Punahou lacks experience, but not talent

Don’t mistake inexperience and youth for weakness.

Sure, the defending Interscholastic League of Honolulu champion Punahou Buffanblu may start as many as 13 underclassmen when the season opens on Friday against West Anchorage (Alaska) at Leilehua.

But for a program that has won 34 games over the past four seasons, youth is just a necessary part of the sustained excellence Kale Ane and his staff have had in recent years.

Punahou has won two ILH titles and been to the state final twice since 2008, when it won it all behind a loaded core group of players. That group included linebacker Manti Te’o, the Sporting News High School Athlete of the Year.

Those comparisons are impossible for anybody to live up to, but the Buffanblu again feature a highly regarded linebacker in senior Isaac Savaiinaea.

At 6 feet 3 and 240 pounds, Savaiinaea has committed to Stanford over offers from schools like Florida, Arkansas, Oregon, Notre Dame and UCLA.

He’s ranked No. 140 in the ESPN Top 300 and regarded as the top prospect in the state.

"He’s a load for people," Ane said on Monday. "He’s been to a couple of national combines and had a great offseason."

Savaiinaea will fill the rover position in Punahou’s tricky defense that starts up front with senior nose guard Logan Hanohano (6-0, 260).

Opposing offenses won’t only have Savaiinaea to worry about because sophomore defensive end Canton Kaumatule (6-7, 265) is a fast-rising prospect.

Kaumatule, whose brother Luke headed off to Stanford this year, will be a headache to block.

"We think we have a pretty good (defense) coming up, with Canton and Logan eating up double teams and getting off blocks," Ane said. "We’re blessed to have these guys."

Senior Ryan Tuiasoa (6-0, 215), who started at linebacker for much of last season, has made a full-time move to running back, opening the way for Tumuauatasi Tuinei (5-10, 192) to start in the middle.

He’ll be flanked by seniors Kory Johnson (6-1, 210) and Isaiah Alcantra (5-7, 185). Cornerbacks Chaz Shizumura (6-0, 175) and Nikolai Bulanow (6-1, 197) will receive help in the middle from safeties David Andrew (5-10, 160) and sophomore Ronley Lakalaka (6-0, 205), brother of UH freshman running back Steven Lakalaka.

"We’ve got a couple old and a couple new guys, but we think we’ll be pretty solid here," Ane said. "We’ll be tested early, that’s for sure."

The offense will be challenged to replace Steven Lakalaka’s 1,300 total yards from scrimmage last year.

Quarterback Larry Tuileta (6-2, 193) threw for 1,966 yards as a sophomore, helping the Buffanblu make the state final before falling to Kahuku.

Tuiasoa will have the help of blocking back Kotoni Sekona (6-1, 247) as the Buffanblu try to establish a physical running game from the start of the season.

"We’re going to ride the running game," Ane said. "(Larry) is very poised and has really pushed himself to get better and is comfortable with the offense.

"Ryan got an opportunity to play (running back) toward the end of last year and did really well. He’s very athletic."

Five different receivers led the Buffanblu in receiving in at least one game last year, but only senior Noah Willey (6-4, 190) returns. Senior Keanu Chee (6-0, 175) will be one of Tuileta’s faster targets and Kanawai Noa (6-0, 170) is only a sophomore but has had an outstanding camp, according to Ane.

"We have some really good young players at that position," Ane said. "It’s very competitive."

A week after playing West Anchorage on Friday, the Buffanblu take a trip to the North Shore to play Kahuku in a rematch of last year’s state final won by the Red Raiders, 30-24.

Punahou will take the following week off to give itself 13 days to prepare for its ILH opener against Kamehameha on Aug. 31 at Aloha Stadium.

"Our preseason game against Kahuku should be a lot of fun because our guys will get an opportunity to play in a big game early," Ane said. "We had a chance to schedule some games that next week, but thought it’d be better to focus on the season and dedicate ourselves to getting prepared for Kamehameha and the ILH."