Kapena Gushiken has been playing football since he was 6 years old.

Those early days with the Kulamalu Cowboys pee-wee team in the Maui Pop Warner League have grown into a breakout junior season for Washington State University, currently the No. 19 team in the country.

On Saturday, in the Rose Bowl, the 2020 Kamehameha Schools Maui graduate did something he has never done before when he grabbed an interception and returned it 88 yards for a touchdown.

The play gave the Cougars a 10-9 lead over UCLA with seven seconds left in the first half of an eventual 25-17 loss — it was replayed over and over on national networks, television and social media.

He was set to blitz on the play from his nickel back position.

“There was a bunch, there was three receivers, so I ended up blitzing in between the three,” Gushiken said via phone from Pullman, Wash., on Tuesday. “All of them went out on routes, so I came in untouched. I really just seen the quarterback (Dontae Manning) eyeing up the flag — he kind of like chopped his feet a little, he looked like he was about to trigger and throw the ball.

“So then, I timed my jump perfectly, he threw the ball straight into my facemask. Then I tucked my knees so that the ball didn’t fall out of my lap. Then, once I realized I had the ball, I just took off. It was a good feeling.”

The feeling was like nothing he’d ever experienced before. Manning was the only player with any chance to stop Gushiken’s first-ever pick-6.

“I was just telling myself, ‘Don’t let him catch you,’ ” Gushiken said. “When I reached the end zone, honestly, it didn’t even hit me yet. It happened so fast, it was just pure instinct. Like, the whole play … it didn’t hit me until after the game, but it felt amazing, being in the end zone celebrating with my guys. … Yeah, never had a pick-6 at any level.”

He will never forget it — he simply can’t right now as the viral clip still has some lasting glow on the internet.

“Yeah, 100 percent, my phone has been blowing up since that game, I don’t even want to count, like, it’s crazy — social media and then obviously the text messages, all family, friends from back home, just showing love,” Gushiken said. “And then not to mention my speed coach, coach David Kamalani back home. So yeah, definitely a lot of love.”

Gushiken was disappointed that the Cougars lost Saturday to fall to 4-1, but he is a big reason that they are still in the chase for the Pac-12 Conference title with a home game against Arizona coming up on Saturday.

He also had three solo tackles, a tackle for loss, a quarterback sack and a pass breakup on Saturday — he now has 16 tackles on the season.

The lightning-strike TD return got WSU assistant coach Jordan Malone, who handles the safeties and nickel backs, revved up on the sideline.

“Oh man, because of the heat and not drinking enough water, I almost passed out, I was so excited trying to sprint down there with him,” Malone said. “It was funny because that was the one thing that he’s never done, is had a pick-6. We talked about that in recruiting.”

Gushiken started his college career with two years at Saddleback Junior College in California after sitting out the 2020 COVID season.

“We talk every week and he was, like, ‘I’ve gotta get a pick-6, I’ve gotta get a pick-6,’ and that was when he was still at Saddleback,” Malone said. “So it was great for him to finally put that check mark in that box.”

Gushiken still sometimes pinches himself when contemplating the path he has followed to big-time college football.

“I’m super grateful, I still do just trip myself out that I was able to be given this opportunity,” Gushiken said. “And I’m kind of just running with it now. Every day I’m grateful.”

In his first year at Saddleback, he shared a one-bedroom apartment with three roommates. Even though he was a rotational player, he had 16 tackles and a team-best eight pass breakups.

“Just that living situation, that was definitely rough for that first year, but other than that my time there, it was good fun, I got a lot of film, I got a lot of knowledge, more knowledge on the game, and now I’m here,” he said.

Gushiken was a starter at Saddleback as a sophomore with 22 tackles, six pass breakups, a forced fumble and an interception in nine games. He was named to the All-National Division Southern League First Team and rated as a three-star junior college prospect, the seventh-best JUCO cornerback in the country by ESPN.com.

“It wasn’t until my second year when I really, like, flourished and I really had a lot more playing time, a lot more opportunities and a brand-new coach, too,” Gushiken said. “I had a brand-new DB coach, who was a young guy. His name is Luke Williams. … I can’t even put into words how grateful I am to have him in my life, still to this day.”

Gushiken is quick to thank all those who have helped him on his long, winding road to the Palouse in Eastern Washington.

In addition to Williams and Kamalani, who helped him gain significant speed and strength during the missed COVID season in the fall of 2020, Gushiken credited youth coach Shawn Kan-Hai with a lot of his development.

He admits there are times he is surprising even himself with his lightning-quick rise to NCAA Division I football.

“The more and more I think about it, yes, I would say ‘yes,’ ” Gushiken said. “But then again, I keep reminding myself that I have to be confident in my abilities and I am here for a reason … But, yeah, I do surprise myself all the time when I think back on all the things that I’ve done here. Like I said, just getting the opportunity to be here, I’m just super grateful.”

* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.