Football
Kaimuki continues its island hop to Maui




From a rainy slope in Kea'au to the shadows of the West Maui Mountains, the Kaimuki High School football team continues on its island-hopping journey through the state tournament on Friday.

The Bulldogs (11-1) take on Lahainaluna (7-2) in a 7 p.m. First Hawaiian Bank/Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Division II State Championship semifinal at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku.

Kaimuki, the O'ahu Interscholastic Association White Conference champ, overcame steady rain and five turnovers (four fumbles and one interception) last Friday to hold off Kamehameha-Hawai'i, 14-9, just a few miles south of Hilo.

This Friday, the Bulldogs will face a Lunas team whose only two losses came against Maui Interscholastic League DI champ Baldwin. The scores were 27-20 on Sept. 17 and 14-0 on Oct. 29.

Lahainaluna, which is the No. 2 seed and had a first-round bye, features a stout defense that has held opponents to an average of 162.6 yards and just 10.2 points per game.

The Lunas' offense is engineered by senior quarterback TJ Rickard, who has thrown for 594 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 312 yards and two more TDs. He is supported by a stable of running backs led by Jostin Carbajal (490 yards, 8 TDs).

B.J. Pagdilao-Bala has added 285 yards and Jojo Hidalgo has contributed 200 yards and five touchdowns. Both are averaging 7.7 yards per carry.

Kaimuki, of course, has its own one-man wrecking crew in senior Chester Su'a. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound running back rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns last week on 22 carries. He now ranks fourth in the state with 1,319 yards on 201 carries (6.6 ypc), with a state-high 17 TDs.

Su'a, a hard-hitting linebacker who also made an interception last week, helps lead a defense that has allowed only 108.3 yards rushing per game.

The Bulldogs have won 11 straight games since losing its season opener at OIA Red Conference champion Mililani.




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