KSM football defeats Lahainaluna; kicker’s feat a week earlier may be MIL record
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The Kamehameha Maui football team earned a 14-0 victory over Lahainaluna on Aug. 29 at Sue D. Cooley Stadium, one week after Warriors kicker Eli Kamakani Caires potentially set a Maui Interscholastic League record.
The win over the Lunas was the Warriors' second straight following their 63-0 victory against Kulanihakoi on Aug. 22.
According to ScoringLive.com, Kamehameha Maui quarterback Ryder De Silva completed 12-of-22 passes for 202 yards, with one touchdown and one interception against Lahainaluna. Xander Pagan led the team in receiving yards with 89, though most of them came on an 84-yard touchdown reception from De Silva in the first quarter.
Pagan also accumulated 82 rushing yards on 10 carries. Kaikea Hu'eu saw significant action during the contest, carrying the ball nine times for 22 yards and one touchdown. Hu'eu scored the Warriors' second TD on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Kamehameha Maui's Kamalei Bullock caught four passes for 78 yards, while TJ Kamakawiwo'ole hauled in two passes for 35 yards.
Lahainaluna quarterback Sefo Leka Rosenthal completed 10-of-13 passes for 112 yards. Lunas running back Urijah Ragudo carried the ball seven times for 43 yards, while Brycen Acio had 15 carries for 38 yards.
Rosenthal completed passes to five different teammates, including Kendol Kahoalii-Pu, who led the Lunas with five catches for 41 yards, followed by Ragudo with two catches for 32 yards.
Caires, a kicker and defensive back, made both extra-point attempts against Lahainaluna, continuing an impressive stretch for the Warriors kicker.
Caires went a perfect 9-for-9 on PAT attempts during the Warriors' 63-0 victory over Kulanihakoi, a performance that may have established an MIL record.
Available game logs indicate that Caires' nine extra points represent one of the highest single-game kicking totals in MIL football history and could be the most PATs ever made by one player in a MIL game.
Comprehensive all-time MIL kicking records are not available in a centralized archive, however, so the accomplishment is being treated as a potential record while additional historical research continues.
Speaking by phone before the Lahainaluna game, Caires said he is not focused on individual records at all.
"Well, I'm not really worried about any of those accomplishments, just being a part of the team and focusing on one play at a time and doing our best and giving 100% effort each play," he said. "We celebrate as a team."
Caires, who has been kicking since he was 5 years old, credited the Kamehameha Maui offense for scoring as often as it did against Kulanihakoi, as well as the offensive line for exceptional blocking.
"I really enjoy this position and being able to support my team in all the ways I can," said Caires, a 16-year-old who also competes in rodeo roping.
Kamehameha Maui will face Baldwin on Sept. 4.