Moanalua taps Kapolei offensive coordinator, Cauley, as new coach

Moanalua hired a familiar face to replace Arnold Martinez as its football coach.

Jason Cauley, who was Kapolei’s offensive coordinator last year and ran Moanalua’s offense before that, has taken over as the school’s 10th head football coach.

Cauley, of Mobile, Ala., joined the army after the events of Sept. 11, 2001 and eventually wound up in Hawaii. He sent resumes to coaches around the islands in 2010 and Darren Hernandez chose him to be a position coach. Martinez upped that offer and made him his offensive coordinator and Cauley ran the show there until Martinez contemplated getting out of the game. Hernandez brought him back to run Kapolei’s offense, and that rise continued on Saturday, when he got his first head coaching job.

"I am so fortunate and blessed to have the mentors I have had," Cauley said. "I am going to be new at this, I will be going back to all of those guys and learn as much as I possibly can."

Cauley teaches at Kapolei and will begin teaching at Moanalua.

He said he has already begun trying to fill out his staff and wants to reacquaint himself with his new players as soon as possible.

Cauley says he expects to have a physical football team built around the running game. Tristan Pebria gained 816 yards and scored 12 touchdowns as Kapolei’s featured back last year. Sophomore Rodson Kealohi gained only 150 yards in seven games as Moanalua’s leading rusher last year.

"Our running game has always been top notch under Jason," Hernandez said. "He will do well."

Moanalua, which was 3-6 last year, lost quarterback Micah Kaneshiro and receivers Donald Lambert and Chad Aragon to graduation. Cauley will get to work immediately building an offense around the returnees. He will be thrown right into the fire, opening with Waianae, followed by Campbell and Farrington and then a Sept. 5 date with Hernandez and Kapolei. Hernandez is looking for an offensive coordinator who can fill Cauley’s shoes.

"We are friends, but I already told him that when we play on Sept. 5 we are coming at him hard," Hernandez said. "There will be no friendly text messages between us that week."