As football season openers go, this is a biggie.
No. 10 Kapolei visits No. 5 Kahuku on Friday night and it promises to deliver more impact on Oahu than hurricanes Iselle and Julio combined.
Hyperbole aside, expect a battle of wills and lots of rugged hoof-stomping from the power backs.
After that, it gets a little tricky, and here are two reasons why:
» Lee Leslie, the new Kahuku coach who is going into his first game in the state, has remade the normally run-geared offense into a more complex machine.
» Darren Johnson, the former offensive coordinator at Kahuku, is now doing that same job at Kapolei, and if there is a Hawaii coach who likes his steak and potatoes with oodles of battering rams up front and tough runners following behind more than Johnson, that person has not stepped forward. However, Johnson surely knows first-hand the mastery of the Red Raiders’ defense, and both he and head coach Darren Hernandez have surely implemented wrinkles to their option offense to keep the hounds off the scent.
Even Leslie wants his defense to be on guard for Kapolei’s possible surprises.
"They (the Hurricanes) have big kids up front and we have the utmost respect for their boys, who we saw in the summer passing league," Leslie said. "We don’t want to get beat over the top. If they’re going to score, we want them to earn it with 16- to 18-play drives."
Kapolei quarterback Alton Julius runs the show, and look for Ronald Young and Trensten Spragling to be among the primary ballcarriers behind a huge offensive line.
As usual, Kahuku is loaded on offense. Quarterback Tuli Wily-Matagi has shown great leadership ability in his career and is a senior now. He’ll be able to show off his passing skills within Kahuku’s new offense that Leslie calls a combination of the West Coast, run-and-shoot and spread offenses.
Kesi Ah-Hoy, who ran for 160 yards in a scrimmage against Moanalua, and Soli Afalava are a dynamite 1-2 punch at running back.
Johnson knows it will be tough for the Hurricanes to pile up yards against the Red Raiders’ defense.
"They have seven legit defensive players who are getting D-I offers," Johnson said. "It helps that I know the Kahuku kids and they’re all good kids, so maybe that will play a factor. And, you never know, we might get lucky and be able to move on them."
Manaia Atuaia and Reupena Fitisemanu are rocks at linebacker, and tackle Salanoa Wily also leads the way for the Kahuku defense.
For Kapolei on defense, safety Bryson Hughes and linebackers Ronald Matautia and Sam Naulu have game-changing potential.
"We’re treating this as the biggest game of the season," Hernandez said. "We have a chance against a great, historic program, but we are decided underdogs. We are going in a little blind and have only seen Kahuku in one scrimmage. We were really hoping we would get to see them play Campbell (canceled due to Hurricane Iselle)."
FRIDAY’S OTHER GAMES
No. 7 Campbell at Castle
One thing OIA coaches have learned is to never underestimate a Nelson Maeda-coached Knights squad. The Sabers’ Amosa Amosa knows it well, but no matter what, Castle has an uphill climb in this one. Campbell has athletic returning veterans all over the field and looks to continue on the same path that took it to the state Division I semifinals a year ago.
Moanalua at No. 8 Waianae
Na Menehune first-year head coach Jason Cauley plans to use a more balanced offense than in years past, when Moanalua was known primarily to gun the ball. As first games go, there could be easier places to appear than the far west of the island, where the Seariders are waiting to prove they belong in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Top 10.
Aiea at Kaiser
This game features the dean of OIA coaches, Na Alii’s Wendell Say, against a new head man at Kaiser, former Saint Louis quarterback Cameron Higgins.
Some things never change and so it is with Aiea’s defense, which is expected to be big and solid. Knocking off the defending Division II state champion Cougars in their den will be no easy task, though.
Roosevelt at Pearl City
The Chargers continued to improve from the beginning to the end of last season under first-year coach Robin Kami, and they nearly came back to beat Kauai in the first round of the state Division II playoffs. They expect to be in the mix for an OIA Division II crown once again and get their first test at home against the Rough Riders, who won just one game a year ago.
Anuenue vs. Radford
The first result of the week is in. The OIA announced earlier in the week that Na Koa is forfeiting the game originally scheduled to be played at Roosevelt’s Ticky Vasconcellos Stadium. The forfeit is apparently due to a lack of numbers, which has been an occasional problem for the program since its first season in 2006.
SATURDAY’S OTHER GAMES
Kailua vs. No. 9 Leilehua, Aloha Stadium
The Mules have Kalanimoku Pauole back at quarterback, but for the most part, a lot of new starters are meshing into the system. Kailua is back to power football with Joe Wong at the helm for his first season.
No. 6 Farrington vs. Waipahu, Aloha Stadium
The Governors spent much of their offseason and preseason working on the passing game, which features senior southpaw Montana Liana. Their strength is still the ground game, which has bulky burners in sophomore Freedom Alualu (5-foot-8, 252 pounds) and senior Bugsy Tui (5-7, 248). The addition of transfer Ranan Mamiya from St. Francis gives Liana a shifty, sure-handed target out of the backfield.
Kalani vs. Waialua, Kaiser Stadium
The departure of the Lee brothers from Kalani’s coaching staff is clearly not a plus, but coach Greg Taguchi has his system in place. Assistant coach Harold Peralta, who helped former OC Ron Lee run the offense, remained with the staff.
Kalaheo at Nanakuli
Both teams have plenty of questions after losing key players to graduation.
Mino Jiyu at ‘Iolani
The Golden Bears hail from Osaka, Japan, and are generally a mystery team to the Raiders. ‘Iolani has its biggest offensive line in years, plus returning starters at quarterback (Austin Jim On) and receiver (Keoni-Kordell Makekau).
St. Francis at Keaau
The Saints have a promising group of underclassmen coming up the pipeline from their intermediate program.
Pac-Five at King Kekaulike
The Wolfpack came up just a little short of qualifying for the ILH D-II title last season but lost quarterback Anthony Canencia to graduation.
