Top Performers
Freshman Kauka playing beyond his years for Kohala; Saenz scoring in bunches for Kahuku




Layden Kauka

Kohala basketball  •   #4  G  Freshman

Layden Kauka isn't your average freshman and he's proving that with his play this season for the Kohala boys basketball team. 

Kauka, a 6-foot point guard, does a little bit of everything for the Cowboys. 

"He's really mature for a freshman," Kohala coach Kihei Kapeliela said. "He's smart, he has good vision; He has, pretty much, the total package. There's still some youth in there, of course. He's gonna make some inexperienced mistakes, but the majority of the time, he still surprises me with the things he can do the things he sees."

The proof is in the pudding. Take, for example, Kauka's line from the Cowboys' pair of wins over Honokaa and Hilo last week. He recorded a double-double in Wednesday's 70-52 victory over the Dragons with 22 points and 10 rebounds, to go along with seven steals, five assists and two blocks. Kauka turned the ball over twice, but did not commit a single foul. 

"He scores for us, but he's always asking how many rebounds he got, not about the points. He's got super quick hands that he deflects so many passes and the ball just sticks to his hands, but he's huge; He just controls the game," Kapeliela said.

Although Kohala led 20-6 after the first quarter, Honokaa was able to pull even early in the second half following a big second quarter. 

"We started settling for 3s — we got 3 for 19 on 3-pointers in the first half — and in the second quarter we got away from our defensive approach and Honokaa caught up. After they tied the game in the beginning of the third quarter, I called timeout and told them what got us the big lead in the first quarter was our defense, not out shooting," Kapeliela said. 

Kauka and the Cowboys took his words to heart and hunkered down on the defensive end. 

"By the end of the third quarter we were up 20 with just steals and layups. What impressed me was how (Kauka) can just adjust to, ‘OK, let's go. We gotta turn it up on defense and we call him little because he's so skinny, but he's diving on the ground, making steals and just doing things. People are impressed when they find out that he's just a freshman," Kapeliela said. 

The game between the rival schools drew a capacity crowd of about 400 fans to Kohala's gym. 

"The gym was crazy, it was jam-packed. We got a lot of food and drinks in our concession and we were sold out by the varsity game," Kapeliela described. "Honokaa was prepared that game and it was a battle. We're so similar that anything can happen because we play the same style, so if our shots not falling, or we get in foul trouble, it could be a different story, but we'll probably meet up with them again."

Kauka and the Cowboys followed up the Honokaa win with a 56-43 decision over Division-I Hilo Friday night. The host-Vikings owned a slim 11-10 lead after the first quarter, but this time around it was the Cowboys who dominated the second quarter and outscored their opponents 22-11 in the stanza. Kauka finished a rebound shy of a second straight double-double with 15 points, nine boards, as well as six steals and three assists. Again, he completed the game without being called for a foul. 

"He's got great footwork that helps him on the defensive end, he can also pass as good with his left hand as he can with his right hand and he's just not afraid of the big moment; He wants to take the last shot and even though he's just a freshman, everybody looks to him as a leader and he leads by example," Kapeliela said. 

Despite it being his first season on the team, Kauka was selected as one of two co-captains. His years of experience training under the guidance of his father, Lawrence — himself an all-BIIF standout in the late 80s — has certainly sped up Kauka's maturation process. 

It was no different with Kauka's two older siblings: Laakea, a 2022 Kohala graduate, and Landon, a junior guard for the Cowboys. 

"The dad puts in a lot of work with them. They train year-round and he takes them all over the place. Layden's been to camps in Northern California and North Carolina, so he's not afraid of the spotlight, he's not afraid of playing in front of big crowds," Kapeliela said. "It's nothing to him."

Landon Kauka had 20 points, three rebounds and two assists against Honokaa and 11 points, five boards and a steal against Hilo last week. 

Kapeliela gave a tip of his cap to Landon for not letting his ego get in the way of the team. 

"The have so much chemistry, but the thing I respect about Landon a lot is he knows Layden is the better player because they've been playing together for so long and he doesn't mind taking the back seat and he just does what we ask of him and the chemistry, you can see it on the court," Kapeliela said. 

To be sure, Layden Kauka has drawn the respect of his teammates in his little time on the team. 

"When we need a shot, we know we can depend on him to make the right play, whether it's making the shot, or setting somebody up, or defending a shot, or getting a rebound — I can depend on him to do it," Kapeliela said. "The seniors see him doing this stuff and he holds the seniors accountable and the respect that the seniors give him, they know he's the captain and it doesn't matter that he's a freshman. When you've got a leader like that, who's leading by example, it doesn't matter that he's a freshman because he's easy to follow."

Kauka had 15 points, two rebounds, three assists and two steals in a 53-25 win over Keaau Monday night. 

Kohala has won its last five games since a 66-59 loss at Kau to open the BIIF season back on Sept. 17. The team played without several starters due to a violation of team rules. 

"That first game of the season got them back on track and woke them up because we had just played a good preseason tournament on Kauai, but we gotta know that we're going to get everybody's A-game and so we cannot look past anybody. That game kinda woke them up and got them refocused, so they're hungry now," Kapeliela said. 

The Cowboys (5-1) will try to extend their winning streak to six games when they visit Waiakea Wednesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. 


BOYS BASKETBALL

Nicholas Cabreros, Waiakea — Scored 19 points in a loss to Saint Louis

Noa Donnelly, Kailua — Scored 21 points with 11 rebounds in a win over Moanalua 

Timothy Dorn, Mililani — Scored 21 points in a win over Waialua 

David Edwards, Kapolei — Scored 24 points in a win over Pearl City 

Rico Figueroa, Aiea — Scored 24 points in a win over Nanakuli 

Hayden Hannemann, Saint Louis II — Scored 17 points in a loss to Punahou and scored 18 points in a win over Punahou II 

Seth Harman, Kaiser — Scored 24 points in a win over Castle and scored 20 points in a win over Farrington 

Jaydon Hook, Kohala — Scored 21 points with 11 rebounds in a win over Hilo 

Kawohi Huihui, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Scored 24 points in a win over Hawaii Baptist and scored 16 points in a win over Sandview 

Akila Indalecio, Iolani — Scored 23 points in a win over Faith Lutheran

Keenan Kahoekapu, Castle — Scored 20 points in a loss to Kaiser and scored 15 points in a loss to Roosevelt 

Kache Kaio, Kahuku — Scored 18 points with seven rebounds in a win over Moanalua 

Keaka Kauhane, Kapaa — Scored 34 points in a win over Kauai 

Landon Kauka, Kohala — Scored 20 points in a win over Honokaa

Dragon Kekahuna, Nanakuli — Scored 33 points in a loss to Aiea 

Casey Lyons, Iolani — Scored 16 points in a win over Faith Lutheran, scored 16 points in a loss to Cathedral and scored 21 points in a win over Sandview 

Leo McKuin, Seabury Hall — Scored 20 points in a win over Maui Prep 

Zelston Militante, Leilehua — Scored 22 points in a win over Waialua 

Pupualii Sepulona, Saint Louis — Scored 18 points in a win over Waiakea, scored 24 points in a win over Bellevue, scored 24 points in a win over Cathedral and scored 24 points with 12 rebounds in a loss to Oakwood 

Eli Shibuya, Hawaii Baptist — Scored 22 points in a loss to Kamehameha-Hawaii, scored 16 points in a loss to Saint Louis II 

Jarek Yee, Mid-Pacific — Scored 21 points in a win over Hawaii Baptist 

James Zara, Waialua — Scored 32 points in a loss to Leilehua 


BOYS SOCCER

Leo Davies, Kaiser — Scored six goals in a win over Farrington 

Elijah Dinkel, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Scored three goals in a win over Kealakehe 

Lourenco Erhan, McKinley — Scored two goals and assisted on another in a win over Kaimuki 

Andre Estaniqui, Mililani — Scored two goals in a win over Aiea 

Luke Fujioka-Silva, McKinley — Scored four goals in a win over Kaimuki 

Davidson Kathman, Kalaheo — Scored three goals in a win over Castle 

Kaz Kinoshita, Baldwin — Scored the lone goal in a win over Kamehameha-Maui 

Maximo Melgar Martich, Kekaulike — Scored two goals in a win over Seabury Hall

Connor Reece, Kailua — Scored two goals in a win over Moanalua 

Duke Romanchak, Seabury Hall — Scored two goals in a loss to Kekaulike 




Naomi Saenz

Kahuku soccer  •   #15  MID/FWD  Junior

The Kahuku girls soccer team is having itself a season to remember this winter and the play of Naomi Saenz is one of the reasons for that success. 

Saenz, a 5-foot-2 junior forward, has scored a team-leading seven goals for the Red Raiders (7-2), who have won their last four matches and sit in second place in the Division I East standings of the Oahu Interscholastic Association heading into the final week of the regular season. 

"Just as anyone on the team, they all provide importance toward the success of our team," Kahuku coach Stephanie Galletes said. 

As a sophomore and first-year starter last year, Saenz netted two goals and helped the Red Raiders put together a 6-3-1 record. 

"From last year, she's built up her confidence," Galletes said of Saenz. "She's more comfortable on the pitch and I think that's just because she was one of the young ones on the team last year."

It wasn't the smoothest of starters, however, for Kahuku this year. 

The Red Raiders were on the wrong side of a 2-1 loss at Castle on Nov. 26 to open league play. They got back on track with a 3-2 win over Kalaheo on Dec. 3 that was sandwiched between a couple of wins-by-forfeit. Consequently, Big Red only played two matches worth of minutes before a 3-0 loss to Kaiser on Dec. 10 — the last time they tasted defeat. 

The difference since then can be linked to the camaraderie that Galletes's team has built together on the pitch. 

"Just them being confident in themselves and trusting one another on the field," she said. "A lot of them were unfamiliar in their positions, so just working on the weeks as far as what their position entails and knowing their coverage area and just being more confident in the position — and trusting each other on the field and that's from a lot of group play and just building their relationships with each other."

Saenz scored her first goal of the season in the win over Kalaheo. She did not score again until the middle of December, when she netted a hat trick to account for half of the Red Raiders' goals in a 6-0 win over Farrington. 

"A lot of it she gets around the backline because she's really good with the ball at her feet, doing tricks, so she can get through multiple players and then she'll have the breakaway and finish," Galletes said. 

Saenz found the back of the net again four days later in a 4-2 Kahuku win over Roosevelt. Last week, she scored two more goals to help the Red Raiders hold off Kalani, 4-2. 

"It was a back-and-forth kind of game. We went up one-zero, then they tied it one-one, then we went up two-one, but they tied it at two-two," Galletes recalled. 

The score was tied at 2 at halftime with Saenz accounting for both goals. 

"She's having a great and successful season. She's been finishing a lot for us and she's been able to help our team be more confident on the pitch and be a lot more successful," Galletes said. 

Saenz, who is also a competitive surfer, has benefitted from being able to keep her composure to complete scoring opportunities. 

"She's an all-around player. She comes to us with a lot of soccer background and from a family of soccer athletes," Galletes said. "She's a very confident person, she has great footwork, she's very creative with the ball and she's very calm and composed in high-pressure situations and getting behind the defenders on the backline and finishing for us."

Kahuku went on to get second-half goals from MacKenzie Pagador and Ani Hippolite after the intermission to fend off the Falcons. 

The Red Raiders' 21 championship points puts them one point behind first-place Moanalua (7-0-1) atop the OIA D1 East standings with one game to play. Saenz, who is in the top 10 of leading goal scorers in the OIA, deserves a good amount of credit for the team success, Galletes shared. 

"She builds the team's confidence and team morale. She gives them the belief that they can achieve all things through teamwork and that they can be successful on the field and off the field, but it takes a lot of hard work and dedication and commitment," Galletes said. 

Galletes believes that Saenz's years of competitive experience between soccer and surfing has helped the junior thrive in adverse situations. 

"As far as her fitness, I think if you always have a second sport or activity, it keeps you in shape and surfing — we don't realize it — but there's a lot endurance involved and being in condition and so that helps with soccer, but she's also very strong minded and confident in herself," she expressed. "She's very focused and she's very knowledgeablein both sides and I think just her years of experience carries over the discipline that you need in anything that you do."

Off the pitch, however — and out of the water, for that matter — Saenz is hardly the competitor that she is in the athletic arena. 

"Naomi is quiet around us coaches, but when we do see her with her friends and stuff, she's very kind," Galletes said. "She's always willing to help, she's friendly, but for the most part, she's very soft spoken around us. When she has a question or concern or issue, she does address it, but she's a very sweet, friendly and helpful girl."

Saenz and the Red Raiders wrap up the regular season Saturday at Moanalua. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The top two teams from both the Eastern and Western Divisions earn a first-round bye in the 12-team OIA Division I tournament later this month. 


GIRLS BASKETBALL

Kalena Akinaka, Kekaulike — Scored 25 points in a loss to Lahainaluna and scored 33 points in a loss to Baldwin 

Anniversary Filisi, Leilehua — Scored 17 points in a win over Waipahu 

Myah Galdeira, Kailua — Scored 15 points in a win over Kaimuki 

Aubree Gonzales, Baldwin — Scored 29 points, including five 3-pointers, in a win over Kekaulike 

Amelia Heimuli, Waipahu — Scored 15 points with 12 rebounds in a loss to Radford 

Brooke Kurasaki, Mililani — Scored 19 points in a win over Waialua 

Talo Mafatini, Baldwin — Scored 15 points in a win over Kekaulike 

Mai Mattos, Radford — Scored 16 points in a win over Aiea and scored 26 points with seven rebounds, seven assists and four steals in a win over Waipahu

Casey McKinney, Radford — Scored 17 points in a win over Aiea 

Ledjan Pahukoa, Lahainaluna — Scored 26 points, including five 3-pointers, in a win over Kekaulike 

Leila Paraoan, Kapolei — Scored 17 points in a win over Waianae 

Lyndee Sabas, Maui — Scored 16 points in a win over Baldwin 

Jirah Villanueva, Radford — Scored 18 points in a win over Aiea and scored 24 points in a win over Waipahu 


GIRLS SOCCER

Bella Ayau, Kamehameha-Maui — Scored two goals in a win over Baldwin 

Elizabeth Bautista, Maui — Scored two goals in a win over Lahainaluna 

Jaeda Edayan, Mililani — Scored two goals in a win over Aiea

Taylor Hanson, Kapolei — Scored three goals in a win over Waialua

Faith Hines, Kapolei — Scored three goals in a win over Waialua 

Emma Rose Parker, Kaiser — Scored two goals in a win over Farrington

Brooke Perreira, Kaiser — Scored two goals in a win over Farrington 

Sophia Wilson, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Scored two goals in a win over Kealakehe 



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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