Elvis Vakapuna looks for some running room against Waianae. Vakapuna scored two rushing TDs in the Red Raiders' win. Sylvia Lee | SL

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Sat, Oct 22, 2016 @ Aloha Stadium [ 5:00 pm ]

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Waianae

0

Kahuku

38

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Waianae (9-5-0)	0	0	0	0	0
Kahuku (11-2-0)	21	17	0	0	38

• Pass
• Rush
• Rec

Sol-Jay Maiava 64 yd

Jorell Pontes-Borje 30 yd

Elvis Vakapuna 92 yd 2 TD

Rico Rosario 46 yd

Pua Falemalu 39 yd

Skyler Kaleiohi 16 yd

Top-ranked Kahuku maintained its postseason form with a dominating 38-0 win against No. 5 Waianae Saturday to advance to the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I championship for the second season in a row.

The Red Raiders (9-1) will play Farrington in Friday's title game at Aloha Stadium. This will be the fourth time both teams will play for the OIA title. Kahuku won in 1994, 2008 and 2011.

Kahuku will be making its record 26^th appearance in the OIA title game. It is 18-7 and it will be looking for its 25^th overall league crown dating to the pre-OIA championship era (1940 to 1969). Farrington will be seeking its first crown since 1990.

The Seariders (8-3), who lost to host Kahuku 28-0 in the regular season, will play for third place next Saturday at Mililani. The four semifinalists have already qualified berths to the new Open state tournament.

As with most of its games, Kahuku dominated on both sides of the ball in Saturday's semifinal at Aloha Stadium. The Red Raiders did most of their damage in the first half in taking a 38-0 lead and setting the 35-point differential running clock in the second half.

It was Kahuku's sixth shutout of the season and second in the OIA tournament. Since suffering its only loss to nationally No. 1-ranked Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, the Red Raiders have allowed only one score in a 56-6 win against Kaiser to end the regular season.

"It showed what we have to do to be at that level," Kahuku running back Elvis Vakapuna said of how the Gorman loss affected his team.

Vakapuna led the Red Raiders' offensive charge with 92 yards rushing and two TDs.

"We just looked at the tape and tried to get better every week," Kahuku coach Vae Tata said. "Hats off to Waianae for giving us this opportunity. We're looking forward to the next one."

Kahuku managed a modest 231 yards of offense, but the second-half limited its time because of the running clock. Waianae was contained to 64 yards of offense with just 34 yards rushing by its usually reliable ground game.

Although the Red Raiders have been dominant in all their in-state games, Tata said there are some details to iron out.

"We haven't played a complete game yet," Tata said. "There's still a lot of room for improvement. If you look at the tape you can see there's deficiencies, penalties. We're fine-tuning our technique to execute at the highest level."

Trouble is, no one in this state has been able to capitalize on those mistakes.

Waianae failed to take advantage of a Sol-Jay Maiava fumble that gave the Seariders possession at the Kahuku 34. The Seariders lost the ball on downs. It was the only time Waianae started a series beyond its 30-yard line. The Seariders had only two first downs in the first half, one by penalty.

An interception by Stokes Nihipali-Botelho set up Kahuku's first score of the half. The Red Raiders used seven running plays, the last with Vakapuna scoring from the 1 from the wildcat formation. Nihipali-Botelho's PAT gave Kahuku a 7-0 lead with 7:24 in the first half.

A poor punt by Waianae gave Kahuku its next series at the Seariders' 22. Three plays later, Maiava scrambled out of trouble for a 16-yard TD run to make it 14-0.

Then Kahuku's defense joined the party. Kekaula Kaniho returned an interception 31 yards for a TD to make it 21-0 with 3:44 in the first quarter.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Red Raiders tacked on another TD on a 7-yard run by Vakapuna to make it 28-0.

Nihipali-Botelho added a 34-yard field goal with 1:25 left to increase Kahuku's lead to 31-0.

Following a lost fumble by Waianae at its 30, Kahuku cashed in with a 2-yard TD run by Kesi Ah Hoy to make it 38-0 with seven seconds left in the half.