There is a will, and the Lahainaluna Lunas are finding a way.
After all the tragedy, crisis and adversity, the Lunas will be on the football field at War Memorial Stadium on Saturday night. When Lahainaluna and Baldwin square off, it will the first football game of the season for the Lunas.
“It’s definitely going to be very loud,” senior running back Kaulana Tihada said. “I think the Lahaina fans, the west side fans, will bring the intensity, 100 percent. When we go we’ll definitely be playing for our community and for the people who were affected by the fire.”
The last time they played an opponent, it was a tri-scrimmage with Maui and Baldwin on Aug. 5, just days before the wildfire disaster. In many ways, the Lunas deal with the trauma simply by staying close, leaning on each other.
“This team is already much closer than any team we’ve had. Doing this together is the only way we’re going to get through this,” co-head football coach Dean Rickard said.
Nine assistant coaches lost their homes to the disaster. Out of 83 varsity and junior varsity players, Rickard estimates 45 to 50 lost their homes as well. His daughter lost her family home. His brother, Todd Rickard, the longtime Lahainaluna coach, also lost his home.
“Completely burnt to the ground, ” he said.
While Lahainaluna gets back into academics and athletics, the rest of the Maui Interscholastic League has been on schedule, leaving the Lunas four games behind on the gridiron. The perennial champions will have plenty of aloha and hospitality from rival teams and communities, but on the gridiron, it will be all business. Baldwin, in particular, will be as hungry as any foe.
“We have to play our game. We can’t get caught up in everything. We’re resilient as a community, but we have to be focused,” Rickard said. “We can’t be making errors and the kids understand that.”
If there ever were a football program with the discipline and grit to overcome the worst U.S. wildfire in a century, this would be the one. This would also be the precise coaching staff, with co-head coaches Bobby Watson and Rickard, a staff with more than a century of experience, to remind their young men that nothing is a given.
“Baldwin isn’t the powerhouse they used to be, but that won’t stop them from playing the best game they can against us,” Rickard said. “From the first tick of the clock to the end of the game, we have to keep improving. We’re short four games. There’s a big difference being game ready and going into your first game.”
The Lunas are fortified by an experienced group in the trenches. Left tackle Tovia Galloia and right tackle Kalae Tancayo are seniors. Guard Guards Kawika Kaili and Simone Ofakauatu are juniors. Kaili is moving to center with returnee Bula Montgomery out with an injury.
The offensive backfield is deep, talented and savvy. Running back Kaulana Tihada returns for senior year, as do quarterbacks Noa Gordon and Lyrik Kahula.
Defensively, nose guard Hanale Kauhaahaa (5 feet 10, 225 pounds) is the lone returning starter up front. Linebackers Kahi Magno and Tewa Loft are returning starters, as are defensive backs Kuola Watson and Avery Babayan.
MIL schedule adjusted The MIL modified Lahainaluna’s schedule. The Lunas will play their Division I opponents, Baldwin and Maui, twice each, and have one game with defending MIL D-II champion Kamehameha-Maui. There will be no game with King Kekaulike.
“We will have five games instead of the usual eight,” Rickard said. “There’s no open dates on the calendar for King Kekaulike.”
For a time, in the midst of chaos, there was no certainty. For the senior class, the possibility of losing football season was too hard to fathom. This group had already lost its freshman football season in 2020 due to the pandemic and the state’s cancellation of fall high school sports.
Rickard, two years into retirement from the Maui Police Department, wasn’t sure what would happen until a few days after the disaster.
“Regardless of the season, we’re winning by being back on the field. The kids are the ones who wanted to get back on the field. These kids wanted to push forward,” he said. “The Friday after the fire, I was at Wal-Mart, where everybody was. I see three of our kids. ‘Hey, coach. We’re buying fishing gear, get our minds off things. Coach, are we going to play ? Let’s get back our season.’”
Rickard had already wondered about his players and their dreams. Their idle time with no school, no football.
“The next day, Saturday, I started getting texts and calls from parents and players. That’s when I contacted our athletic director. It would be a good thing to get football back. To lose two seasons (2020 and 2023 )? That would be emotionally hard for any athlete,” Rickard said.