MILILANI, Hawaii — Troy Mariteragi knows a thing or two about waiting a turn or two.
The patience of the one-time Kahuku waterboy was on full display Friday night as the senior quarterback guided the top-seeded Red Raiders to a 24-6 win over Campbell in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Open Division semifinals at John Kauinana Stadium.
In the second semifinal, third-seeded Kapolei upset second-seeded host Mililani, 21-14, as the Hurricanes reached their first OIA Open championship game.
Kahuku and Kapolei clinched HHSAA berths while Campbell and Mililani will play off for the third and final berth.
[Note: See below for more photos of the OIA Open football semifinals.]
Mariteragi hails from a proud family of Red Raider supporters on Oahu’s North Shore. His older brother, Jason, was the starting quarterback who helped lead Kahuku to the 2021 state championship, snapping a run of Saint Louis dominance.
“He’s a huge inspiration,” Troy Mariteragi said. “I was fortunate enough to be the waterboy on that team when they won the state championship and my brother was the starting quarterback. It just gives me extra motivation and inspiration that I’m carrying on my family’s legacy.”
He took a winding path to do it.
Mariteragi was the projected starting signal-caller entering the 2024 season but was eventually supplanted by touted mid-year mainland transfer Matai Fuiaga. Fuiaga and Kahuku lost to Saint Louis in last year’s state open final, but Fuiaga remained the starter entering this season.
The Red Raiders — fresh off offseason coaching upheaval with Kahuku’s dismissal of Sterling Carvalho — absorbed a 20-0 loss to Saint Louis in the 2025 opener.
Fuiaga reportedly left the program amid injury in September and Mariteragi made his first start of the season at Mater Dei (Calif.) on Sept. 5, a competitive 21-18 loss against a national power.
The Red Raiders (7-3) have not lost in five games since.
“We had some adversity, and adversity’s great,” Mariteragi said. “It shows us who we really are and it’s just building off that adversity and getting better every week.”
After a layoff of a few weeks, things got off to an inauspicious start Friday for the 30-time OIA champs.
Mariteragi was dropped by Campbell lineman Tevita Paongo on the Red Raiders’ opening possession and Kahuku was forced to punt. But under pressure on his team’s next drove, Mariteragi waited until he was about to be leveled by lineman Chaesten Eliu and flung it to a completely wide-open Christian Sanford-Tupuola along the right sideline for a 79-yard catch-and-run touchdown.
“That play, it was a huge turning point for us,” Mariteragi said. “Our first drive, we started a little slow and had to shake off the rust. I felt some pressure, had to get the ball out and my receiver made a play like they always do.”
So began a run of 24 unanswered points. Mariteragi was 10-for-18 for 142 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
He helped seal the outcome with an 11-yard fade to tight end Rhino Aumua with under 5 minutes to play.
“Troy’s a veteran,” interim coach Nihoa Pule said. “So we expect a lot of things out of him and he’s leading this team the way we knew Troy could.”
Pule said it was not a matter of Mariteragi winning over the team — he already had them — but getting his chance and making good on it.
“Last year I had some opportunities and I was able to play in some games,” Mariteragi acknowledged. “Just getting as much experience as I can. The more experience, the more I can learn from and get better.”
He got some significant help from the Kahuku defense, which pitched a shutout after allowing a highlight 20-yard touchdown grab in the back of the end zone by the talented two-way Saber Shaison Kupukaa on Campbell’s first drive.
Defensive back Taimua Pule, the son of the coach, returned an interception of Sabers quarterback Brayden Medeiros 40 yards to the house early in the third quarter. Medeiros, the successor to Cal QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, was 14-for-28 for 115 yards, a touchdown and two picks for Campbell (6-3).
Special teams came through, too. Jadyn Parker nailed a 52-yarder with room to spare at the start of the fourth quarter, the longest conversion in Hawaii high school football this year and 6 yards shy of matching the state record, per Spectrum OC16's Felipe Ojastro. In addition, Noah Ah You blocked the extra point the lone time Campbell found the end zone.
“It’s been interesting. Defense has stayed solid for the most part,” Pule said of the season's rhythms. “Our offense is slowly coming along. Hopefully we’ll keep on that rise right now.”
The teams did not complete an official game Oct. 18 because of a power outage at Kahuku’s Carleton Weimer Field. They agreed to forego the game altogether with their seeds locked in at 1 and 4 for the playoffs.
covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at .