WAIANAE, Hawaii — Shaiden Kealoha-Nakila stood on pristine turf blades a few feet from the spot of his momentous play a few minutes prior and issued a proclamation.
“I’m not going to lie, I’m not being biased, I would say we have the best field in Hawaii,” the Waianae senior wide receiver said.
At that moment, as Searider fans happily filed out of the Raymond Torii Field stands having witnessed a 15-7, fourth-quarter-comeback win over Kailua, it was hard to argue. The coastal venue, already renowned for its immaculate views of the ocean, dramatic sunsets and the Waianae Mountain Range, suddenly has a playing surface to match.
[Note: See below for more photos of Waianae-Kailua football and renovated Raymond Torii Field.]
One of the great views of Hawaii high school football — Waianae’s Raymond Torii Field, with artificial turf as of this season. @WaianaeFootball pic.twitter.com/IEl6yMtiKE
— Brian McInnis (@Brian_McInnis) September 13, 2025
After struggling to a 4-6 record in 2024 while playing a full road schedule as its old rocky field was being replaced, Waianae has embraced all the comforts of home.
The vibes are good for Vince Nihipali’s Seariders, who improved to 6-0 — the program’s best start since going 11-0 under first-year coach Danny Matsumoto in 2000, per Hawaii Prep World records. They are 4-0 on their artificial turf.
“Waianae’s always been a hard place to play,” said the second-year coach Nihipali, a native of the community. “To drive through that traffic, all the way down here, and the fans were on fire tonight. They were cheering, they were criticizing, whatever they were doing, it just shows that the community’s supporting, and the drive that these guys have, we feed off of that, right?”
The vocal fans roused the Seariders on multiple occasions, including when they faced a jam pinned at their 1 on third down and quarterback John Michael Kaio scanning upfield from the back of the end zone.
Kaio heaved it and found the speedy Deegan Anduha along the right sideline. The faithful erupted and the Seariders would drive 99 yards for their first score.
“Just looking at this field, it makes us want to put on for the community,” Kaio said.
Kealoha-Nakila, whose end-zone grab from finally got Waianae on the board midway through the fourth, left the program last season. But even then he could feel the community’s pain without games readily available on the Leeward Coast.
“I’ve been playing football since I was young and it felt weird because all of my ex-teammates games were away, and it was hard,” said the receiver who returned for his senior year. “A lot of our fans, they wanted to come out and watch them, and they weren’t able to. So I’m glad the Lord himself blessed us with this beautiful field, and now we get to show out for the fans every day.”
The project cost upward of $7 million for the Department of Education and was in the works for seven or eight years, Nihipali said. Peterson Bros. Construction, based in Waianae, did the work over 10 months.
Nihipali chuckled thinking about his players coming out to the field for recreational time before training sessions and doing “snow angels” on the turf. Last season, the team practiced at other sites including nearby Waianae Intermediate.
“This place is beautiful, right? I’m from Waianae, born and raised here, lived here my first 23 years of my life,” he said. “I dreamed at one point when I was a kid of being a Waianae head coach. Even though I went to Kamehameha, this is special for me.”
Waianae’s win over Kailua could be crucial in Oahu Interscholastic Association Division I play, as the Seariders kept pace with Waipahu — their next opponent in two weeks — at 3-0 in the division.
Keonanoa Malaia caught a tipped ball in the back of the end zone for the 2-point conversion on Waianae’s first score and freshman running back Kalani Meyers-Tuinei exploded along the left sideline to put the Seariders up by a touchdown late.
Kailua coach Hauoli Wong liked his chances in short-yardage situations in the red zone, but the Seariders defense stood tall on about a half-dozen occasions. He questioned the spot of the turnover on downs at the 1 that led to Waianae’s first score.
Nihipali, beaming with pride, said it was the most red zone stands by one of his teams in his 30 years of coaching. The only one the Seariders let through was on one of their three first-half turnovers, as Surfriders running back Marquez Mellor punched it in from a few yards in the first quarter.
The Surfriders, meanwhile, await the day that their home, Alex Kane Stadium, gets a much-needed face lift with the stadium lights a longstanding problem and the mauka-side bleachers unusable.
“Our turn will come up,” Wong said. “We just gotta wait and see when our turn will be.”
covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at .