Lahainaluna’s 46-game MIL football win streak on line Saturday in de facto ‘Maui championship’

PUKALANI — One of Lahainaluna High School’s closest calls during its eight-year, 46-game Maui Interscholastic League football winning streak came last season against Kamehameha Schools Maui when the Warriors were driving for the winning touchdown with time running out.

But with nine seconds to play, Lunas’ linebacker Kaulana Tihada prevented the upset by recovering a fumble on the 4-yard line for a 19-13 Lahainaluna victory. 

This week, both teams acknowledged that the unofficial “Maui championship” will be on the line Saturday in Lahaina when they meet for the only time this season.

With two state championship game appearances in the last three seasons, the Warriors have largely assumed the mantle of the MIL Division II team to beat since the Lunas moved to the Division I ranks in 2021 after four consecutive D-II state crowns from 2016-19.

“Maui has never been about divisions — that gives you the opportunity to go to state — but at the same time it’s all about who reigns supreme in the MIL,” Lahainaluna head coach Dean Rickard said. “That’s what matters the most to the players.”

Kamehameha Maui senior safety/wide receiver Nohi Casco said this game is a huge opportunity for the Warriors. His older brother Kaihulali Casco graduated from Lahainaluna in 2020 after a stellar football career for the Lunas, but Nohi Casco said his older sibling will be rooting for the Warriors on Saturday night.

“If we were to win we could prove that we are the best team in the MIL, no matter what division,” Nohi Casco said. “That streak really is incredible. My brother used to play for them, too, and just thinking about that, 46 wins in a row, it’s something that’s hard to fathom.” 

Both teams are 2-0 in MIL play after close victories last week — the Lunas are coming off a 7-0 win over King Kekaulike and the Warriors beat Baldwin 14-6. The pair are the last two unbeaten teams in MIL play, although both lost their two preseason games — the Lunas lost 42-12 to Kapolei and 27-14 to Valley Center, Calif., in August, while the Warriors lost 49-0 to Saint Louis and 19-16 to Beaumont, Calif.

Rickard breathed a sigh of relief last season against the Warriors during the Lunas’ five-game MIL season that was shortened due to the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfire.

“We got lucky to have recovered that fumble,” he said. “We were fortunate to hold it down then and we know we’re in for a battle up against a very good team.”

Both teams are hopeful that their starting quarterbacks will return from injury this week. Lahainaluna’s Jaeden-Ian Pascua and Kamehameha Maui’s Kolten Waikiki-Caldeira both were banged up against non-league opponents and missed the first two MIL games.

Nohi Casco, who lives in Nāpili, is ready for the opportunity to snap the MIL record for league wins in a row when the teams line up at Sue Cooley Stadium. The Lunas’ winning streak started with a 42-0 win over King Kekaulike on Oct. 21, 2016. The last time the Lunas lost an MIL game was on Oct. 15, 2016, when Baldwin pulled out a 19-13 triumph.

As Casco whizzes through the list of names of his friends on the Lunas now and from previous classes, it becomes clear how much this game means to him.

“I’ve been looking forward to this game for a long time — ever since we lost to them last year, the day after I wanted to play them again,” said the 6-foot-1, 190-pound safety/wide receiver. “This is the only time that I will get to redeem that, so honestly this week it means everything.”

Casco is a threat at wide receiver in the Warriors’ pass-happy offense that relies heavily on a pro set offense. He caught a 33-yard scoring pass in a 38-10 win over Maui High on Aug. 30.

But it is on defense that he likely will be most valuable against the Lunas, who are run-heavy on offense from shotgun, spread, wildcat and single-wing formations. Casco moves all over the field on defense as a hard-hitting safety.

Lahainaluna legends Lake, Kainoa and Kawika Casco — all two-time state champion wrestlers and football standouts at the school — are Nohi Casco’s uncles. Nohi Casco said he dreamed of playing for the “Red Tide from the West Side” growing up.

“Yeah, all the time, seeing my brother out on the field, I knew one day that was going to be me,” he said. “Well, or so I thought. … I feel I made the right decision to go to Kamehameha Maui.”

Rickard is fully aware of Casco and his prowess on the field.

“They have great athletes and you just mentioned one of the best of them, it’s Casco,” Rickard said. “He played with a lot of our kids from Pop Warner days. Of course he ended up going to Kamehameha Maui, but he’s certainly someone that we have to be aware of on the field because he’s a major impact in that defensive secondary. “

Rickard said because of Casco’s athleticism, size and physicality “we’ve got to look out for him. He was all over the place in that game against Baldwin.”

Casco also is completely healthy for the first time since his freshman season ended when a positive COVID test kept him out of the Division II state title game. Knee and ankle injuries stopped both his sophomore and junior seasons short of the midway point. 

Teammates know how much this game means to Casco, who commutes an hour each way from his home to the school Upcountry in Pukalani.

“I tell them that I don’t think any of them want this or need this more than I do because they don’t have that kind of connection and rivalry with Lahaina,” Casco said. “They think of this as just another game. I think of this like a Maui championship.”

Kamehameha Maui head coach Ulima Afoa has been at the school since 2016 when the Lunas’ remarkable streak began. This is their last game this season against a Division I opponent.

“We’ll give it a hell of a shot, but that’s the one that keeps eluding us,” he said. “But I think our kids are up for the challenge.”