Kauai head coach Tommy Cox celebrates with Kanoa Iwasaki after defeating Iolani in the Division II semifinals. Jim LeBeau | Special to SL

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Kauai quarterback Kelson Andrade hands the ball off to running back Reggie McFadden. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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Kauai players 'video-bombing' an interview of head coach Tommy John Cox. Melissa Ing | SL

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When the Kauai head-coaching job was up for grabs earlier this year in May, now head coach Tommy John Cox was unsure if he wanted to put his application in. Now in the final week of the season, Cox and the rest of the Red Raiders find themselves playing in the grandest stage of them all.

The general Hawaii prep football fan may not know much about the team from the Garden Isle, but there are plenty of story lines that are untold. For starters, Cox's decision to apply for the head-coaching gig was delayed till the final day possible.  

"It opened up in May, and I ended up turning in my application the last day of the dead line," explained Cox.

A 1997 Kauai high school graduate who played offensive tackle and first base, an assistant to the coaching staff since 2008, and the junior varsity head coach for the past two years, it seemed like a shoo-in that Cox would be the head coach.

He wasn't, at first.

Despite his familiarity with the program, the original hire was to be an unnamed coach from the mainland. But that coach was unable to make the move over to Kauai and so in the meantime, Cox was entrusted with the program. In fact, the first-year head coach is actually coaching under the interim tag. Even though things could change for the Red Raider program next year, all they should worry about is right now.

"Not in my wildest dreams did I think we'd be playing for the state championship my first year," exclaimed Cox. "(We) was able to put together a good coaching staff (and) I give all the credit to those guys. We work well (together) and they stuck by me."

Proving doubters wrong

Playing in the three-team league of the Kauai Interscholastic Federation, Kauai teams don't get much love playing the same two teams three times a year. Regardless of how they are perceived, Cox and the rest of the Red Raiders enjoy proving doubters wrong.

"We like the underdog role," affirmed Cox. "It hypes the team up. We don't get as much respect and we use that as motivation. It's been like that all season long. We weren't supposed to win the KIF, everyone had us against Pearl City, and then everyone had us against Iolani."

But they did, and are now preparing for their third appearance in the state title game. They are coming off what could be their biggest win in school history; dethroning the six-time defending Division II champions Iolani, 28-7. However, there's still one more game to be played, and there can only be one team who finishes their season with a win.

"It was a huge win but that's done now," said Cox. "We got to move on and focus this week. It's a new week and we can't rest on any past victories."

The mantra of taking things one week at a time is one of the things that Cox has preached to his squad all year long. Even though the final game of the year almost demands a team to pull out all the stops, Kauai will stick to what has been working all year long.

"We're approaching it like every other game," said Cox on how they're preparing for this week's title bout. "I don't want to hype it up; it's my job to keep (the boys) calm and not overreact. We just (need) to play our style of the game. We got to (the state championship) playing our style of football and that's what we're going to do."

Championship matchup versus Kaiser

They will be taking on the Kaiser Cougars, champions of the Oahu Interscholastic Association White division. Hours after Kauai's win over Iolani, the Cougars took down top-seeded Lahainaluna, the Maui Interscholastic League champion, 20-9.

"They're big, they're physical, they're fast; they look like a solid football team," Cox said about there future matchup. "They're going to use their size and their strength, especially in their offense. Physically we're not at their level, but we're going to have to step it up a notch. They're aggressive and they make you make plays. They look good on all facets of the game; it's going to be a challenge."

Cox, and probably the rest of Division II, knows that there will be a tough task of defending Cougar running backs Fitou Fisiiahi and Thomas Buntenbah-Leong.

"I can't pick one because they're both dangerous," Cox said when asked who he's more worried for. "(Buntenbah-Leong) will get out and space and then he'll kill you while (Fisiiahi) is a big, strong runner that's going to take more than one person to bring him down."

Red Raiders' arsenal

One of the strengths that Kauai has relied on all year has been their offensive line. The six-men offensive line rotation averages over 240-lbs, with the smallest guy on the line being junior Shawn Apilado, a 165-lb junior who is an underrated pulling lineman. The youngest one of the unit is sophomore Nate Herbig, a 6-foot-3, 290-lb specimen that should start to get on some college's watch list. The most experienced of the groups is four-year starter Devan Ferreira, a 6-foot-5, 320-lb center that will also play guard and tackle at times. Prior to the season, Ferreira was getting looks from Pacific University, Boise State and the University of Hawaii. Saturday's contest should definitely get more schools to look at him.

"That kid he works extremely hard and he came a long way, both as a football player and as a leader," Cox said on Ferreira. "He holds the offensive line down and he takes charge; he's what makes us go right there."

The first round and semifinal rounds of the First Hawaiian Bank/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division II State Football Championships has seen guys like running back Reggie McFadden and quarterback Kelson Andrade lead the offense, but there are also other guys who make contributions. There is little to no drop off when running back Kyron Rapacon comes in for McFadden and slot receiver Kanoa Iwasaki was voted All-KIF offensive utility player of the year.  

Another strength of the team all year long has been the Red Raiders' defensive. Led by defensive coordinator Todd Tanaka, a Kamehameha-Kapalama graduate, the Red Raider defense has held opponents to an average of seven points per game.  

Middle linebacker James Bukoski's ten tackles and two interceptions performance against Pearl City earned him ScoringLive Male player of the week honors, giving the Red Raiders an established defender in the linebacker corps. Kelii Efhan is also an up and coming junior linebacker, having registered 12 tackles in the past two weeks.

Holding it down on the defensive line is Keanu Hanohano. He might be undersized at 5-foot-7, 175-lbs, but he has a relentless motor, always pushing and never giving up on the play.

Over in the secondary is the ball-hawking Kaiea Iwasaki. This senior safety recorded an interception in the 2012 KIF championship game, in the 2012 state tournament's first round loss to Radford, and also in the 2013 first round win over Pearl City. He would have extended his postseason interception streak to four had he held on to a surefire pick-six against Iolani.

"He's a safety and he's a big play guy," Cox said on his safety. "He has a couple returns for touchdowns this season; he just makes plays for us. He's not the biggest player for us but he plays big. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time."

Other playmakers on the team are receivers Tristan "Pono" Bukoski and Kalawaia Judd. Bukoski also is the kicker and plays some defense, having recorded two fumble recoveries and an interception against Iolani. Judd is more of an outside receiver, but also played some defense as a stand up pass rusher against Iolani, garnering two sacks, a batted ball at the line of scrimmage and a quarterback hurry.

Player to coach relationship

Regardless of the outcome on Saturday, there's no denying the relationship that Cox has with his players. Cox enjoyed watching the kids as they took a tour of the Ala Moana shopping center the night after the Iolani win.

"We're close, me and these kids are close," Cox said on his relationship with the team. "I don't know what it is, just a good bunch of kids this year. When we're off the football field, we don't want to talk about football. They just want to have fun and enjoy, it's just a close bond."

That close bond is probably one of the reasons why the Red Raiders are still undefeated heading into the final week of football. They may have squeezed out close wins over KIF rival Kapa'a, but have not faltered.

"To motivate the kids, it's a lot of different things," Cox said. "I just tell them to play every down like it's your last down cause you don't know what can happen. I don't like it when guys are taking plays off; all I ask of them is to play hard. I don't get on them for physical mistakes like dropping balls and fumbles."

"The only time I get on them is for effort.  Physical mistakes happen but when they don't give a lot of effort, I get on them. I think they understand that and they appreciate it. Other than that, I'm pretty laid back and just let them do their thing. I just want them to respect everybody and each other and that's what they do.

Kauai is 0-2 in the state title game, losing to King Kekaulike in 2006 and Iolani in 2009. They will look to buck that trend Saturday against Kaiser, who is in their first state tournament final since the conception of the state tourney.