A week ago, quarterback Matai Fuiava was enrolled at St. John Bosco in Bellflower, Calif., a national prep football powerhouse. Some 2,500 miles away, the Kahuku Red Raiders were preparing for their biggest game of the regular season so far: The home finale against Campbell, which served as senior night, homecoming and an opportunity to shake up the OIA standings. All the latest sports news from Hawaii's sports station On Tuesday, Fuiava enrolled at Kahuku and joined his new teammates at practice. He left Bosco despite starting six of the team's games in their 7-0 start, which led to a No. 2 national ranking. Despite the limited reps and high stakes, Fuiava received the bulk of Kahuku's reps behind center on Saturday, entering in the team's third offensive series and never exiting after that. He completed 12 of his 27 passes for 174 yards and a touchdown, per the Spectrum broadcast, as Campbell prevailed 21-13 to get its first win on the North Shore since 1996 and remained unbeaten in 2024. Despite the sub-50 completion percentage, Fuiava's arm talent was shown in flashes on Saturday. Additionally, a sensational grab by Cal commit Aiden Manutai in the fourth quarter gave Fuiava his first touchdown as a Red Raider. Despite the loss, he expressed appreciation towards the Kahuku community following the game. "First off, I just want to thank the boys for welcoming me in with welcoming and loving arms," Fuiava said. "Nobody really had a bitter taste in their mouth about me coming from the mainland and trying to come in and help them win. I love it. It's a whole different atmosphere. These fans here are way, way better than back home. I've never been in an environment this loud when I ran out hearing them cheer. It was crazy. So, I would say my first week here was amazing." Fuiava described the move as a family decision. "I'll just leave that up to my family," he said. "We all had to come together as a family to make that decision. My dad had to move out here so we just came out here. It's whatever." In 2023, Fuiava was a backup on a Bosco team that came to Kahuku and received a shocking loss. From that experience, Fuiava got his first taste of the unconditional support of Red Raider Nation, something he says he clearly felt on Saturday. With family ties in the North Shore, Fuiava is currently staying with his brother while his father goes back and forth between Oahu and the continental United States. Fuiava acknowledged academics at St. John Bosco, a private school, were more rigorous than his current course load at Kahuku. Fuiava, a junior, says he fully intends to finish his high school career with the Red Raiders. With a new school and a new playbook to balance, Fuiava believes the team's upcoming bye week will do wonders. Kahuku is the No. 3 seed in the upcoming OIA playoffs and will take on No. 2 Mililani. Meanwhile, No. 1 Mililani will play No. 4 Kapolei. "1000% things will get better. We were limited because we only had a week to jell, to get the plays down," Fuiava said. "Coach is gonna open up the playbook during the bye week and I'm just going to study the whole playbook, get everything right so when we get to the playoffs, we're gonna be able to expand everything, be able to motion so we'll be good." In addition to Fuiava, Kahuku also added offensive lineman Jacob Maiava, a transfer from Crean Lutheran in California. Maiava, the younger brother of former Kaimuki quarterback and current USC quarterback Jayden Maiava, is committed to SMU. Although he's projected to be a guard in college, he played Saturday's game entirely at right tackle. "This team is never about one player," Kahuku head coach Sterling Carvalho said. "We got new additions, but it's never about adjusting to them. It's just about maintaining our culture, keeping our composure and moving forward as a team. Now that this week is over, we have a bye week and we can prepare together and continue as a team to make a playoff run deep into the playoffs." As for Fuiava, Carvalho felt secure enough to play him despite the limited familiarity. "Once he starts getting comfortable with not just the playbook but with the players and everything, he's great. He's a great quarterback, he's humble, he's hardworking and that's what I liked about him. ... His attributes, the intangibles he brought over, and that's what you want in any leader and in any quarterback or any player that comes through Kahuku," Carvalho said of Fuiava. "You want humble, hardworking, respectful young men and when he came in, he was exactly that. Kahuku's loss to Campbell was its first home loss to an OIA foe since falling to a Dillon Gabriel-led Mililani squad in 2018. The Red Raiders, who have won the last three state championships, know they'll have to conquer the Sabers at some point if they want to make it four. "Regardless of the outcome, we'll see them again. One way or another, we're hoping to see them again," Carvalho said. "We're going to see them again, and that's what we want."