"Na Menehune Volleyball Girls Sweep McKinley Tigers Tonight"

What an exciting night for the Moanalua Na Menehune Volleyball girls who swept the McKinley Tigers in all three events, the Blue 23-15 25-17, JV 25-11 25-7 and the Varsity game 25-18 27-26 in a filled Moanalua gym. Talk about "hot," the temperature in Honolulu was 86 degrees this afternoon and the temperature in the gym was even "hotter." Believe me, I was dripping with sweat and the excitement just added more to the heat. The Na Meneuhue placed the pressure on the Tigers all afternoon and into the evening, especially in the Varsity (photo above #11 Momi Mariani) game. The crowd really got into the game with both sides cheering and shouting with every point, until the very end. Everyone was on the edge of their seats as the score went back and forth 22-22, 23-23, 24-24, 25-25 and finally ended in favor of the Na Menehue Varsity team at 27-26. Congratulations to the Moanalua Volleyball girls, the coaches and special thanks to Mr. Joel Kawachi for letting me be part of tonight's excitement and coverage. Click here to see Photos.

Moanalua Varsity "vs" Football Top 10, #1 Kahuku Red Raiders (6-27)

Friday, September 24, 2010 was the "Battle of the Bulge" football game between the Na Menehune Moanalua football team and the top ten Kahuku Red Raiders, who were voted #1 by the coaches and media around the state. The Raiders pride themselves on a mixture of experience and power, and their offense is a running game, but they also have a passing game. As one stated, none of this would be possible without "academics" that come first as well as "out work the competition" by staying in shape through their weight room, on the field, and doing aerobics. But, their main strength coming into any game is their "Haka," to pump them up.

Tonight's game started off looking good for the Moanalua Na Menehune Varsity football team, but errors put a halt to their fighting efforts and the Red Raiders seem to have shut down the Na Menehune passing game by rushing their quarterback and sacking him throughout the game. The Red Raiders took advantage of these errors and led in the first half with #33 (photo above) diving in for the first TD and ending the half at 21-3. They continued their running game along with their passing game to take the game 27-6 over the Na Menehune. If it wasn't for the errors, it could possibly have been a closer game, but overall they did very well against the #1 Kahuku Red Raiders. As written by Jason Kaneshiro for the Star Advertiser, " Kahuku head coach Reggie Torres said, "we ended up shutting them down to field goals, but still Moanalua did a great job tonight" and "we were fortunate to come out with a win." Congratulations to the Kahuku Red Raiders, their coaches and players for a great game and also to the Moanalua Na Menehune coaches and players for their effort. Special recognition to #2 Michael Egami and #33 Lee Arakawa. Click here to see more photos.

MANOA PANIOLO "vs" KAPAHULU RAIDERS (18-0)

What a busy week for me, from Las Vegas LVSSA Championship to High School football here on Oahu, to Division II Pee Wee football. I have to say that covering the Pee Wee football was a pleasure and no better place to enjoy a relaxing Saturday game at Crane Park in Kaimuki. The atmosphere was an enjoyable one for me. I was invited by Mr. Phillip (Bucky) Buchannan, Business Manager and Trainer of the Manoa Paniolo who play in the Oahu Pop Warner Division II Pee Wee. The kids range in age from 9-12 and their head coach is Kyle Pupuhi. This is the Manoa Paniolo's 3rd game of the season. The first was forfeited by the Hawaii Young Warriors, the 2nd against Hawaii-Kai ended 13-0, and today's game with the Kapahulu Raiders was 18-0.

Today's game against the Kapahulu Raiders was a great game for both sides, very professional like shooting an "NFL" game. The intensity of these kids was very serious, and they played like there was no tomorrow. The Manoa Paniolo's running back, #9 Shon Aragon scored the first touchdown with amazing speed and cut backs throughout the game. Wide receiver #88 Ekolu Akau making key tackles and blocks all day long against the Raiders. Great job to both Shon and Ekolu and thanks the Manoa Paniolo management staff, coaches and team for inviting me to cover this event and "thank you" for the ono bento. Thanks also to the Raiders President, Lyntillus Boyd and his coaching staff and to all the players.

MOANALUA JV and RADFORD HIGH SCHOOL - FINAL SCORE 18-13

Today's game started at 2:00pm. I just got back from Las Vegas covering the LVSSA softball World Masters and thought I was still in Las Vegas because today's game was very hot between the Na Menehune and the Radford Rams. Moanalua was the first to score and missed the extra point, making the score 6-0. It may have been "too hot" after watching fumble after fumble by the Menehunes. The fumbles were a stumbling block for the Na Menehune, allowing the Rams to take the lead 13-12 with 1 minute 38 seconds left on the clock. A winning catch by #21 Dakota Scaramazzo (photo top left) for Moanalua, pulled in the ball from quarterback #10 Max Fiatoa to take the lead 18-13. With 7 seconds left on the clock, the Rams quarterback #10 was stopped cold by Moanalua's #65 Noah Cabbacang (photo above) all the way down to his shoes, ending the game over the Rams 18-13. Great job and congratulations to Head Coach Arnold Martinez, Kevin Kusano, the coaching staff and all the Na Menehune JV players. "Click here to see more photos"