ScoringLive photo illustration

Purchase image 1 of 1

Football fans will get to see the longest-running rivalry in Hawaii prep football history this weekend when Kauai takes on Waimea in a Kauai Interscholastic Federation showdown Friday night.

Both the Red Raiders (0-3 overall, 0-1 KIF) and Menehunes (1-2, 0-1 KIF) are looking to bounce back from a league-opening shutout loss to Kapaa, the top-ranked team in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Division II Power Rankings.

The two teams will be playing in their 227th meeting with each other since 1935. Waimea leads the series 126-93-7.

We caught up with the coaches of both teams a few days before their clash at Vidinha Stadium.

ScoringLive: Describe your team's current situation in one word.
Derek Borrero, Kauai coach: "Growing pains. That's the best way I can define what our team is going through we're a young team filled with juniors and sophomores, we've only got about 16 seniors, and w'ere a program that is growing slowly with a new system. We played some really good teams the last three games starting off with Saint Francis, they were excellent. We had a good battle with KS-Hawaii, and then of course there's Kapaa. We had a ton of mistakes during that game, but we had two weeks off and we've been preparing for Waimea. You're looking at two programs that are up and coming I think, so we're a team that's going through some growing pains."
Jason Caldeira, Waimea coach: "Growing. They are growing together as students, teammates and young men. Each day there's a lesson to grow and get better at whether it's on or off the field, so they're continuing to grow in all areas of life."

ScoringLive: What did you learn from your team's first game of the KIF season?
Borrero: "What I've learn is we have a whole lot of potential on the team, we have a lot of talent. What we saw is that we can't be predominantly a running team. We were hoping to be more of a triple-option team at the start of the year. When we saw running the ball is difficult against Kapaa, we saw that we have to pass it more. Our line protected our quarterback and our receivers caught the ball and we were able to move the chains. We couldn't get into the end zone, but we saw he had some success through the air."
Caldeira: "We have to eliminate mental errors to compete for a KIF championship. What I mean is things like alignment and assignments on defense, and our effort and our focus in running the correct traps on offense. A positive was my team played hard. Even with all the mental errors, they played hard and they kept fighting. They basically stood up to Kapaa, they didn't back down."

ScoringLive: How close is your team to playing to its potential?
Borrero: "I think we're very close. I think our mindset and the belief is that we're getting stronger and stronger. The boys are getting closer and closer to winning a ball game. Just by what I see in practice, in meetings and what they're doing in the classroom, it's giving me a real positive feedback. I've been coaching this game for 16 years and when I see things like that, I can see the potential in these boys. Even though the wins don't show that, I can still see it in the kids in what they're doing and moving in the right direction."
Caldeira: "They're almost there. It's taking us longer than we want but they're definitely better than a year ago. We just have to get focused and used to playing in big games. We prepare really well, but it's just when the lights come on something has to click. It's when they start believing in themselves like how we believe in them, we're going to reach that potential."

ScoringLive: Which player of position group has been a pleasant surprise for your squad?
Borrero: "Our quarterback Christian Manera. He's a guy that we brought up as a sophomore last year to take care of the quarterback position in the beginning of the season. He can play other positions, but we invested a year in the young man and moved him up from junior varsity so we switched him back to our full-time quarterback. He makes good decisions out there and reads the coverages well."
Caldeira: "Offensively, I would have to say running back Avery Miguel. He is hitting the holes fast and running the ball hard. He is a down hill runner, no dancing in the holes, and is getting us positive yards. On defense, I would say cornerback Ranson Passion. He is our most consistent player and is always hustling and knows all of his assignments. He is having a good season so far."

ScoringLive: What's your take on this week's opponent?
Borrero: "We're two similar teams. They're also a program that went deep into their junior varsity program last year and pulled up a lot of young guys to build their varsity team, we did the same thing last year. I know Waimea was able to win one of their preseason games, but we're both two teams hungry for wins. Waimea is well coached by Jason Caldeira and they played very inspired football against Kapaa. We cannot let our guard down against Waimea."
Caldeira: "They are hungry for a victory. The have good coaches, a veteran staff, and they have really good team speed. They are going to be coming out firing."

ScoringLive: How does your team win Friday's game?
Borrero: "I think our team can come out with the ‘W' by not shooting ourselves in our foot. We give away points, that's been our problem last year and in our last couple of games. If can play clean football, if we can stick to our assignments and stay on track, stay focus, we'll be alright. If we start making unnecessary mistakes on the field and lose our focus then it's going to be a long night. In order for us to win we have to play good football."
Caldeira: "I think by performing to our potential. The boys put in hard work during the week, they put in the extra time, they have to go in and cash their check on game day. We just have to perform and have a clear mind, be focused on the task on hand. We cannot just, and I'm going to sound like a broken record, but we cannot let mental errors get the best of us and get us out of character. We give the game away like that. We work so hard for nothing if we're just going to get out of character and give the other team more opportunities. We just have to make it harder for us and be the young men that I know they can be."

Kickoff between the Red Raiders and Menehunes is slated for 7:30 p.m.