MIL Football Division II Preview: Upcountry rivalry revs up

PUKALANI — The natural rivalry between King Kekaulike High School and Kamehameha Schools Maui on the gridiron has grown over the last three decades, but it has risen to new, unprecedented heights the last three years.

Since the schools opened — King Kekaulike in 1995 and Kamehameha Maui a year later, separated by less than a mile — their Upcountry rivalry has seemed destined to blossom in classic fashion, public school vs. private school.

With the two teams combining to appear in the last three First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Division II state championship games — the Warriors in 2021 and 2023, Na Ali‘i in 2022 — that football rivalry has exploded.

“It’s built up for years now and I’ve seen this program grow from when I was small, but I think this year it is heavier than it’s ever been because we go back and forth with some of those guys,” said ‘A‘ali‘i Valle, a 5-7, 185-pound senior offensive lineman for King Kekaulike. “We’ve seen some of them at a couple clinics and we’re just, like, ‘No, we’re going to beat you guys this year.’ It’s our turn.”

The recent success for the Haleakalā Highway rivals came after Lahainaluna, the dominant force in Maui Interscholastic League football with 44 league wins in a row dating to 2016, moved up to Division I in 2021 after winning four straight D-II state crowns from 2016-19.

The King Kekaulike program has recovered from a 41-game losing streak and was a combined 4-55 from 2014-21. Na Ali‘i were 0-6 in 2021 before their breakthrough run to the state championship game in 2022.

The success appears to have taken hold as the team had 110 players turn out last week for the first week of practice. Na Ali‘i open the season with a non-league game against Honoka‘a at King Kekaulike Stadium on Aug. 10 and then travel to play Waimea at Hanapēpē Ballpark on Kaua‘i Aug. 17.

“I’ve really only gotten into football the past couple years, but seeing it grow has been really interesting,” Valle said of the program.

Keyz Amuro, a 5-11, 270-pound senior nose guard, has also seen the remarkable growth of the Kekaulike program up close and personal as a four-year varsity player. The natural rivalry has been a large part of the growth.

“I think it’s grown a lot more than it was before,” Amuro said of the rivalry with the Warriors. “I think we really developed a bigger rivalry between everybody — I think it’s going to be a good year this year.”

Amuro added that several of the players on each Upcountry roster know each other from previous football adventures.

“It’s always fun, it’s always competitive, it’s something to love, just to be out there under the lights with the stands full and everything,” Amuro said. 

Tyson Valle, Na Ali‘i’s head coach and ‘A‘ali‘i’s father, was busy issuing equipment to new players last week at practice. Tyson Valle is entering his seventh year as King Kekaulike head coach.

“We have a good, young bunch coming up, these guys have been working hard all summer,” Tyson Valle said. “The numbers have been fantastic for us, so I’m excited to see what these guys can do this year.”

Valle is looking at carrying about 60 players on the varsity team, while the JV will be around 50. Both rosters could grow.

“Obviously when school starts it’s going to be just a little bit more,” Tyson Valle said. “The numbers have been, yeah … it’s been something that we’ve never seen before.”

Na Ali‘i said goodbye to several standout players who graduated in May — including 2022 MIL Offensive Player of the Year Kalelepono Wong, a three-year starter at quarterback — but that group left a legacy for the program.

“What those guys did for the program, they not only set a foundation, the first group, they taught these guys how to win,” Tyson Valle said. “Then our second group taught them how to be champions. I think that’s a big part of what you’re seeing this year and the years to come.”

KAMEHAMEHA MAUI: PUSHING TO THE LIMIT 

At Kamehameha Maui, the Warriors are also seeing turnout numbers that are rare, if ever seen, for the private school of less than 600 students in the high school ranks — KSM has more than 100 players out for the varsity and JV ranks. 

KSM also lost a ton of talent to graduation, including two-time MIL Offensive POY Makana Kamaka-Brayce, their quarterback, and University of Hawai‘i signee Frank Kahoa Abreu, a standout wide receiver.

Kaiwa Ho, a 5-9, 245-pound senior who will see time at linebacker, defensive lineman, running back and offensive line for the Warriors, said the desire to get back to the state final is a big goal after they were beaten 31-28 last season by Waimea when Abreu was sidelined by an injury.

“Looking at our new team, I’ve just been super excited to get in the weight room and get on the field with our pads, get ready for the season,” Ho said. “We have a lot of leaders on this team. I’m just here to help the line, do my best.”

Ho sees the growing rivalry with Na Ali‘i as something that has made both programs better.

“We’re both really good teams and at the end of the day, looking at it, it’s just whoever wants it more, who puts in more work,” Ho said. “It’s really fun. At the end of the day we shake their hands and it’s all good, but when you’re on the field, totally different game.”

Rusty Ako-Nataniela, a 5-11, 250-pound senior two-way lineman and linebacker, is a fourth-year varsity player for KSM.

“Pretty amazing, just getting back to it, back to the groove and plan on working hard this whole season, that’s for sure,” Ako-Nataniela said. “My goal for this year is just to make sure I push everybody to their limits and also push myself and make sure that the next generation of people is ready to take our places.”

The Warriors lost 19-13 to Lahainaluna last season and had the ball inside the Lunas’ 5-yard line in the closing minute before fumbling away a chance to stop the league record winning streak.

“The goal is just to push ourselves better than last season,” Ako-Nataniela said. “With this senior class that’s coming up now, I just believe that we can finally take it to Lahaina and take it home, but it all comes through practice and in the weight room.”

The Warriors will host state powerhouse Saint Louis on Aug. 23, eight days after traveling to O‘ahu to play Beaumont, Calif., at Radford High School.

“It’s been a long summer for the kids, so it’s time to do something else, like get ready to play a season,” Kamehameha Maui head coach Ulima Afoa said. “We’re making progress, but that kind of was the game plan when I took over in 2016, so this is eight seasons. Just kind of establishing — I know it’s a dead saying — but the process. Establishing the process, having them understand there’s certain expectations I put upon players when they come into the program. 

“Basically we just try to keep them on the track, hold their feet to the fire and eventually they buy in. That’s really what it is, it’s a product of kids buying in.”

Afoa smiled when he thought about the remarkable turnout numbers.

“Considering we have a small (student) population, and half are females, so you’ve got to feel good about the fact that kids are interested, they want to be out here, and they want to test themselves out a little bit,” Afoa said. “Offensively, our strength is our guys up front. If you look at our (offensive line) starters last year we had one freshman and the rest were sophomores with the exception of one who got hurt, but he’s back.”

MOLOKA‘I HIGH SCHOOL: A FIRST FOR THE FARMERS

For the first time in MIL play, Moloka‘i High School will play in the regulation 11-player ranks for football. The Farmers will not play any non-league games and will start their regular-season slate on Aug. 31 at Lahainaluna.

Head coach Mike Kahale said that the extra time will come in handy for the school of about 400 students as turnout numbers hovered around 30 during the first week of practice. Moloka‘i will not field a junior varsity team.

“Practice went well, not everything, but a lot of it is brand new,” Kahale said. “We’re trying to come in with a different perspective playing strictly the 11-man game. We threw a lot at the kids offensively — they pretty well grasped it, but some things we had to dial back because maybe it was information overload, but for the most part it was pretty positive. The kids are excited.”

The Farmers will be led by quarterback Kahakoi Lopez and running back/linebacker Chauncey Adolpho.

“We’re hopeful that once school starts and all the kids who are off-island get back home that we’ll get more kids out,” Kahale said. “Things are moving along, numbers are small right now, we just hope for more kids.”