The eighth annual Polynesian Bowl, a high school football All-Star game reserved for the country’s best players, took place on Friday at Kamehameha’s Kunuiakea Stadium with Team Makai defeating Team Mauka 28-21.
Oregon signee Dakorien Moore and USC signee Husan Longstreet shared co-offensive MVP honors after connecting on a highlight-worthy touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Since its inception in 2017, the game has served as a showcase and celebration of the Polynesian culture. Around 25 Hawaii high school seniors join a pool of other star players from the Mainland. Although the game prioritizes players of Polynesian descent, it is not a requirement. Recent Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter competed in the game in 2022 and was on the sidelines on Friday.
Although another successful week of practices and cultural activities culminated with Friday’s game, the festivities had a melancholy feel for some around the game.
Friday’s game marked one month since Hiram deFries-Sanoritman and Preston Kaluhiwa, pilots with Kamaka Air, died in a crash during a training flight near Daniel K. Inouye International Airport on Dec. 17, 2024. Kaluhiwa, 26, was a 2016 graduate of Kamehameha-Kapalama, the site of Friday’s game. Meanwhile, deFries-Sanoritman competed in the 2020 Polynesian Bowl during his senior year at Punahou.
The news hit particularly close to home for Kamehameha-Kapalama high school principal Kula Gaughen-Haili. His son, Makoa Gaughen-Haili, was a close friend of Kaluhiwa. His other son, Kaʻale Haili, was a classmate and another close friend of deFries-Sanoritman at Punahou.
“I think Hiram was a great example of a Hawaiian kid trying to make it in this world today,” Gaughen-Haili told Aloha State Daily on Friday. “He lived life to the fullest. He was a great friend, great son, nothing but great things about him.
“Preston, good hearted, comes from a great family in Kaneohe, Kahaluu area. The Kaluhiwas are very great families. Just sad all the way around having two pilots of my own. My two sons being pilots, the pilot group is very close. So, I think it kind of shocked everyone. Yeah, sad. Very sad.”
DeFries-Sanoritman and Kaluhiwa both had an affinity for athletics, and both took great pride in advocating for the Hawaiian community. Kaluhiwa excelled in canoe paddling, basketball and karate as a youth, while deFries-Sanoritman went on to play football at Saddleback College in California after a standout career at Punahou.
“Both all-around kids, good natured kids with good character and very deep Hawaiian cultural based, grounded kids and very family oriented on both sides," said Gaughen-Haili. "Very tough for our lahui and for our Hawaii ohana to lose such good kids.
“I hope that we can all pray for the families, be there for the families, and give them space, because they're going through a lot. I want to send my aloha and love to all of them as well. Hopefully we can help support them getting through this very difficult time.”
When asked previously about deFries-Sanoritman by Aloha State Daily, former Punahou football coach Kale Ane fondly remembered deFries-Sanoritman changing positions for the good of the team. Although deFries-Sanoritman wanted to be a linebacker, Ane utilized him at nose tackle. The Buffanblu went 10-2 in deFries-Sanoritman’s senior year in 2019, finishing in second in ILH play and 35th nationally by MaxPreps.
“He was willing to do that for the good of the team and he bought into it and became one of the best players. He did so well and he really sacrificed a lot of personal desire to help the team, and that’s the way I always remember him — always giving, always there for others, never complaining,” Ane said. “Just a great guy, great teammate. Very caring. Always thinking about other people.
“He had everything ahead of him. He got along with everybody from every school. Not everybody could do that. It didn’t matter that he went to Punahou. … He made everybody comfortable and could break things down and communicate with a lot of different people. Just what I understand he was doing with the airlines, he was going to give back to some communities that were in need as well.”
Polynesian Bowl director of football operations Rich Miano remembers selecting deFries-Sanoritman for a coveted spot in the game. Like Gaughen-Haili, Miano has a son who is trying his hand at becoming a pilot. The news compelled Miano to request a moment of silence for deFries-Sanoritman and Kaluhiwa prior to the game.
“I was shocked in terms of, you hear about local kids once in a while passing away, but when you have two of them, and they had so much going in terms of beautiful families, educations, the careers that they were leading, it's such a tragic accident. It really struck the core of Hawaii,” Miano said. “I knew Hiram, he was in the Polynesian Bowl. I know his grandfather (prominent lawyer Hiram deFries), who he's named after, is one of the most philanthropic, giving people I've ever met, always helping out with the Polynesian Bowl, always helping out with GPA Hawaii Speed and Quickness. And you see these two beautiful Hawaiian boys, it was just a travesty.
“When you hear the news, you’re just in total shock, because that can't happen to two good kids in such a tragedy. … My wife…you know, our son is taking pilot lessons. Our son's similar age. To lose a kid like that, it really affected this whole community, because this community cares about good people, and those are two good kids.”
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
