Steve Erler | Special to SL

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Steve Erler | Special to SL

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All Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez could do was watch from the sideline.

Kahuku rushed for a season-high 437 yards in its 56-10 Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I quarterfinal win over Hernandez's Hurricanes Saturday night.

The fourth-ranked Red Raiders' offense was simple, run, run, and then run some more. Other than two incompletions by Kesi Ah-Hoy to start the game, Kahuku ran it down the Hurricanes' throats until the mercy rule was in effect.

"Hat's off to them for the way that they execute this offense with lethal precision," said Hernandez. "The simplistic nature of this offense is brutal."

The main formation that Kahuku ran had the ball carrier taking a direct snap behind center and running behind two tight ends and three fullbacks. 

"I told (Kahuku) coach Vavae Tata tonight that honestly I felt like I was in a time warp into the 1950s with this offense," said Hernandez. "It is so unbelievable."

Even with knowledge of who's getting the ball, Kapolei had no answers and was even called for two illegal chop blocks trying to take out a blocker. Out of the Red Raiders' 21 first downs gained, 17 were from rushes.

Kahuku was just 3-for-8 on third down, but got yards when it needed to and was a perfect 2-for-2 on fourth down. If it weren't for penalties against the offense, the Red Raiders would have scored on every drive. 

"We had stopped every rushing attack that we went against his year, but this time it was different," said Hernandez, whose team was limiting opponents to 132 rushing yards per game prior to the contest. "They were not only bigger and stronger, but schematically they did a great job of exploiting our weaknesses." 

Ah-Hoy thrived in this offensive set and had season-highs in rushing yards (200) and touchdowns (four) on just 26 carries.

"Shout out to the offensive line and the fullbacks," Ah-Hoy said. "They are the ones making the holes in this game possible for me." 

No matter where Kapolei stacked its defense in the box, Kahuku's running backs kept finding holes in the gaps. Whenever the corners lined up near the defensive line, the Red Raiders would break contain and bounce it to the outside for a big gain. 

Harmon Brown ripped the longest runs against the Hurricanes, which included a 75-yard touchdown out of a scrum and a 54-yard scoring run down the left sideline. He finished with 163 yards and two scores on just nine carries. 

"There's so many gaps to cover and they are so physical," said Hernandez. "We tried hard but we couldn't defend all the gaps. They really executed great and they were tough."