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Column: Lunas’ return truly was a night to remember, one that required help of many

Between the Lines

Helmets line the Lahainaluna High School sideline prior to the start of Saturday’s game at War Memorial Stadium. The Lunas defeated Baldwin 42-0 in Lahainaluna’s highly anticipated return to the football field following the Aug. 8 wildfires. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photos
Lahainaluna’s Kuola Watson returns a punt down the Lunas sideline during the first quarter Saturday night against Baldwin at packed War Memorial Stadium.
Lahainaluna cheerleaders celebrate after a second-quarter touchdown Saturday night.
The Lunas’ Kaulana Tihada runs with the ball Saturday night.
It was a scene never before seen in the Maui Interscholastic League. Lahainaluna High School's highly anticipated return to the football field Saturday night at War Memorial Stadium was covered by several national outlets and almost all of the statewide media. It had to be the most-covered MIL event ever and the world got to see precisely what our little three-island, county league of 14 schools -- public and private schools, of all sizes -- is all about. My point being, the Lunas' 42-0 win over Baldwin in front of a sellout crowd of more than 5,000 just doesn't ever happen without a bunch of help -- from all the MIL schools, to the 50th state's professional athletes, celebrities, and several people who aren't from here that just have big hearts. It was summed up pretty well in a text message from longtime Lahainaluna football coach Garret Tihada to Keith Amemiya prior to the game. Nine of the 18 Lunas' football coaches lost houses in the Aug. 8 wildfires that left 97 dead. Lahainaluna co-head coach Dean Rickard estimates that more than half his team lost housing in the fire. Amemiya is the former executive director of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association who now works for Central Pacific Bank -- he is spearheading the "Luna Strong" campaign that has raised more than $325,000 to get the more than 40 Lahainaluna coaches and 450 student-athletes severely affected by the fire back on their feet. Amemiya shared the message Tihada sent to him prior to Saturday's game, and Tihada gave me permission to use it here: "Thank you so much for all you have done for us," Tihada wrote to Amemiya. "I especially want to thank you for planting the seed in my head about Lahainaluna football returning to play. After the fire, football was the last thing on my mind. You made me realize that football is important to this community. If resuming football can help our people, then we have an obligation to play and help with the healing. Thank you for the inspiration." I couldn't have written anything more appropriate. At least from my perspective, the most heartwarming storyline here is MIL brethren reaching out to help one of their sibling schools in need. After MIL athletic directors put their heads together tirelessly to chisel out a workable schedule while being aware of their own school's needs -- and those can be very different public to private -- the league made it work. Maui High will play nine straight weeks and Baldwin eight straight weeks to make the schedule work. Without hesitation, the Sabers swapped home dates with the Lunas -- Oct. 7 is now at War Memorial and Oct. 28 is slated for Sue Cooley Stadium -- to give Lahainaluna officials more time to prepare all the logistics necessary to play a home game. Across the board, the Lunas knew deep in their hearts they would not have been there Saturday night without the remarkable help that came from all over the place, especially from their friendly foes. The Lunas' five-game slate will go by in a blink -- four more Saturday nights will wrap up their regular season and then quite possibly the Division I state tournament will await. "It seems like so long ago, but we were just practicing three weeks ago to this first game and for the boys and this community, it's a rewarding night to see this much support," Rickard said Saturday. "And at the same time validation for these kids to show that they can walk through all these adversities and yet still perform up to that level that they are expected to perform." The Lunas won their 40th straight MIL game Saturday night, a streak that started Oct. 21, 2016 with a 22-0 win over King Kekaulike. The Lunas won four straight D-II state titles from 2016-19, and then after the wiped-out COVID 2020 season, they made it to the D-I state championship game, a 38-0 loss to Iolani in 2021. With Saturday's win, they are 47-3 since winning the final four games of the 2016 season. This one, however, was different. "I've never seen this place, this War Memorial packed out like that, like sold out," said Kaulana Tihada, a senior running back and linebacker and son of Lunas assistant coach Joey Tihada. "It means a lot." Kaulana Tihada said that playing for his hometown means everything. "Football really keeps us driving, ever since the offseason, just being together with our team, in the weight room, on the practice field, even just team meetings with each other we've just been really building our family and our ohana," Tihada said. "So, we're really focusing on ourselves and playing for this community." Kuola Watson, a senior who played with a heavily wrapped shoulder that popped out of the joint at practice Thursday before he popped it back in, said that seeing the crowd was surreal. "It was like a super power, honestly," he said. "Seeing all the crowd, the adrenaline rushing, everyone watching us, it was like the spotlight's on you, you just gotta ball out for your town. "It was a big moment leading up to this game, a lot of pressure on us, just a lot of things that could have happened, but we overcame and we pushed through." Lahainaluna principal Richard Carosso has seen the MIL from many angles, including as the varsity boys basketball coach at King Kekaulike High School. He was interviewed by several outlets after the game, standing in front of the still packed and jubilant War Memorial Stadium stands on the parking lot side. "Maui High has pushed a lot, Baldwin High, Kamehameha (Maui), King Kekaulike, all of the schools came together to make this possible for our team to play a modified schedule," Carosso said. "It was so important to our community to get the kids back on the field and we could not have done it without (MIL executive director) Joe Balangitao and the MIL and then all the member schools agreeing to make that happen." Carosso said both complex area superintendents in Maui County were essential to the effort, but went out of his way to thank Kulanihako'i High School principal Halle Maxwell for her help in welcoming the Lahainaluna ohana to her campus until the West Maui schools reopen. "All those people, along with our state offices, state superintendent (Keith) Hayashi, understood the importance of football to this community and they made that happen," Carosso said. "And tonight is the result of a lot of people's hard work." Carosso was moved when reminded of the tough schedules the Baldwin and Maui High football teams are playing. "Exactly, those schools didn't have to do that for us and it just shows how much the aloha around the whole island -- we are one island," Carosso said. "We might be different teams, different schools, but when it comes down to it we're one island." Rickard is grateful to have the initial 2023 game in the rearview mirror. An Oct. 14 game against 5-0 Kamehameha Maui -- one that won't count toward state tournament qualification, but will be on statewide OC-16 TV -- is also looming. "Of course, we understand that they have much more work to do because it's not going to be an easy path to get back into that championship game," he said. "We've got Maui High next and Baldwin wasn't no slouch either. So, we told them, 'You cannot take anything for granted.' We don't want to look past Maui High, but the MIL is still a tough league and we're just part of it. "And we just want to make sure that we can take care of it each and every week and they gotta continue doing what is necessary to keep getting better." Rickard summed it all up pretty well: "These kids, they've been through a lot and I'm just glad that they came out and realized, 'Yeah, we can still compete,' regardless of being four weeks removed (from MIL football play). And a big factor, the mental and physical conditioning in a game situation, that was important for us to see. "We're not far behind. We're not where we should be, but at the same time we're not really far behind." * Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com. [gallery ids="1136673,1136675,1136672,1136674"]

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