After return to Sue Cooley Stadium, Lahainaluna tops Sabers 37-6; showdown with KSM up next
By Robert Collias 8 min read
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Lahainaluna High School’s Ikaika Gonzales (2) and Saia Ma team to block a punt by Maui High’s Nash Vida Ah Loo during the second quarter of the Lunas’ 37-6 win over the Sabers on Saturday night at War Memorial Stadium. Also on the play for the Sabers is Piercen Cajical-Evans. The ball was recovered in the end zone by the Lunas’ Kahi Magno for a touchdown. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos
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Lahainaluna’s Avery Baybayan carries the ball Saturday as Maui High’s Ofa Falekaono (left) and Braden Albrecht close in.
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Lahainaluna quarterback Lyrik Kahula threads a second-quarter pass between Maui High’s Jarel Fuala‘au (4) and Sione Ngalu for a completion Saturday.
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The Lunas’ Ikaika Cabrera is tackled by the Sabers’ Justice Kahae-Perry after making a catch.
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Maui High quarterback Nash Vida Ah Loo is pressured by Lahainaluna’s Chaser Boaz (right) and T.J. Borges.
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The Lunas’ Avery Baybayan gestures after scoring a touchdown.
WAILUKU — The Lahainaluna High School football team returned to familiar territory for practice on Friday at Sue Cooley Stadium.
Saturday night the Lunas were back where they’ve spent the last decade or so: atop their division in the Maui Interscholastic League.
Lahainaluna controlled all three phases of the game to beat Maui High 37-6 and rise to the top of the MIL Division I standings at 2-0. It was the Lunas’ 41st MIL win in a row, dating to 2016.
“We had to come away with the win, of course,” Lahainaluna co-head coach Dean Rickard said. “Very, very tough, very physical Maui High team, as expected, each time we play them. Great coaching staff, they came to play and that’s what it’s all about and that’s the level of competition that we expect.
“Again, there was inconsistency on our side, especially on our offense. Defense did a bang-up job and special teams were special. So, at the same time, we just want to keep improving. We definitely need to improve offensively.”
Lahainaluna will meet 5-0 Kamehameha Maui this coming Saturday in a game that will be televised statewide by OC-16.
It won’t count in the standings that determine state tournament qualification, but it will signify who stands atop the MIL overall in this season that has an unbalanced schedule due to the delays caused by the Aug. 8 wildfires.
“They’re the top of the hill right now in the MIL, they return a lot, a lot of talent from last year’s team — they were young last year and now that youth just provides that much more experience coming into this season,” Rickard said of the Warriors. “And they’ve proven it. You know, 5-0, you can’t argue with that. So, we just told our kids: ‘Now we just move on to the next game’ and there’s definitely things that we’re going to have to work on before we meet them Saturday.”
The Lunas held their first practice at Sue Cooley Stadium on Friday after spending more than a month as a school within a school at Kulanihako’i in Kihei.
“It was walkthrough day, but it was just great to be back on campus,” Rickard said. “You could see it in the kids’ faces, in their eyes — it was just the excitement of being back home, so to speak, even for us as coaches. Now, we can sort of settle into our normal routine without having to worry about all the logistical nightmares of transporting all the equipment.
“We definitely vacated South (Maui) Community Park as of Thursday. We brought back our sled, our cages, our running boards, everything. We have everything back in Lahaina right now.”
Rickard added, “It’s not normalcy, it’s routine. We can definitely get back into that rhythm that we’re so accustomed to throughout all the years and that’s what we told our kids: ‘First day out’ … even today, just getting on the bus and traveling as a team. It was way less of a headache, coming from Lahaina, rather than get the kids over from Wailuku, Lahaina to meet out at Kulanihako’i, then transport everybody here.
“So, that part was all taken out the door and everything was a much smoother bus ride today.”
The Sabers (1-1 MIL D-I, 1-5 overall) played well defensively in a game that was swung open on two blocked punts that led immediately to Lunas points — Kahi Magno blocked the first one out of the end zone for a safety to make it 8-0 late in the first quarter, and then Magno recovered the second blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown that made it 16-0 early in the second quarter.
Short touchdowns by James Lukela-Kobatake and Avery Baybayan sandwiched the special teams’ scores as the Lunas took a 23-0 lead into halftime.
Maui High’s defense kept the Sabers in the game early after other miscues.
After the Lunas went 56 yards in seven plays to take a 6-0 lead, Maui High went three-and-out and the ensuing punt snap sailed over punter Nash Vida Ah Loo’s head for a 26-yard loss to the Sabers’ 12-yard line.
Maui High’s defense stopped the Lunas on downs before their next punt was snuffed by Magno for the safety.
After the kickoff to the Lunas following the safety, the Sabers again stopped Lahainaluna on downs on the Maui High 31-yard line.
The Sabers stopped the next possession deep in their own territory when Cody Alejo intercepted a Lyrik Kahula pass before Magno recovered the next blocked punt in the end zone and Kuola Watson’s run on the two-point conversion run made it 16-0.
The Lunas’ Ben Mendoza recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, and Baybayan’s 1-yard scoring plunge made it 23-0 at halftime.
“They did a great job, they actually did a great job,” Rickard said of the Sabers’ defense. “Every year we know they are going to come out and prepare well for us. They showed it and they held the trenches and in my opinion, they won the battle for the trenches in the first half.”
The Lunas pushed the lead to 37-0 on a 5-yard pass from Kahula to Baybayan and a 9-yard run by Kaulana Tihada. Kahula passed for 105 yards and Tihada led a rushing attack that saw 14 ballcarriers with 72 yards on 11 carries.
The Sabers got on the scoreboard on a 25-yard pass from Vida Ah Loo to Braden Albrecht with 2:12 to play.
Maui High now faces a televised game with Central Maui rival Baldwin on Friday.
“Our defense played way better than we have in the past, they look like they’re coming together,” Maui High head coach Aylett Wallwork said. “Our problem is I’m not getting our offense … we gotta get better looks in practice. I thought we had, I thought we were building something, but we’ll get it going.”
The scoreboard at War Memorial Stadium was not working in the first half, so times of scores were not available for the first two quarters. The scoreboard did work in the second half, although the play clocks were not functional all night.
* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.
Lahainaluna81577–37
Maui High0006– 6
First Quarter
LL–James Lukela-Kobatake 2 pass from Lyrik Kahula (kick failed).
LL–Safety, Kahi Magno blocked punt out of end zone.
Second Quarter
LL–Magno recovered blocked punt in end zone (Kuola Watson run).
LL–Avery Baybayan 1 run (Joseph Arcangel kick).
Third Quarter
LL–Baybayan 5 pass from Kahula (Arcangel kick), 4:52.
Fourth Quarter
LL–Kaulana Tihada 9 run (Arcangel kick), 6:36.
MH–Braden Albrecht 25 pass from Nash Vida Ah Loo (kick failed), 2:12.
LLMH
First downs1520
Rushes-yards35-14522-(minus 24)
Passing yards10596
Total offense25072
Return yards9051
Comp-Att-Int10-17-112-17-0
Fumbles-lost3-03-1
Penalties-yards4-206-42
Punts-avg0-0.06-16.8
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–Lahainaluna, Kaulana Tihada 11-72, Ikaika Gonzales 1-30, Baybayan 5-19, Arcangel 2-10, Kyle Thomas 1-6, T.J. Borges 4-5, Hoken Hironaka 1-4, Noa Gordon 3-1, Kupono Tihada 1-0, Kua Bacalso 1-0, Lukela-Kobatake 1-0, Michael Rayray 2-0, Kahula 1-(minus 1), Talan Toshikiyo 1-(minus 1); Maui High, Piercen Cajical-Evans 9-19, Landon Vea-Butihi 1-6, Aizley Lakalaka 5-4, Jonaven Rodrigues 1-2, Charlie Peterson 1-0, Vida Ah Loo 1-(minus 2), team 4-(minus 53).
PASSING–Lahainaluna, Kahula 10-16-1–105, Gordon 0-1-0–0; Maui High, Vida Ah Loo 11-16-0–82, Rodney Vaka 1-1-0–14.
RECEIVING–Lahainaluna, Ikaika Cabrera 3-72, Lukela-Kobatake 2-11, Baybayan 2-8, Kamaehu Corpuz 1-13, Kuola Watson 1-1, Borges 1-0; Maui High, Charlie Peterson 5-35, Albrecht 4-56, Jonah Cariaga 2-4, Nathaniel Russell 1-1.
MISSED FIELD GOALS–none.
Junior varsity–Maui High 29, Lahainaluna 15.
*****
Friday’s Result
KING KEKAULIKE 45, BALDWIN 7
Baldwin0007– 7
King Kekaulike619146–45
First Quarter
KK–Jonah Rittmeister 71 punt return (kick failed), 9:38.
Second Quarter
KK–Kalelepono Wong 1 run (Soana Akinaka kick), 11:22.
KK–Ahe Sumibcay 51 run (kick failed), 7:14.
KK–Jordan Yoro 6 run (kick failed), 0:45.
Third Quarter
KK–Wong 45 run (Akinaka kick), 11:12.
KK–Kalani Puu 4 run (Akinaka kick), 2:50;
Fourth Quarter
B–Zion Lentz 1 run (Kilikopela Kamakeeaina kick), 4:50.
KK–Cason Brooke 2 run (kick failed), 0:36.
BKK
First downs1024
Rushes-yards25-4144-436
Passing yards547
Total offense95443
Return yards6079
Comp-Att-Int9-13-11-1-0
Fumbles-lost1-04-2
Penalties-yards5-2510-137
Punts-avg3-30.70-0.0
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–Baldwin, Gavin Acosta 11-48, Lentz 8-5, Josiah Nakihei 2-0, Kalaheo Kanae Oliveira 4-(minus 12); King Kekaulike, Yoro 10-110, Wong 11-107, Brooke 6-72, Ahe Sumibcay 3-70, Puu 9-63, Ikea Sumibcay 3-17, Keyz Amuro 1-5, team 1-(minus 8).
PASSING–Baldwin, Kanae Oliveira 9-13-1–54; King Kekaulike, Wong 1-1-0–7.
RECEIVING–Baldwin, Tylan Pontanilla-Balag 3-2, Cooper Watkins 2-48, Noah Ruess 2-4, Antone Sanches 2-0; King Kekaulike, Kingston Kapu 1-7.
MISSED FIELD GOALS–B, Kamakeeaina 30 (SH).
Junior varsity–Baldwin 35, King Kekaulike 20
*****
MIL STANDINGS
Note: Only in-division games count for state qualification; overall record in parenthesis
DIVISION I
WLPctPFPA
Lahainaluna (2-0)201.000796
Maui High (1-5)11.5003354
Baldwin (0-6)02.0001769
DIVISION II
WLPctPFPA
KS Maui (5-0)101.0003421
King Kekaulike (4-1)01.0002134
Friday’s Result
King Kekaulike 45, Baldwin 7
Saturday’s Result
Lahainaluna 37, Maui High 6
Friday, Oct. 13
Maui High vs. Baldwin at War Memorial Stadium, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 14
Lahainaluna vs. Kamehameha Maui at War Memorial Stadium, 7 p.m.
