The first time around, Sam Papalii was a driven man.

This time, he’ll do more of the driving. Papalii, who led Kealakehe to back-to-back league championships in 2004 and ’05, was rehired as head football coach Thursday.

"It is the passion for the game, for working with kids," said Papalii, who was a finalist for the Saint Louis position two years ago. "I can’t enjoy my life unless I’m coaching."

He stepped down following the ’05 season after leading the Waveriders to a dominant position in the Big Island Interscholastic Federation.

"When I left, I wanted to pursue college (coaching) again," said Papalii, who has 18 years of experience as an assistant coach at that level. "I was under 50. Now I’m 55 and I want to be settled on the Big Island."

Papalii returned to the island a few years ago to help care for his in-laws. He enjoys golfing and fishing off the Kona Coast, but, for him, those activities pale in comparison to coaching.

Now he takes over where Sam Kekuaokalani left off. Kekuaokalani, the boys basketball coach, essentially filled in for a season on the gridiron after Gary Clark departed.

Kekuaokalani brought Papalii in as a consultant during the season. Now, Kealakehe will have Papalii on staff during school hours to work with at-risk students. That suits him fine.

"The only thing different now might be in academics. I don’t know the reason why. Maybe it’s a monitoring factor or an urgency factor," Papalii said after meeting with principal Wil Murakami and athletic director Mike Hernandez.

"Kealakehe has a tradition of winning football. That hasn’t changed. But the academic part has to improve. We don’t want ineligible players going into the season like last year."

Papalii hopes to expand horizons for the Waveriders, who have been loaded with talent since the school’s inception in ’98.

"As a coach, you want to see if your players really can make it when they go away. My job is to get involved with Pacific Islands Athletic Alliance. Doris Sullivan was just getting started when I was here and she does a great job," he said of the non-profit organization.

"I want to expose our student-athletes to options for all levels of college. From Division I to NAIA. There’s a lot of great opportunities."