Red Raiders Step Up To Fill In For Injured Teammates
By Jack Danilewicz
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This week, when Kahuku coach Reggie Torres isn’t reviewing a scouting report before Friday’s OIA playoff game, he will likely be looking at an injury report for his own team.
The Red Raiders, who closed out a perfect OIA East Red regular season Oct. 12 (with a 28-7 win over Moanalua) to earn a first-round bye, are hoping their two-week break from action will allow them to get healthier. Kahuku will host either Kailua or Kapolei at 7 p.m. Friday. Those teams were to meet over the weekend in a first-round matchup that was played after press time.
“For us, it’s a matter of healing up,” said Torres, whose team went 6-0 in the East Red and 6-2 overall.“The bye week was an awesome thing for us. From the game in Utah on, we had no breaks on our schedule. We’re going to use the time to heal and to get our conditioning up to par.”
Among the injured has been Patrick Au, who anchors the line from left tackle.Au had arthroscopic knee surgery Oct. 12, and Torres held out hope that he could be medically cleared to play in time for this weekend. Kahuku’s offensive line recently received a boost with the return of Daniel Kinikini, but conditioning is a concern, according to Torres, who wants to ensure that all players are back in “game shape.”
“If we don’t have him back by Tuesday, we probably would not play him anyway,“Torres said of Au. “We think we still have a good line without him, but it minimizes what we can do.”
With that in mind, the team will likely call on an old ally - depth - to compensate for the injuries. Kahuku has had several players step up in a big way when given the chance, especially in the backfield, where senior running back Junior Mataafa has also been slowed for the last month by an ankle injury. In his absence, Kaliki Unga and St. John Lessary have received more carries, earning praise from their coach. They combined for 117 yards on 15 carries in Kahuku’s finale.
“In the process, we were able to find two more running backs. They’re not that big, but they both hit the hole quick, they have great vision, and they are not afraid to run inside. They’re both guys that keep moving their legs.”
Kahuku’s running game figures to be a focus again this postseason. The team is averaging 236.4 yards a game on the ground behind a line that has Anthony Siilata, Jordan Bridges and Samiu Tonga in addition to Kinikini and Au. Although they average less than 50 yards a game through the air, Torres is confident in their passing game and in first-year quarterback Jray Galeai, who has scored nine rushing touchdowns.
“He’s starting to really understand our offense,” Torres said. “We’ve given him the freedom to change the play when he needs to, and he made some key changes in the Moanalua game. The better he gets at that, the better we will be.”
Defensively, Kahuku has maintained a “bend-but-don’t-break” mentality. But while they’ve conceded yardage at times, they’re allowing a league-best 11 points per game and have given up only one score each in their last three games (Farrington, Castle and Moanalua).
Strong safety Shiloah Teo, nose guard Lala Ellsworth and line-backers Reid Tachibana and Paipai Falemalu lead the unit.
“We had some young kids at key positions (at the beginning), but they’re coming along now.
“We’re peaking right now, which is a good sign. I’m excited for them. Overall, our kids have been coming out a little more fired up and with a little more intensity.We had some issues recently, but we’ve dealt with it and moved on, and the kids are getting closer as a team.
“The key to the playoffs is taking it one game at a time. The season lasts as long as you win. Every game has to be played as if it’s a championship game. Every team we play is excited to play us, so we have to come out with the same tenacity as the people we play.”
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