Former Kahuku QB Sol-Jay Maiava closing out his high school career in D.C.
Quarterback Sol-Jay Maiava spent two seasons at Kahuku before transferring to St. John's College in Washington D.C. Star-Advertiser file photo.
Sol-Jay Maiava has been busy building his football resume in Washington, D.C.
The former Kahuku star — who is a three-star recruit committed to play for BYU — is the senior starting quarterback for the St. John’s College High School Cadets, and they are playing a grueling 2019 schedule.
Maiava starred for the Red Raiders here in Hawaii as a freshman and sophomore, twice leading them to the Open Division state championship game, including a 31-28, last-minute loss to Saint Louis in 2017.
For the last two years, he’s been at the helm of the offense for the Cadets (5-4). The team plays its 2019 regular-season finale against D.C. rival Gonzaga on Saturday.
A year ago, St. John’s topped the Eagles 34-17 in the regular season, but lost to them in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference playoffs. That was the Cadets’ only blemish in a 9-1 season.
This year, it’s a whole different ballgame with a grind of a schedule.
Despite being just a bit over .500, the Cadets are ranked No. 25 in the MaxPreps.com Xcellent 25. Maiava, unofficially, has 12 TDs passing and three rushing.
Last weekend’s win over DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) was a big one, and it came down to an interception on the St. John’s 3-yard line with 12 seconds left.
“It was going to come down to this, we knew that,” Maiava told the Washington Post. “We knew we just had to finish.”
The Cadets tough schedule that includes games against seven highly ranked teams in the nation and six teams from other areas of the country looks like this:
>> Southridge (Miami, Fla.), W 48-0
>> Deerfield Beach (Deerfield Beach, Fla.), W 52-30
>> At St. Joseph Prep (Philadelphia), L 34-30 — MaxPreps Xcellent 25: No. 19.
>> At Duncanville (Duncanville, Tex.), L, 35-14 — MaxPreps Xcellent 25: No. 3.
>> IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), L, 35-20 — MaxPreps Xcellent 25: No. 14.
>> Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), L, 53-24 — MaxPreps Xcellent 25: No. 1.
>> Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.), W, 45-7
>> Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.), W 34-31
>> DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.), W, 24-20
>> Gonzaga, (Washington, D.C.) Saturday — MaxPreps Xcellent 25: 21.
According to USA Today, Maiava may compete for the starting quarterback position at BYU as soon as next year. USA Today also calls St. John’s “the DC football factory” and that the Cadets are “easily the best .500 team in the country.”
247 Sports lists Maiava as having offers from Fresno State, Hawaii, Liberty and Michigan aside from the one from BYU. The one from the Wolverines came from coach Jim Harbaugh at a camp on Oahu when Maiava was in eighth grade.
Former Kahuku QB Sol-Jay Maiava closing out his high school career in D.C.