LAHAINA, Hawaii — Fans dressed in red entered the Lahainaluna High School football stadium, ate nachos and venison chili, danced to the high school band’s performance of “Sweet Caroline” and exchanged long hugs with neighbors and classmates.
It was a homecoming, and for many of the fans, coaches and the players themselves, being back in the stadium was the closest thing to feeling at home since the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century swept through his city.
“I don’t know if I can put into words how much it means to Lahaina,” said offensive lineman Morgan “Bula” Montgomery, who has lived in three different hotels with his family since their apartment building burned. “Just looking at the stands, you see all the veterans, all the alumni, and even the little kids coming out, all excited, waiting for that first photo.”
Classes resumed last week at Lahainaluna High and the two other public schools that survived the Aug. 8 fire, and on Saturday night, Lahainaluna’s varsity and junior varsity football teams played their first home games, both with therapeutic victories, giving the community a glimmer of hope in the midst of a tragedy that claimed at least 99 lives.
Tickets for the homecoming dance at the 3,000-capacity stadium sold out in seven minutes, director Richard Carosso said, an indication of how much the community needed them.
Located on a hillside, the school gets its name from its location overlooking historic Lahaina: “Luna” means “up” in Hawaiian.
Lahainaluna High School students cheer on the varsity football team during their homecoming game at Sue D. Cooley Stadium, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii.AP
Before the fire, fans in the stadium could see lights flickering in the neighborhoods below. Now, once the sun sets, there is darkness.
When Mary-Ann Kobatake arrived at the stadium to cheer on her son, No. 33 James Lukela-Kobatake, she refused to look out over the devastated city, where her own home was among the 2,200 buildings that burned.
“I don’t like to look over there,” he said in Hawaii Pidgin, spoken by many in the crowd.
But returning to campus was comforting for the 1993 Lahainaluna graduate: “We still have a place we can come home to,” she said.
The Lahainaluna High School football team holds hands to thank fans after a game Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii.AP
It was also for Heather Filikitonga. A 2001 graduate and mother of a JV player, she could see the destroyed remains of her apartment building from the stands.
“If they can get on the field and find some normalcy in their lives,” he said of the players, “then I can do the same.”
Like high school football in other small-town America, Lahainaluna’s powerhouse program is a source of pride. It won four state titles between 2016 and 2019. It’s an equalizer for kids from diverse backgrounds and something to do in a coastal town where country reggae blasts from lifted pickup trucks.
“Young people dream of one day wearing the red and white and representing Lahainaluna,” said Keith Amemiya, a Honolulu bank executive who is spearheading the Luna Strong fundraising campaign for the 450 students, athletes and coaches whose homes were destroyed.
Lahainaluna High School football fans applaud the junior varsity team at Sue D. Cooley Stadium.AP
Tevainui Loft, a 17-year-old tight end and linebacker, grew up watching Lahainaluna football in the stands overlooking his hometown. The games were always packed. “I remember going to sixth grade, the best times of my life,” he said.
A few days before putting on his No. 9 uniform at the homecoming game, he reflected on the new view from the field.
“I’ve been at practice the last few days, just looking to the side like on water breaks, just looking at Lahaina, it’s all gone,” he said. “It’s so strange to me that everything is gone.”
Players from the Lahainaluna High School football team prepare in the locker room at Sue D. Cooley Stadium, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. AP
His mother’s house burned, but his father’s house, far from the fire zone, survived. He aspires to play Division I college football and was heartbroken at the prospect of the season being canceled. “If there wasn’t a season, I didn’t know what I was going to do with myself,” he said.
Amemiya knows the Lahainaluna football program well, having attended many parties thrown by coaches over the years and having been in charge of Hawaii high school sports from 1998 to 2010. He pressured the coaches not to They canceled the season.
“If they could somehow have a football season, it would serve as an inspiration and rallying point for the entire community,” he said. “In times of tragedy, sport can have a healing effect, not only for the community but also for the players and coaches.”
The Lahainaluna High School junior varsity football team plays against Baldwin High School at Sue D. Cooley Stadium.AP
After the fire, “football was the last thing on my mind,” said Garret Tihada, one of the coaches, a Lahainaluna graduate in 1987. The house he grew up in burned down.
But a few days later he received a call from Amemiya. Tihada began talking to players, fellow coaches and community members: “They were saying, ‘We need football to come back.’ We need something to look forward to.’”
The teams soon resumed practices, first at a gym in Kahului and then at a park in Kihei, the community about 45 minutes away where high school students attended classes during the Lahainaluna shutdown.
Bula Montgomery, the offensive lineman, said it has been difficult watching her mother, Tamara Montgomery, deal with the fire’s destruction alone with her four children. Her father died in 2019 of a brain aneurysm at age 41. But knowing that most of his teammates face similar circumstances has helped: “I don’t feel like I’m alone in this.”
Bula is unsure of his plans after high school. He would like to play football or wrestle in college. He is considering offering full scholarships from the University of Hawaii to all Lahainaluna seniors.
Before the game, the Reverend Ai Hironaka looked out over the ruins of the city from the stands.
“The players will fill the ‘puka’ of the heart,” he said, using a Hawaiian word for “hole.”
Watching the junior varsity team beat Baldwin High School 16-10 and then his son’s varsity team win 28-7 helped Hironaka forget for several hours about the loss of his home and the Japanese Buddhist temple where he was a resident minister.
After the halftime homecoming court performance, freshman Princess Precious Pante joined her friends in a lively student section, wearing her lavender dress and tiara.
“We’ve all been through tough times,” he said. “I feel like we needed this.”
After the game, the varsity team held hands in a darkened locker room and sang the alma mater in Hawaiian. One of the verses describes Lahaina as the “chief star of the Pacific,” an “ever-burning torch that cannot be extinguished by the fierce winds” for which the area is known.
Coach Dean Rickard, a 1982 Lahainaluna graduate, saw hope in the players’ resilience.
“They represent the community well,” he said. “The lights will come back and everything will be much brighter from then on.”
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn