Kamehameha's defense has allowed just three points through three games this season. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Nick Endo | Special to SL

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Saint Louis might be the best team in Division I in putting points on the board at nearly a 50 point per game clip, but it is the Warriors of Kapalama who are tops at keeping points OFF the board. Heading into the fourth week of the 2013 prep football season, Kamehameha has only given up a meager three points and no touchdowns.

"I feel happy for the boys, because all their hard work is paying off," said Kamehameha defensive coordinator Byron Beatty after the Warriors shut-out win over Kealekehe. "They bought into the system real early."

Kamehameha features a swarming, gang-tackling defense that just does not quit. Because there are multiple defenders making the play, there are numerous opportunities at stripping the ball away.

"They're playing fast," exclaims Beatty. "We try to get them aggressive, get them going downfield. They're hitting the gaps where they're supposed to hit (them). We try to get eleven guys to the ball. Most of the times when we watch film we get it; we have nine or ten guys close to the ball and the eleventh guy (is) coming in."

Only giving up three points all season so far has to mean that the Warriors' red zone defense is top notch. However, there is nothing exotically different that they do defensively in the red zone; Beatty says they just run their base defense.

That defense was put to the test against Kealakehe when a pass interference call gave the Waveriders 1st and 10 at the Kamehameha 14 yard line. Kealakehe was unable to convert in three plays and ultimately had their field goal attempt blocked.

"We just keep playing," said Beatty. "Doesn't matter if we're in the middle of the field or (that) we got our backs to the wall, just keep playing. Forget (what happened) on the last play and focus on the next one. Good things going to happen if you just keep playing hard."

In their 34-0 win over the Waveriders, the Warriors were frequent visitors in the opposing team's backfield accumulating 16 TFLs and six sacks.

"We're going to keep attacking no matter where we're at on the field" said Beatty. "We're kind of blitz heavy team; we kind of bring it from all angles. "

Another thing that makes the Kamehameha defense so great is the amount of depth they have. Against the Waveriders, multiple players were substituting and getting some run while the game was still young. This heavily benefits the defensive starters because they can take a breather when they need to and be fresh when they come back on the field.

"We coach the ones the same way we coach the threes, so that helps with the depth," explains Beatty. "Mentally when we roll guys in, there's not much of a (drop-off)."

Leading the charge on defense is defensive end Mika Tafua. The six-foot-three, 220-lb junior racked up six tackles, five for loss, and a fumble recovery in two and a half quarters of play against Kealakehe.

"We just work together as a team, trusting each other," said Tafua. "As a D-line, we trust the inside guys to force the play to the outside so that we can get some plays, and they trust us to make plays on the outside so that they can get some plays. "

Other defensive standouts for the Warriors are linebacker Chad Souza and corner back Dylan Kane. Souza had five tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble while Kane had three tackles, a blocked field goal, and a fumble recovery.

Kamehameha will face their first real test of the season this Friday against Saint Louis at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium. It is a battle that most people see as the best offense and defense in the state duking it out.

"That's a big challenge," said Beatty on their impending bout with the Saint Louis offense. "I've been looking at film on them over the last week. We just got to get our assignments right, got to clean some stuff up and we'll be ok. We'll just keep playing hard (and) getting to where we're supposed to be in our blitzes and our drops, (and) we'll be fine."

While it is highly unlikely that Kamehameha will prevent St. Louis from scoring any touchdowns, it is also equally unlikely that Saint Louis will hang 50 points.

Let's leave it at that. Friday can't come any sooner.