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LAHAINA, Hawaii (KITV) -- Among those who continue to recover after losing everything in the Maui wildfires, is more than 450 Lahainaluna High School student-athletes and 40 coaches.
But a record number of Lahainaluna High School graduates will be going to college this fall.
That includes 18-year-old Kaulana Tihada, who plans to walk-on at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and study electrical engineering.
A team captain with strong roots in Lahainaluna football, Kaulana had no idea how much his strength would be tested his senior year, after the worst natural disaster in Hawaii's history delayed the start of the Lunas' season.
"We lost our home," explained Kaulana. "Then my grandma from my dad's side and my uncles that live with my grandma lost their home, and my other grandma. My other grandparents from my moms side. They lost their home."
"At that point, none of us thought about football."
"At that point, none of us thought about football," said Garret Tihada, Kaulana's uncle and assistant coach for Lahainaluna. "We just thought about, 'We have no place to live.' 'We lost everything.' 'We lost family members, friends.' So football was the last thing on our minds at the time."
After the fires, four seniors played a big role in helping rally the team back together.
"Just getting those lifting sessions in with all your friends and teammates, that really helped us after the fire," explained Kaulana. "Just seeing each other afterwards, it gave us something to do and something to focus on. Something to fight for."
Lahainaluna went on to dominate their first game of the season, beating the Baldwin Bears 42-0 on Sept. 30, 2023, at War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku.
Another magical moment, the team's first home game on October 21, taking on Baldwin and winning 28-7.
"Community members, they didn't see each other for months up until this game," said Rickard. "So it brought back a town again that one night for three, four hours."
"It was overwhelming, as far as the response of, yeah, we need football," explained Garret Tihada.
In a moment they'll never forget, Lahainaluna's coaches, athletic director, and four of the team captains including Tihada, represented Lahaina and Hawaii as honorary coin toss captains at Super Bowl LVIII.
"It was absolutely a once in a lifetime experience," said Rickard.
Other moments of hope continue to shine through.
"My dad went back to this house and found two of his state rings, which is actually incredible," explained Tihada. "Of course they were a little beat up from the fire, but they were still together."
"There's a little hope," said Rickard. "A couple homes are being erected."
"It brought back a town again that one night for three, four hours."
"My hope is just that the people of Lahaina can get back into their homes after moving so many times from hotel to hotel," said Garret Tihada. "Just that opportunity to get back home and be grounded. Once they get back into their homes we can all start focusing on the future."
"This year was just being out there, getting out there, and showing our community that hey, we can all do this together," said Rickard.
