A plethora of interstate matchups is intriguing — and palatable to cash-strapped athletic budgets.
Ten mainland teams are here this weekend for gridiron battles. The marquee matchup, though, is a potential classic featuring Hawaii’s No. 1 team and a Nevada program with as many island ties as perhaps any on the continent.
Liberty (Henderson, Nev.) at No. 1 Mililani
Friday, 8 p.m.
The Patriots and their many relationships with family and friends in Hawaii always provide elite competition. Liberty is ranked No. 2 in Nevada (MaxPreps) and, like Mililani, is one of the largest public high schools in its state.
Liberty assistant coach Kaipo Batoon is an older brother of Moanalua coach Keone Batoon. Last year’s team was 9-2 and the many returnees include RBs Ezra Sanelivi and Anthony Alberro, and QB Selby Griego.
The defensive unit may be more stacked with its top three tacklers, Carter Christensen, Pierce Lepisi and Aiden Webster, all back. Top sack men Jonathan Ioane, Webster and Lepisi were juniors last year. Liberty’s top three in interceptions — Rysen Dacosin-Arcala, Jemari Arnold and Christensen — also return.
Mililani returns several key players from its 2025 core. Two additions have coaches and media in the Star-Advertiser panel convinced that the Trojans are the top of the pack. Former Punahou QB Hunter Fujikawa and WR Zion White are in the fold, giving longtime coach Rod York perhaps the two best at their positions in the state.
White ranked among the top wideouts in Florida while at IMG Academy last year. The 6-foot-4, 199-pound senior ranks as the No. 22 WR in the nation (247Sports). He has committed to Cal.
Orem (Utah) (0-0) at No. 3 Kamehameha (1-0), Saturday, 6 p.m.
The battle for supremacy in Kalihi was settled quickly last week. If Kamehameha’s 65-0 shellacking of Farrington was the appetizer, Saturday’s matchup could be the feast. The question is, who will be the last one standing at the table?
Orem is ranked No. 1 in Utah 5A football by MaxPreps and No. 5 overall. The Tigers were 12-2 last year with Tayden-Evan Kaawa in the pocket. The former Moanalua QB tossed 35 touchdown passes, but was also part of a stacked group of senior talent that has since graduated. Kaawa has signed with Alabama.
DL MJ Bateman and DE/OLB Jag Ioane, second and third in sacks, return for their senior seasons. RB Beckam Otis, second in rushing yards per game, also returns.
No. 7 Punahou (1-0) at Moanalua (1-0), Saturday, 7 p.m.
The Buffanblu stomped Division I Roosevelt, 70-0, last week. Moanalua presents a much different challenge. Na Menehune have an improved roster with an influx of new talent. A big reason for that is the college-level experience of head coach Keone Batoon. Another key is the teaching of run-and-shoot guru Ron Lee, their offensive coordinator.
A win over a name-brand program like Punahou would be a hefty feather in the cap for Moanalua. It won’t be their last shot at an Open Division squad. Next week, Na Menehune will host defending Open Division state champion Campbell, but the opportunities to make the biggest splash possible will run dry.
No. 2 Kahuku (1-0) at Waianae (1-0), Saturday, 6:30 p.m.
In the golden age of prep football, Kahuku-Waianae was all about smashmouth physicality at the line of scrimmage. Quarterbacks engineered multiple fake handoffs in veer or wing-T attacks with precision angles and technique.
Kahuku’s three-year state title run (2021-23) changed a lot in terms of self-image and evolution for the former Rural Oahu Interscholastic Association teams trying to adapt. The latest incarnation is coach David Stant’s pinpoint, 3-seconds-or-less offense. That science carried over from his years at Kamehameha, where the Warriors won the 2009 state crown.
His approach also incorporates much of the old, using power in the trenches to keep the chains moving. In their 20-12 win over Saint Louis, running back Blake Alo benefited from that belief in the bulldozer brothers up front.
Waianae is making its season debut under new head coach Whiston Kaleimamahu. He filled in as interim coach last year when then-coach Vince Nihipali stepped down at mid-season. Nihipali cited issues with some parents as the crux of the problem, walking away despite a 7-1 record at the time.
Hawaii Prep World
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