Campbell sophomore WR Pokii Adkins-Kupukaa leads the state in receiving while Waianae senior LB Kanai Mauga can both rush the passer and drop back into coverage. ScoringLive photo illustration

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ScoringLive Division I Midseason Awards

Offensive Player of the Year: Pokii Adkins-Kupukaa, Campbell, So., WR

From the time Pokii Adkins-Kupukaa made his debut for the Campbell football team last year, it was evident that he would be one to watch.

As a freshman in 2016, Adkins-Kupukaa earned First Team All-Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I Blue Conference honors — as a defensive back.

This season, the 6-foot, 185-pound sophomore is getting the job done on both sides of the ball, but it's been on offense — at wide receiver — where his statistics have been eye-popping.

Adkins-Kupukaa's 702 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns are the most in the state, by far. He is averaging an astronomical 21.3 yards per catch and 100.3 yards per game.

"That kid is an athlete. You can get the ball to him and he'll catch it whether he has a defender on him or not. It's hard to imagine that he's just a sophomore because he plays much older," said Aiea coach Wendell Say, whose team was torched for 140 yards and two TDs by Kupukaa in a 48-13 loss to the Sabers on Aug. 19.

"He's a game-changer, except he goes both ways so he changes the game on both sides of the ball and even though you know he's a go-to guy, he'll still beat you. If he doesn't beat you, then he'll outmuscle you for the ball," Say said.

Adkins-Kupukaa's best performance came in a 26-20 win over Farrington on Aug. 18, when he caught eight passes for 208 yards and a touchdown. Just days after that showing, he received his first Division I scholarship offer from the University of Hawaii.

On defense, Adkins-Kupukaa has recorded seven interceptions, including returns of 87 and 45 yards for touchdowns.

The Sabers (5-2 overall, 5-1 league) have a bye this weekend before closing out the regular season against reigning league champion Kahuku on Sept. 29 in a battle of the top two teams in the OIA D1 Blue standings.

Defensive Player of the Year: Kanai Mauga, Waianae, Sr., LB

Life on the edge was good for Kanai Mauga, but a step back this season has been even more fruitful for the Waianae senior.

After a 2016 season that saw the 6-foot-2, 210-pound defensive end collect 12 1/2 sacks and first team All-OIA and All-Hawaii honors, Mauga has flourished with a move to linebacker.

Mauga is rated by several national recruiting services as the No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2018 for the state of Hawaii — despite logging just two sacks so far this season. That's because the production has come elsewhere for the USC-commit: in pass coverage.

In a season-opening 49-7 loss to Saint Louis, Mauga's effort was a bright spot for the Seariders in an otherwise one-sided game. He made a game-high eight tackles, including a sack, intercepted a pass and returned a kickoff for 77 yards, for good measure.

Three weeks later, in a much-needed 27-14 win over Campbell, Mauga posted nine tackles, 2 1/2 tackles for loss, including a sack and returned a fumble 46 yards for a second-quarter touchdown that gave the Seariders the lead for good. He also had a 1-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.

"He didn't play linebacker much last year, but he worked hard at it and he's doing a great job," Aiea coach Wendell Say said. "It seems like every game he's had a return for touchdown. He's a threat no matter where he is on the field and they'll use him where they need him; he's that type of a team player."

All Mauga has done in Waianae's past two games is record a pair of pick-6's in lopsided wins over Moanalua and Radford.

His 17-yard interception return against Na Menehune was one of three defensive scores that night — two of them coming as part of a 22-point first quarter. The following week, Mauga had the lone pick against the Rams, which he took 71 yards the other way for the game's first touchdown.

The Seariders (3-3 overall, 3-2 league) currently sit in third place in the seven-team OIA D1 Blue Conference and will host Aiea Friday night.

Coach of the Year: Darren Johnson, Campbell

It sure didn't take long for Darren Johnson to bring his winning ways to Campbell.

The former head coach at Kailua (1996-'03) and Kaimuki (2007-'08) has gone 5-2 in 2017 — his first season with the Sabers — including a 5-1 mark in league play.

Campbell's lone losses this season have come against Kapolei (in a non-league game to open the year) and at Waianae. However, it has won three straight games since the loss to the Seariders, averaging more than 52 points per game during that stretch.

In addition to the emergence of superstar wide receiver/defensive back Pokii Adkins-Kupukaa, Johnson has also helped foster the development of first-year quarterback Krenston Kaipo. The junior has thrown for a Division I-best 1,582 yards and 15 touchdowns. Five of Kaipo's six interceptions came in the Sabers' first three games of the season.

Defensively, Johnson's squad has been a stingy bunch, especially against the run. Opposing teams are averaging just 47 rushing yards and 15 points per game.

Johnson coached Kailua to a co-league title in 2001 and Kaimuki to a D2 crown in 2007 before serving stints as offensive coordinator at both Kahuku and Kapolei. He has compiled a career coaching record of 79-38-1.

ScoringLive reporter Stacy Kaneshiro contributed to this report.