(photos by George F. Lee and Jamm Aquino / Star-Advertiser)
Campbell football coach Amosa Amosa knows that you win some and you lose some.
But one thing he has never lost is the perpetual trophy given out to the winner of the Waipahu-Campbell rivalry.
The winner of the football game between the sugar communities has been awarded the Cane Knife since 1963.
Waipahu has come for the Cane Knife three times since Amosa has been the head coach at Campbell, and all three times the former UH offensive lineman has turned them away. It has changed hands 10 times since 1973, but Amosa has never had to give it up. He is the only Campbell coach who can say that, beating the Marauders 21-0 in 2009, 68-0 in 2011 and 39-34 last year.
(Star-Advertiser file / 2009)
The Sabers have held the knife since 2005, when they nipped Campbell 28-27, their longest stretch of ownership. Waipahu held the knife from 1978-1991. The only coaches in the Prep Bowl era who have never relinquished it are Waipahu’s Todd Fujimori (1-0) and Keith Morioka (8-0). Waipahu holds a 30-12-1 edge in the series.
Campbell athletic director Sam Delos Reyes has been on both sides of the rivalry and has seen it change hands eight of the 10 times it has happened. He went 6-3 as the head coach for Waipahu in the Cane Knife Classic and is 6-1 as Campbell’s AD. Amosa watched Darren Hernandez give it up a few times when he was the Kapolei coach’s offensive coordinator at Campbell in the late 1990s when the trophy went back-and-forth between campuses four times.
The Sabers figure to keep the trophy after the teams meet on Friday night at Campbell, but there are no guarantees in the wild OIA Red West. The Sabers are 2-2 in the conference and ranked No. 7 in the Star-Advertiser’s football poll while the Marauders are 1-3 but assured of a playoff berth.
Top performers since 1973:
Biggest blowout for Campbell: 2011, Campbell 68, Waipahu 0
Biggest blowout for Waipahu: 1979, Waipahu 38, Campbell 0
Closest game: 1976, Waipahu 14, Campbell 14
Most yards passing, Campbell: Justin Tago-Sue with 249 in 2012.
Most yards rushing, Campbell: Clifford Russell with 136 in 1996.
Most yards receiving, Campbell: Kela Noda with 170 in 1998.
Pass yards, Waipahu: Lefa Lauti with 250 in 1990.
Rush yards, Waipahu: Victor Moananu with 147 in 2009.
Receiving yards, Waipahu: Chad Cadiente with 153 in 1986.
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