Monday Morning MIL: King Kekaulike wins first OT football game in school history; Lunas in control of Division I

After making several big plays all game long Friday night, Kanoa Kuailani made the biggest play of his life to seal King Kekaulike High School’s first overtime football victory, dating to 1995.

Kuailani scored on a 5-yard touchdown run for the game-winning score in his team’s 34-28 victory over Baldwin at King Kekaulike Stadium.

Kuailani, a 6-foot, 190-pound junior, entered the 2024 season as Na Ali’i’s starting quarterback, but missed the rest of the season after being injured in the first Maui Interscholastic League game against Baldwin.

Friday night, Kuailani ran the ball four times for 18 yards and two touchdowns after lining up as a quarterback in a “wildcat” formation, where he takes the place of starting quarterback Kingston Goliday. Kuailani also caught six passes from Goliday, for 82 yards, including a 28-yarder for the first touchdown of the game.

While Kuailani was jubilant in the end zone, he downplayed things in his post-game interview.

“This is a good achievement,” Kuailani said before cracking a wide smile. “Yep, it feels amazing.”

Na Ali’i usually relies on the run game. They average more than 200 yards per game rushing and have three ballcarriers who average 8 yards or more per carry — but they have added a passing attack this season.

Goliday, a 6-foot-1, 155-pound junior, averages 222 yards per game through the air and Friday he was 17-for-26 passing for 266 yards with three touchdown passes and two interceptions. Goliday’s favorite target is Cason Brooke, who Friday caught five passes for 102 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown pass that gave Na Ali’i a 28-21 lead with 4 minutes, 19 seconds left in the third quarter.

Brooke, a 5-foot-8, 170-pound junior, has 16 catches for 395 yards and five touchdowns in the four games that have had statistics reported for Na Ali’i.

King Kekaulike is 4-1 overall. Its first game of the season, a 9-7 win over Honoka’a on Hawai’i Island, did not have statistics reported, but Hawai’i Journalism Initiative has compiled full offensive stats for the last four Kekaulike games and reported them to scoringlive.com.

Friday’s win was key for Na Ali’i to keep pace with Kamehameha Maui, which was idle over the weekend, in the MIL race.

“I don’t know what to say, I’ve never been a part of an overtime game before, it’s my first time,” King Kekaulike coach Tyson Valle said. “Baldwin is tough, we knew they were going to be tough. We just had to stay disciplined as much as possible. … I’m just glad that we got the victory tonight.”

Before Kuailani’s heroics ended the game, Maka’iolani Rivera blocked a 32-yard field goal try by Baldwin’s Jordan Carbonell to end the Bears’ chance on the first overtime possession, which starts with the ball on the opponents 20-yard line.

Rivera came off the right edge and got his right hand on the kick to deny the Bears on their overtime possession. Teammates inside of him allowed Rivera to rush the kick and get a hand on it.

“Well, really on the kick, I don’t think much,” Rivera said. “I just put all my faith and trust into my safeties to just light up that corner so I can come off the edge and make the block. It hit my right hand.”

When asked what it felt like, Rivera said, “That’s the thing, for a couple seconds after (the block) I could still feel the ball on my hand.”

Three plays later, Kuailani ended the game with his final scoring run.

Baldwin was led by Max Kushi, who ran 17 times for 121 yards and two touchdowns and Cooper Watkins, who had six catches for 105 yards and a touchdown.

—In the MIL Division II standings, Kamehameha Maui is 2-0, while King Kekaulike is now 2-1. The two teams play in the final week of the first round, at King Kekaulike Stadium on Sept. 19 where the first-round D-II MIL crown will be on the line.

—In the MIL Division I standings, Lahainaluna is 2-0 after a 49-14 win over Maui High on Saturday. Maui High and Baldwin are both 0-2.

The MIL is using a two-round format this season where every game counts, meaning four league games per team in each round. If there are different round winners in the divisions, those teams would play for the division’s state berth on the weekend of Nov. 7-8. Head-to-head results are the tiebreaker, if rounds end with teams tied in the standings.

The weekend results mean Lahainaluna can clinch the D-I first round when the Lunas host the Warriors on Sept. 13. The Lunas and Bears meet Sept. 20 in the final game of the first round.

Lahainaluna scored the final 35 points in its win over Maui High on Saturday. Kyle Thomas rushed eight times for 144 yards and three touchdowns and Ezekiel Opunui rushed five times for 116 yards and the first score of the night on a 75-yard run.

The Lunas rushed for 438 yards among 10 ballcarriers, but sophomore quarterback Leka Rosenthal added 117 yards passing to go along with his 38 yards rushing on just three carries. 

“I’m getting comfortable with what our coaches are putting together and our team is doing,” Rosenthal said. “Our (offensive) line is just blocking. I’m throwing passes to everybody at practice. And, we’re just all getting comfortable with each other.”

Lahainaluna senior Joseph Arcangel also returned after missing a game with an injury, rushing six times for 39 yards and joining Thomas and Opunui in the defensive secondary for most of the night.

“We have a lot of weapons … they just make it easy for me,” Rosenthal said.

First-year Maui High coach Pohai Lee was encouraged by the Sabers hanging with the mighty Lunas, who have been to 17 straight state tournaments. The Sabers tied the game at 7-7 first quarter and 14-14 in the second quarter before Kua Bacalso caught a 13-yard scoring pass from Rosenthal with 6:22 left in the second quarter to give the Lunas the lead for good.

On Sept. 12 at King Kekaulike Stadium, Lee will lead his new team against Baldwin, where he was head coach from 2015-21. Lee guided the Bears to three Maui Interscholastic League Division I titles, in 2015, 2016 and 2019. His MIL record as the head coach for the Bears was 29-19.

“Hard to say right now,” Lee said about what facing the Bears will be like. “It’s always on my mind, but we’ll eventually get there. Emotions will be a little bit more deep in terms of going into the work week on Monday.”

“Monday Morning MIL” columns appear weekly on Monday mornings with updates on local sports in the Maui Interscholastic League and elsewhere around Maui County. Please send column ideas — anything having to do with sports in Maui County — as well as results and photos to rob@hjinow.org.