Kahuku (Hawaii) beating perennial national championship contender
St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) last week has the Red Raiders ranked No. 9 in the MaxPreps Top 25 national high school football rankings. That's unfamiliar territory for teams from the Aloha State.
Since national rankings by the National Sports News Service (NSNS) first began in 1959, the same year Hawaii was admitted to the Union, five teams from the state have been ranked in the final top 10 rankings – all from
Saint Louis (Honolulu) – and four of those have finished at No. 9.
Saint Louis finished No. 9 in the final rankings by the NSNS in 1996 with a 13-0 record, then did it again in 1998 (13-1) and 1999 (15-1). The Crusaders had their best finish ever and the highest ever finish by a Hawaii team with a No. 6 ranking in 2018. The very next year, Saint Louis was back at No. 9, marking the last time a team from Hawaii finished the year in the top 10.
The season isn't over yet, but if Kahuku wins out, it should finish in the top 10 thanks in large part to the win over St. John Bosco. The win over the Braves ranks as the biggest win for a Hawaii team in at least 20 years (possibly much longer). Ironically, the previous win against a ranked opponent was a Hawaii team against a Hawaii team. In 2016,
Punahou (Honolulu) defeated a Saint Louis team that finished No. 25 in the CalPreps national rankings.
Sione Pasi and teammates celebrate a fumble recovery in Kahuku's win over St. John Bosco last weekend. (Photo: Brian Bautista)
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After a 3-0 start and 1,251 yards through the air,
Shedeur Sanders of Colorado is an early favorite for the Heisman Trophy. While a lot can happen over the next two months, Sanders would rank as the second highest prep yardage passer among winners if he were to claim the prize.
Of the 209 high school quarterbacks who have thrown for over 10,000 yards in their career, only three have gone on to win a Heisman Trophy.
Kyler Murray, the 2018 Trophy winner, threw for 10,429 yards while at
Allen (Texas).
Joe Burrow, the 2019 winner, threw for 11,416 yards while at
Athens (The Plains, Ohio).
Bryce Young, who won in 2021, is the leader with 13,250 yards while at
Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) and
Cathedral (Los Angeles, Calif.).
Sanders, should he win the trophy, would slide in behind Young with 12,498 yards during his career at Trinity Christian (Cedar Hill, Texas).
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NFL fans may be just catching on to the talents of Los Angeles Rams wide receiver
Puka Nacua, but Utah high school football fans have known about the
Orem grad for a long time.
Nacua set an NFL record for a rookie in a loss to the San Francisco 49ers last week with 15 catches. His 25 catches over two games also set an NFL rookie record for most catches in the first two games.
When he graduated following the 2018 season, Nakua owned six state records including career yards (5,226), catches (260) and touchdowns (58) as well as single-season yards (2,336) and touchdowns (26) and single-game yards (321).
Nacua racked up some of his highest yardage and reception totals against some of his toughest opponents. In a game against
Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) during his senior year, Nacua caught 16 passes for a state record 321 yards and three touchdowns. The next week against
Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.), he caught 10 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns.
Puka Nacua caught nine passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns in the 2018 Class 4A state championship game, his final game at Orem. (Photo: Kevin Lee)
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Gage Baker of
Paradise Honors (Surprise, Ariz.) easily leads the nation in touchdown passes with 32, seven more than the second-place passer. He threw seven touchdown passes three weeks ago and topped that with an eight-touchdown performance against Dysart.
Baker tied the state record for touchdown passes in a game last week against Show Low with 10. His total ties the record set by Mario Armendarez of
Washington (Phoenix) in 2015. Baker also broke the 3A record of 9, which was previously held by Rathan Ricedorf of
Show Low and Gage Reese of
Yuma Catholic (Yuma) and Baker himself. Baker tied the record last year against Odyssey Institute.
Additionally, Baker is believed to be the first Arizona quarterback to throw for over 500 yards in back-to-back games. He had 516 yards against Dysart and 546 against Show Low.
Baker's top target,
Josh Morales, tied the Class 3A record with five touchdown catches in the Show Low win.
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Caden Chittenden of
Faith Lutheran (Las Vegas, Nev.) topped his previous all-time best with a 57-yard field goal in the third quarter of a 24-23 win over Basic (Henderson, Nev.). Chittenden kicked a 56-yard field goal last year, which was tied for the second longest in the nation last year according to the MaxPreps leaderboards.
Chittenden has the longest kick in the nation this year, but he will need to add some distance to break the state record in Nevada. The Silver State is home to the nation's all-time longest field goal – a 68-yard boot by Dirk Borgognone of
Reno in 1985.
