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Wendell Look has had many offensive stars in three decades as head football coach at ‘Iolani. This season he has Brody Bantolina, a running back who scored three touchdowns in Friday’s season-opening win over Damien.
But one of the rocks of this year’s team is found in the trenches — senior center Raynne Passi, a strong player on the field who also takes the lead off it.
“Now I have more responsibility. I have to lead my team because we have a lot of young guys, taking the right steps, even the defense. Push them to go 100% at practice so we’re ready for the real game experience,” said Passi, who has a 3.1 grade-point average. “They do listen to me because I’m a senior, but even outside of football, we talk to each other. They know if they want to win games, they have to listen to the seniors.”
Passi is a foundational part of the front five. Listed at 5 feet 11, 225 pounds, he is versatile enough to play any position in the trenches. Snapping the ball to first-time starting quarterback Micah Hoomanawanui, making adjustment calls pre-snap, setting the tone for a relatively young line, it’s a world Passi enjoys and relishes.
“We recently had a captains meeting, talking about how the running backs and quarterbacks get the spotlight. The men in the trenches aren’t really looked on. We’re fine with it,” Passi said. “We do our job for our teammates.”
Passi began playing for the intermediate team in seventh grade, one year after enrolling at ‘Iolani. He followed the footsteps of older sister Taimane, a volleyball standout, and brothers Skky and Stormm, each multiple-sport athletes. Oldest brother Starr was a standout linebacker at Saint Louis a decade ago.
Back in 2016, Passi’s only experience in tackle football was with the Central Razorbacks and Metro Tigers, where he played defensive line most of the time. Look recalls that season. He wasn’t overly impressed.
Look’s summary of seventh-grade Raynne: “He needs to get in better shape.”
Passi did that. Playing football and volleyball, he improved his conditioning. He also was already immersed in the arts. Passi played the role of Pumba in “The Lion King”, which took the stage at Mamiya Theater when he was a sixth grader.
“I had to sing and dance. I did two more after that,” he recalled.
One of those musicals was “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
“I did kind of lose interest. Wanted to try new things, but I still love to act and dance,” Passi said.
The dancing never ended. He is on his feet and dancing everywhere on campus.
“His dancing? Uhh, he could use some work there,” said teammate Ha‘aheo Dela Cruz. “I think so. After practice in the locker room, we have some fun singing and dancing things.”
Passi’s bucket list includes a dream role as Maui in “Moana.” Look believes Passi may be as versatile off the field as he is at the line of scrimmage.
“He’d be awesome! He can ham it up with the best of them,” the longtime coach said.
On the gridiron, Passi has embraced the skills of learning and leading.
“He’s been the center for two years, so he has a good sense of leadership on the field,” said Tristan Kim, who lines up at left tackle. “He’s really helpful, especially to the other linemen.”
Look is relying on his most experienced lineman.
“We have a long line of very intellectual centers, book and football smart. Our centers make all the calls and adjustments so they need to be able to recognize and adjust on the fly. Raynne is the next in line to continue that legacy,” he said.
Nearly two years removed from the 2019 ILH D-I title, ‘Iolani opened the regular season with a 28-0 victory over Damien on Friday. The Raiders’ spread offense ran the ball 46 times and passed it 30. The Raiders offense accumulated 388 yards of total offense.
“One main thing we have to work on is ball security. We do have a lot of inexperienced guys, and they were excited to play,” Passi said. “Coach Look, at halftime, he just said, ‘We got the first half done. Now we have to come out firing and improving on what we have to do.’”
‘Iolani hosts Pac-Five on Friday.
The O-line includes Kim (5-9, 180) at left tackle, sophomore Brodie Iwasaki (5-4, 195) at left guard, junior Caden Kaneshiro (5-9, 190) at right guard and junior Luke Ravizza (6-0, 175) at right tackle.
“We just need to keep working. We’re a small team,” Passi said. “We don’t have much numbers or size, but playing at ‘Iolani is a privilege. For the inexperienced guys, go out there and have fun. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. One thing Coach Look says the most is being grateful for the opportunity to play football, especially for ‘Iolani, don’t take anything for granted. All of this could be taken away in an instant.”
RAYNE PASSI
‘Iolani, football
>> Favorite movie: “Stomp the Yard.”
>> Favorite foods: Zippy’s chili moco and dad’s fried chicken. “My dad (Phillip) makes it every Sunday.”
>> Favorite music artist: Notorious B.I.G.
>> GPA: 3.1.
>> Did you know? Raynne has dance videos on his TikTok (Braddah_Raynneee).
>> Memory lane: Oldest brother Starr shot choreographed dance videos of Raynne and their siblings when they were younger.
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