Ranked No. 5 in the SL/OC16 Division I Power Rankings since week four of the regular season, Kahuku displayed yet another impeccable gridiron performance on Friday night.

The Red Raiders used a balanced attack to defeat Kailua, 49-17, under the bright lights of Kailua Stadium in an O'ahu Interscholastic Association Red East contest. The win put Kahuku at 5-0 in league play and 5-2 overall.

"We want the number one seed in the playoffs, but the record is one thing. We still have to play another game next week," said Kahuku head coach Reggie Torres.

Hiapo McCandless set the tone for his team early. Although listed in the official roster as a linebacker, McCandless scored at the tailback position on a 10-yard run for the first points of the game. Kahuku led 21-0 by the end of the first quarter, in what was arguably their most impressive first half performance this season.

"They started off strong, and despite not giving up, it was hard for us to bounce back," said Kailua receiver Kamuela Scheer.

Kahuku was lead by the performance of quarterback Tuli Wily-Matagi, who had a 250-yard performance last week. He aided heavily in Kahuku's victory on Friday. The standout junior was 7/17 with 155 yards and three TDs. His touchdown throws were for (in order) 24, 50 and 24 yards. He also had one rushing touchdown for 11 yards.

"It’s not just me, the whole team played well," said Wily-Matagi. "The o-line did a good job today. They gave me a lot of time in play-action passes."

Despite forcing seven sacks, three fumbles and one interception on Friday, Kahuku head coach Reggie Torres insists that there are still areas of improvement in his defense.

"The defense is coming around. They are getting better every week." said Torres. "But we still have to be complete. We had some penalties in the end some misalignments, but we will get that fixed."

Since losing to East High School (Utah) in late August, Kahuku has been a wreaking-machine, winning 4 straight league games by double-digits.

"We have a lot of confidence and our team is playing together," said Wily-Matagi. "Our coaches talk to us about getting back on track to where we are supposed to be. We practiced all of the small things. We aren’t a fancy offense, but we capitalize on the plays that our coaches call. We capitalize on the small stuff."

Kailua attempted to shift the momentum in their favor when sophomore quarterback Noah Auld ran in a 6-yard touchdown with just under 3:00 left in the second quarter. A few plays later, Kailua's Kamuela Scheer intercepted Wily-Matagi's pass, but the reigning back-to-back OIA and HHSAA champions held their ground and led at the half, 35-7. The dominance continued throughout the remainder of the game.

"We thought we could take them - we really did," Auld said. "We practiced hard to prepare for them all week. They proved that they are the best."

Despite walking away from tonight's contest 2-5 overall, Kailua head coach Gary Rosolowich remained optimistic as he looks toward the remainder of the season.

"We are a very young squad. We played as if the score was 0-0 the whole game, and I’m proud of them for that. We just made mistakes and they were able to take advantage of them," said Rosolowich. "Kahuku is a great team."

Kailua's next game against McKinley will display a more polished Surfrider bunch, Rosolowich hopes.

"We have to be able to tackle better. We have to work on things that get them out of the end zone. The next game is a big game for us. It is going to put us where we are in the playoffs," he said.

The Red Raiders' take on No. 10 Farrington next, in a game that contains the recipe for an entertaining battle.

"We have to beat Farrington if we want to win the east and get the top seed," said coach Torres.

Both games are set to take place this Thursday at the Aloha Stadium.