Kahuku’s new football field, equipped with a turf field and eight-lane track, became a reality earlier this summer.

After months of offseason preparation, the time has arrived for the Red Raiders to put their new digs to use in an official game.

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The Red Raiders will host Kamehameha on Saturday at 7 p.m., one of 15 games across the state in Week 1 action.

“It’s that saying, protect your house, right? So, that’s what we got to do,” Kahuku head coach Sterling Carvalho said. “We got to protect this house. We’re very fortunate to have the facilities we have now. For decades we wanted this and so now that we have it, we have to take care of it and come out and make sure that nobody did to us or are going to do to us what we did to them last year.

“This turf, this track, these stands mean a lot. It’s finally turning the corner. You have one of the best programs in the state year after year not having the resources that we have. The field that we had before wasn’t conducive to our style and what we can produce. Now that we have lines, numbers, hashes, it’s going to make a big difference in the way that we practice and now hopefully the way we play.”

As Carvalho eluded to, Kahuku’s previous setup at Carleton E Weimer Athletic Field consisted of a muddy grass field with no lines and a dirt track.

“Growing up, coming to all the games playing football our own games on the sideline, you always wanted to come over and play under the lights so we finally get the opportunity because we’re on the biggest stage on the North Shore,” linebacker Leonard Ah You said. “I was just amazed at how beautiful and how different it looked because we got a track and we never had a track, I’ve never seen over here a track. Before it was just the red dirt usually.”

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and time of construction, Kahuku has not hosted a game since 2019.

“Man, it’s such a blessing to have this beautiful field,” senior receiver and returner Kainoa “Kaikai” Carvalho said. “It’s been a dream to get this turf field and now we have it and now the Red Sea is going to come out and support, so there’s nothing better than playing for your home crowd and of course the Kahuku fans are something special when we play at home.”