The opening week of Hawaii’s high school football season is always front and center on the national stage.
Football season in the islands gets started on the second weekend of August, making it the earliest start date on the national high school football calendar. And that means all eyes are usually on the Kahuku Red Raiders and the Saint Louis Crusaders to see which of the state’s two powerhouses gets the early upper hand.
Last weekend, it was Saint Louis crashing Kahuku’s house party in the opener storming the North Shore and proving to be unruly guests in a 20-0 drubbing of their hosts. Before the party ended and the Crusaders decided they had experienced enough thrills for one evening, they had done quite a bit of damage in Kahuku’s backyard. The Red Raiders had a big schedule lined up with the No. 2 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, NV) Gaels scheduled to pay a visit later this season, and they also had a big California vacation planned to go see their friends in Santa Ana – the No. 1 Mater Dei Monarchs.
Win those two games, and Kahuku is in the national title hunt. But lose to Saint Louis in the opener in the islands, and the party is over before it even begins. That’s where the Red Raiders find themselves, and now the question is, can they pull themselves back together before those mighty Gorman Gaels storm into the islands on August 30.
Marauders whip Mighty Mules in 37-13 romp
WAIPAHU, Hawaii, Aug. 8 —Waipahu’s defense picked off four passes, and Tristan Pacheco ran for 110 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries to lead the Marauders past the Leilehua Mighty Mules on Friday, August 8.
Leilehua struck first when Bennett Strobel found Kyin Rivera-Galbraith on a 14-yard scoring toss. The PAT was blocked, and Waipahu then answered less than three minutes later on David Vidinha’s 40-yard pass to Titan Figueroa. Figueroa then added the 2-point conversion to put Waipahu up for good.
The game was a bit of an upset as Leilehua was ranked higher in most state rankings. The Mighty Mules also play in Hawaii’s top-level Open Division while Waipahu plays in Division I.
Both teams also got scoring contributions from their defenses. Waipahu’s Jhayean Baptista stole one of four passes that Strobel threw to the wrong team, taking it to the house for a 36-yard interception return. But it was Leilehua’s Willie Canyon that came up with the play of the night on a 100-yard interception return for the Mighty Mules on Vidinha’s only mistake of the night in the pivot for Waipahu.
MORE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL HEADLINES
The Sporting News High School Football Top 25
The Sporting News Roadmap to the National Championship
The Sporting News Preseason All-America Offense
The Sporting News Preseason All-America Defense
Warriors rule over Governors in Open Division clash
HONOLULU, Hawaii, Aug. 8 — Kamehameha Kapalama got the 2025 season started in fine fashion Friday, August 8, with a 41-21 victory over Farrington in a battle of Open Division members.
The Warriors got a strong performance from quarterback Mana Forges who threw for 191 yards and three touchdowns, connecting on 10 of his 16 attempts. It was enough to overcome a valiant effort by the Governors’ AJ Stowers who threw for 216 yards and one scoring strike.
Kamehameha raced out to a 31-7 first-half lead, forcing Farrington to take to the airways more than they probably wanted. He connected on 27 of 40 passes, but the focus on the passing game also led to four sacks. Stowers was credited with 10 rushing attempts for negative 29 yards which stymied the offense repeatedly. In all, Kamehameha registered 13 tackles for loss, and Farrington ended the game with just 47 rushing yards on 26 attempts (1.8 avg.)
Hurricanes rain on Buff n’ Blue’s parade in season opener
KAPOLEI, Hawaii, Aug. 9 — Zeph Salis went Category 5 all on his own for the Kapolei Hurricanes, rushing for 201 yards on just 10 carries while scoring three times to lead his squad to a 46-21 victory over the Punahou Buff n’ Blue.
Salis’s efforts combined with Jacob Ballesteros’s efficient performance at quarterback helped Kapolei rebound from a disastrous start in which they trailed 14-0 in the first quarter. Punahou built their lead on Hunter Fujikawa’s 4-yard touchdown run and a 23-yard interception return by Dane Kellner moments later.
The Hurricanes came roaring back to life shortly thereafter, scoring late in the first quarter on a 42-yard run by Salis. A 20-0 second quarter sealed the deal as the Hurricanes had all the points they would need leading 26-14 at the break.
Other Open Division scores
Campbell 50, Moanalua 22 (Moanalua is in Division I)
Mililani (BYE)
Open Division Standings
| ILH Open | LEAGUE | SEASON |
| Kamehameha Kapalama (Honolulu) Warriors | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Saint Louis (Honolulu) Crusaders | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Punahou (Honolulu) Buff n’ Blue | 0-0 | 0-1 |
| OIA Open | LEAGUE | SEASON |
| Campbell (Ewa Beach) Sabers | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Kapolei Hurricanes | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Mililani Trojans | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Farrington (Honolulu) Governors | 0-0 | 0-1 |
| Kahuku Red Raiders | 0-0 | 0-1 |
| Leilehua (Wahiawa) Mighty Mules | 0-0 | 0-1 |
Top performers
TSN HAWAII PLAYER OF THE WEEK TBD
Waianae: John Michael Kaio— 23-of-29, 309 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
Leilehua: Willie Canyon — 100-yard interception return for TD
Waipahu: Jhayean Baptista — 36-yard interception return for TD
PASSING
Iolani: CJ Villanueva — 21-of-31, 306 yards, 4 TD
RUSHING
Kapolei: Zeph Salis — 10-201, 3 TD
Radford: Afi Togafau — 27-188, 1 TD
RECEIVING
Nanakuli: Muaau, Malosi Muaau — 7-124 yards, 1 TD
Saint Louis: Kingston Siliado — 13-142, 1 TD
TOP RECRUITS
In the battle of two of the state’s top prospects at quarterback, Nainoa Lopes of Saint Louis out-dueled Kahuku’s Fuiava, completing 15-of-25 passes for 157 yards and a touchdowns. They weren’t huge numbers, but on a night when Matai Fuiava could only manage 17 yards on 4-of-16 passing with two interceptions, it made Lopes’s numbers seem that much bigger.
Lopes is currently committed to the Cal Golden Bears and was our pick for Most Valuable Player in our Preseason Hawaii All-State Team.
Lower divisions recap
Division I
The Kapa’a Warriors had a bye week, but they’ll take the field in defense of their 2024 HHSAA Division 1 championship Saturday, August 16, at the Farrington (Honolulu) Governors.
Division II
The Kamehameha Maui (Pukalani) Warriors got off to a rough start as the HHSAA’s defending Division II champions with a 33-17 loss to the Damien (Honolulu) Monarchs.
This Weekend
The Sporting News Hawaii Game of the Week
8/16: Kamehameha Kapalama at Kahuku
Week 2 Open Division Schedule
Friday, August 15
Campbell at Waipahu (Division I)
Saturday, August 16
Kailua (Division I) at Mililani
Kapa’a (Division I) at Farrington
Lahainaluna (Division I) at Kapolei
Punahou at Moanalua (Division I)
Byes
Leilehua, Saint Louis
MORE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL HEADLINES
SN’s preseason California All-State teams
The Sporting News High School Preseason All-American Offense
The Sporting News High School Preseason All-American Defense
The Sporting News 2025 National High School Football Top 25 (Preseason)
