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Gavin Hunter

Mililani football  •   #1    

Gavin Hunter is a young man of few words. Instead, the Mililani senior lets his play on the football field do the talking for him.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Hunter had a big say in the second-ranked Trojans' pulsating come-from-behind 35-34 win over previously-unbeaten Campbell before a capacity crowd at John Kauinana Stadium Saturday night.

Hunter, a third-year starter and team captain, recorded a pair of interceptions and also caught a touchdown pass, but it wasn't until he broke up a last-ditch Hail Mary pass by the Sabers on the final play of the game that the Trojans (2-1) could breathe a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, that could have gone either way," Mililani coach Rod York acknowledged of the thrilling finish.

York expounded upon Hunter's impact on the victory.

"He had two picks and he kind of shut down one side of the field. At one point they were only (throwing to) one side and that allowed us to do some things on defense that we needed to do and then on offense he's just a weapon where they doubled him and then Sai Salanoa was ‘discovered,' so he makes other people better by opening things up and opposing coaches gotta always know where he's at and if they don't, they're gonna pay," York said.

Salanoa, a sophomore wideout and transfer from Saint Louis, had nine receptions for 89 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kini McMillan that evened the score at 34 with two minutes and 18 seconds remaining. His emergence, along with that of senior slotback Raymond Roller (eight catches for 95 yards, TD vs. Campbell), has allowed Hunter to thrive as one of only three two-way starters for the Trojans.

"That's very tough to do. I mean, you gotta be in great shape and you gotta be on-point because you're talking about the Open Division and it's another level," York said.

Hunter also tallied four solo tackles, including one for a loss, and assisted on two others, but as York noted, it was Hunter's two interceptions that were pivotal in shifting the momentum back in their favor.

"Just how he hawked down those two picks and if you watch how his body movement was, he turned and then he was able to high-point it," York recalled. "It was like he was the receiver."

As a junior last season, Hunter earned All-OIA Open Division First Team honors as a defensive back and was also All-Hawaii Honorable Mention. In early June, he verbally committed to the University of Arizona.

"He's very athletic and instinctive, meaning his eyes are always locked in on the quarterback. On defense he's a ball-hawker; His eyes will take his feet to the ball and he's so athletic that he can tweak his body and maneuver his body and make plays that most can't," York said.

Prior to his 20-yard touchdown reception a few minutes into the fourth quarter, Hunter was on the receiving of a successful two-point conversion pass from McMillan that cut the Campbell lead to 28-21.

"Yeah, that was a big play and he wanted it. This guy, before he goes out, he says, ‘Coach, I'm always open,' " York said.

On the other side of the ball, Hunter defended against the Sabers' 6-foot-5 receiver in Mason Muaau.

"We matched him up with Muaau's side just because he's bigger," York explained.

When Hunter wasn't picking off passes, he was picking up his teammates on the sidelines — or more likely, in the huddle between plays.

"The stats don't show his leadership. He kept telling the guys to stay strong walking up and down the sideline. He's a man of few words, but when he talks, he's very effective," York said.

The few instances when Hunter will say more than a few words is when he leads the team in prayer.

"The kids jokingly tease him. They dub him ‘Gavi-lations' because he does our team prayers and his prayers are pretty deep," York said. "It's not like the regular ‘thank you for everything,' he prays specifically about stuff so he leads the team in that sense and he doesn't say too much, but when he says, ‘Boys, cut it out already. Let's focus,' they all listen, that's for sure and because he's also a great playmaker and a great teammate, his words are powerful."

Hunter and the Trojans will host No. 10 Moanalua Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

FOOTBALL

Tai Aipia-Barrett, Waipahu — Caught six passes for 170 yards in a win over Radford

Keoki Alani, Konawaena — Threw for 260 yards and five touchdowns on 20-of-26 passing without an interception in win over Kealakehe

Nicson Alapai, Kamehameha — Made four tackles, intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble in a tie against Moanalua

Blesyng Alualu-Tuiolemotu, Campbell — Made eight tackles, including two for losses, in a loss to Mililani

Zedekiah Anahu-Ambrosio, Konawaena — Caught two touchdown passes and ran for another touchdown in a win over Kealakehe

Kamalu Anoba-Jordan, Kalaheo — Caught six passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Waialua 

Tyson Apau, Waialua — Threw for 252 yards on 12-of-22 passing with one interception and ran for 130 yards and another touchdown on 12 carries in a win over Kalaheo 

Jayvie Arellano, Waialua — Caught four passes for 138 yards and a touchdown in a win over Kalaheo 

Bobby Best, Pearl City — Scored on a 70-yard kickoff return for touchdown in a win over McKinley

Armenio Blanco, Konawaena — Made 4 1/2 tackles and scored on a 20-yard interception return for touchdown in a win over Kealakehe

Rowen Bucao, Campbell — Caught four passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Mililani

Kekai Burnett, Punahou — Made 4 1/2 tackles, including two sacks, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble in a win over Waianae

Nazaiah Caravallo, Kamehameha — Made four tackles with one sack and recovered a fumble in a tie against Moanalua

Kaimana Carvalho, Kahuku — Scored on an 85-yard kickoff return for touchdown in a win over Leilehua

Alika Cavaco-Amoy, Punahou — Scored on a 15-yard fumble return in a win over Waianae

Jayden Chanel, Aiea — Caught three passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Roosevelt

Trey Dacoscos, Pearl City — Threw for 218 yards and three touchdowns on 25-of-36 passing in a win over McKinley

Piercen Evans, Maui — Ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries in a win over Baldwin 

Jordan Fetu, Mililani — Made eight tackles, intercepted two passes and broke up three others in a win over Campbell

Vaaimalae Fonoti, Kahuku — Ran for a touchdown, caught a touchdown pass and scored on a 50-yard kickoff return in a win over Leilehua

Faapaia Fualema, Waipahu — Scored on a 22-yard interception return in a win over Radford

Keegan Gantala, Kamehameha-Maui — Scored on a 79-yard fumble return in a loss to Kekaulike

Tayden-Evan Kaawa, Moanalua — Threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns on 22-of-44 passing with one interception in a tie against Kamehameha

David Kalili, Nanakuli — Caught six passes for 229 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Kaiser

Kaeo Kawaakoa, Iolani — Ran for 117 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries in a win over Castle

Arjay Kelemete, Waipahu — Recorded three sacks in a win over Radford

Iosefa Letuli, Kaimuki — Ran for three touchdowns in a win over Kalani

Ryson Lum, Moanalua — Made seven tackles with one sack and forced a fumble in a tie against Kamehameha

Aidan Manutai, Kahuku — Scored on a 57-yard interception return for touchdown in a win over Leilehua

Treston McMillan, Mililani — Threw for 273 yards and three touchdowns on 29-of-43 passing with one interception and ran 11 times for 40 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Campbell

Mikala Nishimoto, Kalani — Caught eight passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Kaimuki

Preston Note, McKinley — Caught five passes for 125 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Pearl City

Ezekiel Olie, Aiea — Threw for 241 yards and four touchdowns on 15-of-21 passing without an interception in a win over Roosevelt

Nathan Pele-Tokomoeatu, Nanakuli — Ran for 113 yards on 10 carries in a win over Kaiser

Kalani Puu, Kekaulike — Carries 21 times for 160 yards in a win over Kamehameha-Maui

Raymond Roller, Mililani — Caught eight passes for 95 yards and a touchdown in a win over Campbell

Cyprus Rombawa-Kai-Rivera, Nanakuli — Intercepted a pass and forced a fumble in a win over Kaiser

John-Keawe Sagapolutele, Punahou — Threw for 173 yards and two touchdowns on 12-of-15 passing in a win over Waianae

Onosai Salanoa, Mililani — Caught nine passes for 89 yards and the go-ahead touchdown in a win over Campbell

Hansen Salausa-Kaawa, Nanakuli — Threw for 224 yards and two touchdowns on 8-of-13 passing and also ran for a touchdown in a win over Kaiser

Eric Stephens, Moanalua — Caught nine passes for 125 yards in a tie against Kamehameha

Nela Taliauli, Iolani — Caught four passes for 116 yards and a touchdown in a win over Castle

Jonah Togafau-Tavui, Campbell — Caught nine passes for 126 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Mililani

Austin Takaki, Konawaena — Scored on interception returns for touchdowns of 25 and 24 yards in a win over Kealakehe

Geronimo Ulgaran, Aiea — Ran for a touchdown and also scored on an 89-yard kickoff return for touchdown in a win over Roosevelt

Liatama Umiliata, Waipahu — Caught 15 passes for 172 yards and three touchdowns and intercepted a pass in a win over Radford

Donte Utu, Punahou — Scored on a 15-yard blocked punt return in a win over Waianae

Ofa Vehikite, Kaimuki — Ran for 217 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries in a win over Kalani

Kalelepono Wong, Kekaulike — Ran for 115 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries and also threw a touchdown pass in a win over Kamehameha-Maui

Sydnee Walker

Le Jardin volleyball  •   #1    Senior

Over the years Lee Lamb has seen a lot of players come through the Le Jardin girls volleyball program. Sydnee Walker, to be sure, is one of the special ones.

Walker, a 5-foot-9 senior outside hitter, put her talents on display Saturday afternoon, when she helped the Bulldogs to a four-set win over visiting Damien at the Charles B. Wang Gymnasium. Walker put down a match-high 23 kills and also registered nine digs in Le Jardin's 25-23, 16-25, 29-27 and 25-19 win to open the Interscholastic League of Honolulu regular season.

"I didn't even think she got that many kills, to be honest with you," Lamb said. "When I saw the stat line, I was like, ‘Oh, dang. I guess she did take that (many swings), but she carries the load well."

For the record, Walker took 38 total swings and had just four errors — an attack average of .500. It was her work in the back row, however, that impressed Lamb the most. In addition to her nine digs, Walker was also 23 of 26 in serve-receive; libero Maya Nam was 26 of 28 in serve-receive.

"I think that's one of the things I really appreciate about (Walker) is how we struggled with serve-receive from the get-go and I'm asking her to take up 50 percent of the court, so for her to take up that type of load passing and still put up that many kills, that's pretty impressive," Lamb said.

Furthermore, Walker also dished out five assists and served up an ace. In fact, she put all 17 of her service attempts into play.

"She's one of the most versatile players that we've had in our program — I would maybe stretch that across the state," Lamb stated.

He went on, "She's done a little bit of everything for us. I think her freshman year she had to be a libero for us, or maybe that was her sophomore year. This year we've got her setting some, because if we get stuck in a rotation and we need (primary setter Gennezia "Nene" Hawkins) to swing, but primarily she's an outside."

Although the Bulldogs rely on Walker's offensive production, Lamb is sure that she would thrive as a libero.

"She's more than capable of being a libero. Her serve-receive is best on the team, for sure. She can do that for most teams in the state. She can set a deliverable ball, she's got a lot of versatility as an attacker — she can run the slot — we really can move her around a lot in serve-receive patterns and she's a pretty great defender and just a great player all-around, very versatile," Lamb described.

Le Jardin went 9-4 in league play and won the ILH championship on its way to an overall record of 12-5 and a runner-up finish at the D2 state tournament.

Walker, along with Hawkins and Reese Diersbock, represented the Bulldogs on the All-ILH D2 First Team. The senior trio — all of them six-rotation players — will once again be looked to lead the team this fall.

"All those guys were super timid coming in as freshmen and they didn't have much of a voice, so it's been cool watching them grow as a team and these are three great kids," Lamb said. "With this group, they're not aloof, but super chill and they joke around a lot and they still play with urgency and are competitive and want to win, but just a super laid back vibe with this group and I think the other kids respond — and they can play the game and so that helps — but yeah, those three are pretty tight."

As far as Walker is concerned, Lamb was definitely with his response when asked where she has improved the most since last season.

"Leadership and her game IQ is a lot higher now — it's pretty astounding actually," Lamb said of the floor captain University of Colorado, Colorado Springs-commit.

"It's kind of crazy how much traffic she's directing, because we move the traffic around a lot to change around and move hitters, so she's doing a great job of helping them stay the course and she can really help other people understand the system so that we're not overlapping or putting two bodies in the same spot type of thing," Lamb explained.

Although it was his team's first match of the season, Lamb acknowledged that it was an important win.

"We definitely felt like Damien was gonna be at the top and probably one of the top four teams of the division, so being able to secure that one just gave us some security going into the rest of the matches, so it was a big confidence booster for us," he said.

Walker and the Bulldogs host Hawaii Baptist Tuesday.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Natronai Anana, Baldwin — Had 19 digs, two assists and an ace in a three-set win over Kamehameha-Maui

Kiana Cueto, Damien — Had 17 kills and one ace in a four-set loss to Le Jardin

Reese Diersbock, Le Jardin — Had 14 kills, three aces, two solo blocks and two block assists in a four-set win over Damien

Gennezia Hawkins, Le Jardin — Had 41 assists, six kills and one block assist in a four-set win over Damien

Kilinoelehua Helm, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Had 10 kills, four digs and two aces in a three-set win over Kohala

Kaila Kalama-Bajet, Damien — Had 15 kills, two aces and one block assist in a four-set loss to Le Jardin

Leisy Kelii, Kamehameha-Hawaii — Had 15 digs and an ace in a three-set win over Keaau and had 21 digs and one ace in a three-set win over Kohala

Amanda Naipo, Baldwin — Had 11 kills, four digs and three aces in a three-set win over Kamehameha-Maui and had 11 kills, eight digs and one ace in a three-set win over Maui

Ariana Naipo, Baldwin — Had 13 digs, eight kills and three aces in a three-set win over Maui

Lilinoe Paschoal, Baldwin — Had 24 assists and three kills in a three-set win over Kamehameha-Maui and had 25 assists, six digs, two kills, two aces and one block assist in a three-set win over Maui

Kenna Wengler, Damien — Had 37 assists, five kills and one ace in a four-set loss to Le Jardin