Red Raiders Dominate In Football, Volleyball In 2012 Sports
From the gridiron to the hardwood, from the diamond to the track, 2012 will be remembered as an extraordinary year for Windward’s high school sports teams.
Led by state titles won by both Kahuku in football and Kalaheo in basketball, the Windward side once again boasted some of the state’s top teams and players. The real winner in the mix may have been the fans who were treated to a year of first-rate entertainment. With that, we close the final chapter of the 2012 prep sports season.
A summation of some of the memorable moments involving Windward teams follows.
Kahuku wins second straight state football title Kahuku running back Aofaga Wily rushed for 188 yards and three touch-downs to lead the team to a resounding 42-20 win over Punahou in the Division I state football championship game Nov. 24 at Aloha Stadium. Wily scored twice in the fourth quarter as the Red Raiders pulled away from the Buffanblu in the rematch of last year’s final of the state championship and captured the program’s second straight state title and seventh overall. The win also completed an unbeaten season for Kahuku (12-0), which had won the OIA title a week before.
A crowd of 17,820 saw the state title game, and with the win, the Kahuku senior leaves the program having been a part of three state titles. In fact, the Red Raiders might have won a fourth title in as many years if an eligibility issue hadn’t caused Kahuku to miss the 2010 playoffs.
Not surprisingly, Kahuku swept top honors in the OIA Red East at season’s end. Wily was named the Offensive Player of the Year, safety Kawehena Johnson was Defensive Player of the Year, and Reggie Torres claimed Coach of the Year honors.
Kalaheo boys basketball team wins DII state title
The Kalaheo boys basketball team put the finishing touches on an extraordinary season Feb. 25 at Blaisdell Arena, defeating McKinley 57-42 to win the HHSAA Division II boys basketball championship. It marked the fourth state title for Kalaheo and its first in Division II. The Mustangs’ other titles were in 1985, 1995 and 2001, the last when coach Alika Smith was an assistant under his father Pete, who passed away in 2006. The pair became the first father-son duo to coach boys basketball teams to respective state titles.
As throughout the year, balance paved the way for Kalaheo, led by Josh Ko’s game-high 16 points, including its only two three-pointers. Nainoa Frank added 13 points, three blocks and two steals; Derick Morgan had 11 points and four assists, and Shem Sukumaran nine for the Mustangs, who made 17 of 31 (54.8 percent) field goal attempts and 21 of 28 (75 percent) free throws for the game. Kalaheo, which had also claimed the OIA title a week earlier, finished 30-6 overall for the season.
Kahuku volleyball team wins OIA Red title
Adora Anae posted a double-double with 15 kills and 11 digs, and setter Penina Snuka had 24 assists, eight digs and five kills as Kahuku completed a sweep of Mililani (25-18, 25-23, 25-19) in the championship round of the OIA Tournament Oct. 25 at McKinley High.
The Red Raiders finished 16-2 overall under first-year head coach Camilla Ah Hoy and went on to finish third at the Division I state tournament a week later. Kahuku’s only two losses of the season came in the regular season to OIA DII champion Farrington and to Kamehameha in the semifinals of the state tourney.
The Red Raiders had lost to Mililani in the OIA finals a year earlier, but won all three matches against the Trojans in 2012.
Castle’s Lynch named Co-Player of the Year in volleyball Castle’s Verna Ku’ulei Lynch capped off a stellar prep career by being chosen as the OIA Red Eastern Division Co-Player of the Year (along with Trinity Alualu of Farrington) for her efforts this past fall. Lynch, who is an outside hitter, was one of the catalysts for a Knights team that went 13-6 overall en route to earning a berth in the DI state tournament. Castle libero Brandy Smith also was named a First Team All-Star.
Kailua DII volleyball runner-up in OIA The Kailua girls volleyball team won four games in a five-game stretch to advance to the championship of the Division II OIA Tournament. Although the Surfriders were defeated by Farrington in the finale (25-11, 25-22, 26-24), they already were assured of a berth in the DII state tournament. Led by Second Team All-Conference picks Shaeanijanee Naihe and Keala Kaio-Perez, Kailua finished its 2012 season at 9-9.
Kalaheo boys, Kailua girls win OIA paddling titles The Kailua community was at center stage for the OIA championships with both Kalaheo and Kailua locked into tight races in all three divisions. The Kalaheo boys completed a sweep of their OIA season under head coach Julian
