LIHUE — Kauai’s Reggie McFadden rushed for 213 yards to lead the Kauai High School Red Raiders to a 32-10 win over the Kwansei Gakuin High School Fighters Saturday night at Vidinha Stadium. Kwansei made the trek from Nishinomiya, Hyogo,
LIHUE — Kauai’s Reggie McFadden rushed for 213 yards to lead the Kauai High School Red Raiders to a 32-10 win over the Kwansei Gakuin High School Fighters Saturday night at Vidinha Stadium.
Kwansei made the trek from Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan — located between Osaka and Kobe — for its 12th meeting with the Red Raiders since 1971.
Both offenses opened the game slowly and were not able to move the ball with any proficiency, but Kauai slowly started to change its fortunes on the ground.
McFadden had been featured in the backfield for the Red Raiders in 2012, but split time amongst other backs and also battled through injuries for the majority of the year.
On Saturday, McFadden showed he was healthy and ready to take on a larger work load.
McFadden rushed 28 times for two touchdowns and had a 7.61 yards per carry average, which included a 22-yard touchdown run and a pair of 30-yard runs on the night.
The Red Raiders used two quarterbacks in the game, including Kanoa Iwasaki, who is also coming off of injury from 2012, and Kelson Andrade, who saw limited snaps under center as a back up a year ago.
Both Kanoa and Andrade had their moments, which included a touchdown pass for each of them. Combined, Kanoa and Andrade went 14 for 26 for 108 yards in the air and two touchdowns.
Kanoa also showed an ability to line up in multiple positions, which allowed him to gain 16 yards on the ground and 21 yards receiving.
Kauai finished the first half up 19-3.
In its second series of the second half, Kauai built their lead after a 38-yard McFadden run set up 4-yard Andrade touchdown run.
Andrade found the end zone later in the quarter with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kalawaia Judd, which gave the Red Raiders a 32-3 lead.
Defensively, Kauai looked stout. The Red Raiders often had the Kwansei offense on its heels and dealt punishing hits throughout the game.
The defensive unit was led by James Bukoski with six tackles and Kaiea Iwasaki with four.
The one lapse came late in the game when a shovel pass at the line of scrimmage from Kwansei’s Yuho Kimura resulted in a 25-yard touchdown for the Fighters.
Kauai High School’s next game is Aug. 31 when it plays Cottage Grove High School from Cottage Grove, Ore., at 7 p.m. at Vidinha Stadium in Lihue.
In junior varsity action, Kwansei dominated the Red Raiders with a 34-0 win.
