running backs were extremely impressive just the way they ran the ball. A lot of teams knew they were going to run the ball but they were still able to run it, so I really try to build upon that physical strength and that’s really going to be our identity on both sides of the football.”

Kauanahe Kalahiki-Gohier is a returning All-OIA First Team selection at fullback and should be a key contributor in 2025. | Photo: Michael Lasquero

What are the things that you want to improve on?

“Again overall, not to sound like a broken record, but it’s really just the discipline. It’s really just the mindset, the attitude. Making sure that we take play-by-play, we follow the process, we don’t get caught up in the results, that we learn how to overcome adversity. Those are the things that I really want to focus on. It’s not really so much the X’s and O’s. It’s really sort of those intangible things that I think are the detailed part of being a championship team.”

Who are some of the players that we should watch out for this season?

“Few of the players to look out, one for us is Saumahe Haney-Tongotea. He’s our defensive end and he’s actually going to play a little bit of slot for us on the offensive side. He’s a little bit of a mismatch so we’re looking forward to him. Kai Kane Ramos-Barrionuebo, he’s our nose tackle. He’s just a ‘hammah’ on the inside. He’s a big strong player and we expect a lot of things from him as well. Also Noa Sebay, he’ll be playing quarterback, he’ll be playing slot. We may even put him on the defensive side of the ball as well. He’s just one of our most versatile players overall. Kauanahe Kalahiki-Gohier is our running back, he was actually First Team All-OIA last year in D2, kind of expect the same from him. He’s a big strong, powerful running back. He also has some speed as well. Aiden Kahele is another one of our running backs, another strong, powerful kid that does a lot for us, and our safety JHeart Sisra. These are all upperclassmen so there’s a lot of experience on this team. I’ve been fortunate enough and privileged enough and blessed enough to inherit a team that had a lot of experience so it’s really my job just to make sure I don’t mess it up and let them do what they do well.”

Saumahe Haney-Tongotea is a key player to watch for the Knights this season. He can play defensive end and slot receiver. | Photo: Michael Lasquero

2025 OIA Football: August Schedule

2025 OIA Football: August Schedule

2025 OIA Football: August Schedule

BY HSRN STAFF
PUBLISHED JULY 28, 2025

High school football leagues across the state are finalizing their schedules for the upcoming 2025 season and Hawai’i Sports Radio Network is here to keep you updated.

In the OIA, Leilehua has moved up to the Open Division after winning the 2024 OIA D-I Championship, swapping spots with Waipahu who returns to Division I. Also swapping spots are Kaiser and Pearl City with the Cougars moving up to Division I and the Chargers returning to Division II.

OIA SEPTEMBER SCHEDULE

Check out the MIL schedule HERE.

*schedule below subject to change*

OIA PRESEASON

Friday, August 8
Campbell at Moanalua
KS-Hawaii at Nanakuli
Aiea at Roosevelt
Leilehua at Waipahu (Radio: HSRN 95.1 FM, AM 760, hawaiisportsradio.com)
Lahainaluna at Waianae (TV: Spectrum XCAST)
KS-Kapalama at Farrington (TV: Spectrum OC16)
Kaimuki at Kaiser

Saturday, August 9
Punahou at Kapolei (TV: Spectrum XCAST)
St. Louis at Kahuku (TV: Spectrum OC16)
Waimea at Waialua
Castle at Kailua
Pac-5 at Roosevelt
Radford at Iolani

Friday, August 15
Campbell at Waipahu
Castle at Aiea (Radio: HSRN 95.1 FM, AM 760, hawaiisportsradio.com)
Pearl City at Kaiser (TV)

Saturday, August 16
Lahainaluna at Kapolei
Kaimuki vs Santa Monica (at Farrington)
Kailua at Mililani
Punahou at Moanalua
KS-Kapalama at Kahuku (TV)

Thursday, August 21
Eagle Valley (Colorado) vs Waialua (at Mililani)

Friday, August 22
Warren (California) at Farrington
Los Alamitos (California) at Kapolei
Nanakuli at Castle (TV)
Punahou vs Lincoln (at Roosevelt)
Campbell vs Keaau (at Kapolei)
Iolani at Aiea
Waimea at Waianae (TV)
Moanalua at Pearl City
Hilo at Leilehua (TV)

Saturday, August 30
Kapaa at Kapolei
Bishop Gorman at Kahuku (TV)
Iolani at Leilehua

OIA REGULAR SEASON

Friday, August 29
Kaiser at Waipahu
Nanakuli at Moanalua (Radio: HSRN 95.1 FM, AM 760, hawaiisportsradio.com)
Waialua at Roosevelt
McKinley at Pearl City

Saturday, August 30
Radford at Waianae (TV)
Kalaheo vs Castle (at Kailua)
Kaimuki vs Kalani (at Farrington)

Chargers Rally on Senior Day, Hold Off Kaiser 13-10

Chargers Rally on Senior Day, Hold Off Kaiser 13-10

Senior Day at Pearl City delivered exactly the kind of energy you’d expect — emotion, big swings, and a little late-game drama — as the Chargers outlasted Kaiser, 13-10, in a back-and-forth battle. Pearl City jumped early and built just enough...

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Nanakuli Outlasts Radford in Undefeated Showdown, 9-8

Nanakuli Outlasts Radford in Undefeated Showdown, 9-8

In a long-awaited clash between two of the OIA Division II’s top teams, Nanakuli finally got its shot at Radford—and made it count. The Golden Hawks edged the Rams 9-8 on Wednesday afternoon, handing Radford its first loss of the season in a game...

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Surfing Joins HHSAA’s Interscholastic Sports Lineup in Spring 2026

Surfing Joins HHSAA’s Interscholastic Sports Lineup in Spring 2026

Surfing Joins HHSAA’s Interscholastic Sports Lineup in Spring 2026

HHSAA PRESS RELEASE
PUBLISHED JULY 16, 2025

HONOLULU – The Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) today announced a landmark decision: surfing will officially become an interscholastic state championship sport beginning with the Spring 2026 season. This historic move marks a significant expansion of athletic opportunities for student-athletes and celebrates a sport deeply embedded in Hawaii’s culture.

The inaugural HHSAA Surfing State Tournament in 2026 will feature both boys’ and girls’ shortboard championships. This new championship provides a structured and competitive platform for Hawaii’s talented young surfers. The Maui Interscholastic League (MIL), which has been a pioneer in sanctioning interscholastic surfing since 2014, will proudly host the first state championship event, building on its 11 years of experience. While surfing has long been a popular club activity in various schools across the state, this official recognition elevates its status and provides a clear pathway for student-athletes to excel at the state level.

The establishment of this new championship was supported by the recent enactment of Hawaii House Bill 133 (HB133) as Act 141, which appropriated crucial funding to the Hawaii Department of Education for the development of surfing as an interscholastic sport. This legislative support underscores the state’s commitment to fostering diverse athletic opportunities within its educational system.

“This is a monumental day for Hawaii’s student-athletes and the sport of surfing,” said HHSAA Executive Director Chris Chun. “Surfing is deeply rooted in our culture and way of life, and we extend our sincere gratitude to our legendary surfers who have paved the way for this sport in Hawaii and around the world. We are thrilled to offer this incredible opportunity to high school students statewide, allowing them to compete for a state title in a sport they are passionate about. We look forward to crowning our first state champions in 2026.”

Surfing will become the 21st sport offered by the HHSAA (4th most in the entire country), further expanding the diverse athletic landscape for students. Last school year, the HHSAA also proudly added girls flag football to its roster of championship sports. With the addition of surfing, the HHSAA will now crown 52 team state champions and 112 individual champions annually, continuing its mission to promote sportsmanship, academic achievement, and healthy competition.

Fifth annual Chace Numata Senior All-Star Game has dramatic finish

Fifth annual Chace Numata Senior All-Star Game has dramatic finish

 

Fifth annual Chace Numata Senior All-Star Game has dramatic finish

BY MICHAEL LASQUERO | HSRN
PUBLISHED JULY 5, 2025

For the second straight year, the annual Chace Numata Senior All-Star Classic had a dramatic finish.

The Aloha Stars rallied from a 6-0 deficit to turn back the Hawaiian Stars in extra innings, 9-8, Friday afternoon at Les Murakami Stadium in the fifth edition of the baseball all-star game for Hawai’i high school graduating seniors.

The game honors the memory of Chace Numata, a 2010 graduate of Pearl City. Numata was a 14th-round draft pick by the Philadelphia Phillies before landing in the Detroit Tigers organization. Numata died in 2019 from injuries in a skateboard mishap while he was playing for the Tigers’ Double-A team, the Erie SeaWolves.

His father, Nathan “Homey” Numata, serves as one of the coaches on the all-star teams.

“I’ve known coach Homey for a really long time now. They’ve coached me when I was in youth ages,” said Kamehameha-Kapalama’s Greyson Osbun.

“To get a chance to honor his son and play in this game was huge. I’m super honored and humble to be here today.”

Osbun, who signed with Nevada, was named the most valuable player of the game after picking up the win on the mound for team Aloha, which comprised of players from the ILH and the BIIF.

He wasn’t expecting to pitch because Nevada had him resting his arm after the high school season, but was given the opportunity to pitch after team Aloha tied the game at seven in the top of the ninth to the dismay of team Hawaiian, the designated home team.

Osbun delivered with a scoreless ninth and did not allow an earned run in the 10th inning (the runner that starts at second to start the extra inning do not count towards ERA).

“I felt good. I think adrenaline really kicked in towards the end, have an opportunity to win this game. I think tomorrow I’ll probably feel it a little more,” said Osbun.

Iolani’s Treyden Chong Kee was named the offensive player of the game after scoring two runs and delivering a two RBI triple in the top of the fifth to get team Aloha on the scoreboard. He also placed second in the home-to-home dash with a time of 14.75 seconds.

“It was fun, I really pride myself in myself speed,” said Chong Kee, who will play his first collegiate season at Central Arizona. “Being able to do that and show off my speed was a great experience.”

Chong Kee credits his speed to the hours spent in the weight room.

“Deadlifting a lot,” he said. “It’s all in your hamstrings.”

Pearl City’s Noah Bernal was the only one that was faster than Chong Kee in the home-to-home dash with a time of 14.5 seconds.

The defensive player of the game was Maui’s Nick Nashiwa, who spent time at right field, second base and catcher for team Hawaiian, which was made up of players from the OIA, MIL and KIF.

Kashiwa also won the ‘pop-time’ catcher’s competition, throwing from home plate to second base in 1.77 seconds.

“I was pretty surprised because I wasn’t really throwing that much. I was just going to see what happens, have some fun since I’m only here for the day,” said Nashiwa.

“It’s a real blessing to be out here and playing with these guys. Everybody here is super talented. I just come out here to have fun, do me and whatever happens happens. I’m just super grateful for every opportunity that I get and every opportunity to come play baseball somewhere.”

Nashiwa, who will play at Golden West College next year, helped record the first two outs of the ninth inning while team Hawaiian was holding on to a 7-6 lead.

With runners at the corners, he caught a pop fly at second base for the first out. For the second out of the inning, Kamehameha-Maui catcher Duke Aloy threw to second to catch the runner on first from stealing. The throw and the tag by Nashiwa was not in time, but Nashiwa threw right back to home with Chong Kee advancing from third and Aloy was able to make the tag to preserve the lead momentarily.

“I always know that Duke got me with a good throw at second base. I wasn’t too worried, but when I had to dive for that ball, I was kind of like ‘I know he’s going to run’ because Treyden is an aggressive runner. I didn’t really think, I just got up and threw it,” Nashiwa said of the 2-4-2 out.

“I knew Duke had my back with a good tag on the other end. I just had the faith in him to get a good tag and get him out.”

Leilehua’s Blaze Manutai got the scoring started in the bottom of the third with a sac fly to bring Aloy home for the first run of the game. Pearl City’s Ethan Higashionna then hit a bases clearing triple to make it a 4-0 game before he later scored after Waianae’s Chaseten Rice reached on an error.

Moanalua’s Kyler Shojinaga pushed team Hawaiian’s lead to 6-0 in the fourth with a sac fly to drive in Mililani’s Kai Hirayama, who started the game on the mound and rotated at center field.

Team Aloha got into the scoring column in the fifth with Chong Kee’s two RBI triple. Kamehameha’s Logan Sanchez later brought Chong Kee home to make it a 6-3 game.

PAC-5’s Ethan Lee had a two RBI double in the top of the eighth to make it a 6-5 game before Kamehameha’s Kainoa Kaneshiro tied the game on an RBI.

Mililani’s Kaleb Wada’s two-out RBI single to left in the bottom of the eighth regained the lead for team Hawaiian before Mid-Pacific’s Adam Kobayashi drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game in the top of the ninth.

Chong Kee started the 10th inning as a base runner on second base and would score on a passed ball with the bases loaded. Kamehameha’s Dillon Andres had a sac fly to center field to score Kamehameha-Hawaii’s Justin Kubojiri to make it a 9-7 game in favor of team Aloha.

Mililani’s Ryne Yoshimura was the base runner that started on second to begin the bottom of the frame and reached third after a groundout by Aloy. Yoshimura would score on a passed ball before a flyout to center meant team Hawaiian was down to its last out.

Osbun gave up a four-pitch walk to the next batter, but came right back with a game-ending strikeout to cap the comeback for team Aloha.

 

OL Chaysten Maauga emerging as one of Hawaii’s top class of 2028 prospects

OL Chaysten Maauga emerging as one of Hawaii’s top class of 2028 prospects

Leilehua offensive lineman Chaysten Maauga takes part in a drill at the second annual 808 P.R.O. Day on May 17. | Photo Credit: Michael Lasquero, HSRN

OL Chaysten Maauga emerging as one of Hawaii’s top class of 2028 prospects

BY MICHAEL LASQUERO | HSRN
PUBLISHED MAY 24, 2025

As he wraps up his freshman year at Leilehua High School, it’s becoming clear that Chaysten Maauga will be playing at the next level in a few years.

The scholarship offers from Division I football programs has already started to pour in for the 6-foot-4, 285-pound offensive linemen with four offers from FBS schools.

San Diego State was the first university to formally show its interest in the class of 2028 prospect before UNLV and the University of California, Berkeley offered Maauga a few days apart from each other in mid-May. Colorado State was the latest to offer the upcoming sophomore after a strong showing at the second annual 808 P.R.O. Day.

“Feeling great, feeling emotional,” Maauga said last weekend before his offer from the Rams. “All the hard work I’ve been doing is actually paying off.”

Maauga first posted the news of his offer from the Aztecs in early April, but he noted that first contact with the coaches came earlier in the year.

He described the moment of receiving his first offer as “shocking.”

“I was in class, my head coach called me, told me to come to his class and said that San Diego (State) wants to offer,” Maauga said. “Started crying, called my dad, let him know the news and celebrated at night.”

Then in a span of two days leading up to the 808 P.R.O. Day, Maauga received offers from the Rebels and the Golden Bears.

“Amazing, my phone been blowing up, God is great, got two offers last week,” he said at last weekend’s event.

Maauga was a key contributor on a Leilehua team that went 10-4 overall and 8-1 in OIA Division I play that went on a nine-game winning streak en route to the league title and a state semifinal appearance. He was selected by ScoringLive as a second-team pick in the conference honorees and also earned second team distinction in the All-Hawaii selections.

As a freshman, the young lineman also got to play alongside Arizona State-bound Manamo’ui Muti, who was recruited by nearly 20 universities.

“It was great getting work from him helping me,” Maauga said of Muti.

“Season was great, love my players, love the boys over there, love the coaches, let’s get it back this year.”

The successes of the Mules in 2024 also sees them being promoted up a tier as they will play in the Open Division and play the likes of Kahuku, Campbell, Mililani, Kapolei and Farrington in the regular season.

As an up-and-coming prospect, Maauga is ready to show his skills against tougher competition.

“Let’s get the win,” Maauga said.

Maauga and the Mules will open the 2025 season with a non-league road game at Waipahu on Friday, Aug. 8.

Waipahu Pulls Away Late to Defeat Radford, 12-7

Waipahu used a big late-inning surge to break open a tight game and defeat Radford 12-7 on Tuesday afternoon, improving to 11-2 on the season. In a contest that remained competitive through the middle innings, the Marauders capitalized on timely...

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