From the outside, Wendell Look and Rod York don’t look like twins.
Or father and son. Or even best buds. Beneath the surface, it’s impossible to trace York’s playing and coaching career without one of his earliest mentors.
Like the Kahuku-Saint Louis matchup, the Division I final of the First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Championships pits one coach, York, against his former high school coach, Look.
“Coach Look was my position coach and head coach. He taught me football, but most importantly, he taught me how to put my heart and soul into anything I do,” York wrote via text.
“He’s a quick learner,” Look said of York, who went on to play for Hawaii. “He doesn’t call too much anymore.”
‘Iolani, the lone D-I representative from the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, enters with a 5-7 record. Two wins, though, have come during the state tourney: 17-14 over Moanalua and 35-12 over Campbell.
Mililani entered the D-I tourney after falling in the Oahu Interscholastic Association quarterfinals in a wild 36-33 loss to Waianae. After a 49-28 win over Maui Interscholastic League champion Baldwin at War Memorial Stadium and a 51-35 victory over Leilehua, the Trojans are 8-3 entering the D-I final.
The matchup on the field will be one of mirror images in some ways. Both teams love to spread the field offensively. ‘Iolani has cornerstone contributors at RB with K.J. Pascua and WR with Justin Genovia. Pascua has been efficient and versatile with 950 rushing yards on 241 carries for 16 touchdowns along with 20 receptions for 158 yards.
“K.J.’s been awesome. He’s very self-motivated, a quiet kid who has a competitive fire in him, not just in football, but in judo and wrestling. He has the will to succeed. Kids like him don’t come along too often.”
Genovia is a cog in the machine, giving off the appearance more of a foot soldier than a superstar, but he is, no question, a special kind of weapon. Despite drawing attention from top-10 defenses, he has collected 78 passes for 1,106 yards and seven touchdowns.
QB Tai-John Mizutani has been relatively conservative as four-wide passers go, eschewing high-risk tosses in favor of the safe target. Despite a midseason injury, Mizutani has passed for 2,260 yards and 15 TDs with just seven picks.
His other targets besides Genovia have been reliable. Brent Nagami (27 receptions, 398 yards, two TDs), Jonah Miyazawa (37, 350, two) and Rayden Kaneshiro (28, 293, four) are capable of piling up big numbers if defenses get lax.
Mililani has built up its hybrid of spread, run-and-shoot and zone-read wrinkles from the youth level and has one advantage that ‘Iolani doesn’t: Trojans QB Dillon Gabriel is excellent in the spread zone read and has scored seven TDs as a rusher. The sophomore has passed for 2,466 yards and 28 TDs with 11 picks, and his efficiency has picked up with the emergence of Jalen Olomua and Darius Muasau, both LB/RBs. Olomua (551 rushing yards, 10 TDs) and Muasau (419, three) have taken pressure off Gabriel and the passing game.
“It’s allowed Dillon time to develop,” York said of his sophomore signal-caller. “It will be a great matchup. Their D-line is big and disciplined.”
Andrew Valladares is a multi-skilled playmaker as a WR and kick returner. Ryan Chang and Cy Kuboyama-Hayashi have become better with each week, while Stanton Lee has become another key contributor in the past five games. Roman Tovi can also help when healthy.
The Raiders’ defense, led by LB Helam Baldomero, relies on fundamentals and is relatively conservative — like their offense. They may lock down on Valladares, but generally ‘Iolani will use the same blueprint that limited Moanalua and Campbell to a combined 26 points.
“Our kids have been able to rise to the occasion,” Look said. “Gabriel is a top-notch quarterback who understands what Rod (York) wants him to accomplish. Talented. The run game is a threat with Mililani.
“We are who we are. We’re not going to do things we’re not used to doing,” Look said. “We’ll rely on the kids doing what they’re capable of doing.”
“Everybody goes into it with the game plan, and there’s the contingency plan and a contingency plan for the contingency plan,” York said.
