Aiea, Leilehua Coaches Eager For ‘Reunion’ on Gridiron
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usMany players have passed through the Aiea football program under Wendell Say’s watch. But even if Nolan Tokuda hadn’t gone on to become a highly successful coach at rival Leilehua, he’s still fresh in Say’s mind.
Then as now, Tokuda’s work ethic was noteworthy. “Nolan was already a hard worker and a student of the game,” said Say, who’s in his 30th year as Aiea head coach. “He was one of those kids who was suited up 20 minutes before practice and ready to go. He was the last one to leave, and he always worked to make himself better.”
Before becoming a coach, Tokuda played 7-on-7 flag football in a Sunday league while finishing up his degree, and he would probe his old coach for information.
“His mind was always clicking,” Say recalled. “He would draw up plays and ask me what I thought. How should I defend this?”
“I think I was a student of everything,” Tokuda admitted. “I always remembered the saying, ‘Go hard or go home.’ I never took a day off. It’s why I can’t understand when one of my players doesn’t give 100 percent because it was a constant for me.”
Both men are hard at work this week preparing their teams for Friday’s OIA Red West battle at 7 p.m. at Aiea. Na Ali’i already have a conference loss (7-0 to Kapolei Sept. 4), so every game is critical in its title quest. Conversely, the Mules were 2-0 heading into last weekend, gaining momentum from a riveting come-from-behind win Sept. 4 over Campbell.
For both coaches, a lot of emotion goes into this yearly face-off. Say grew up and continues to live in Wahiawa, and he played for Leilehua in his own prep days. Tokuda graduated from Aiea in 1990, where he also taught and worked after college - in addition to his playing time.
Recently he walked through the Aiea locker room while visiting assistant coach C.J. Tausaga. “The same locker room where I bled, sweated and cried as a player,” he said. “It’s always fun to come back. I appreciate everything that they did for me at Aiea. It’s why I always try at Leilehua to coach the kids off of the field as well as on. Playing Aiea is like going into the backyard with your brothers and playing football.”
Leilehua lost many to graduation but is regaining its footing. It showed its explosiveness on offense when overcoming a 20-0 deficit to Campbell. The Mules have been using quarterbacks Jordan Kalaau and Keenan Sadanaga, and Say is preparing to defend both of them this weekend.
“He’s a good lefty, too,” Say said of Keenan Sadanaga. “He reminds me of Keenan Naoele, who played for us. He was also a lefty, an excellent pitcher in baseball with a strong arm.
“When you’re preparing for two, you want to make sure you’re fundamentally sound as far as putting pressure and having containment. Nolan always tries to mix it up to keep the defense off balance. They had a bye before playing us, so I’m sure they’ll have a few tricks in their bag.”
Kalaau put up impressive numbers against Campbell, going 18-for-28 for 214 yards, in addition to scrambling for a score during a critical stretch of that game. Say is just as weary of Sadanaga.
Aiea’s loss to Kapolei was its first since losing its starting quarterback Freddy Taliulu for the second straight year to a fractured collarbone. He will return in the coming weeks, but not in time for this weekend, so Na Ali’i hopes to minimize the transition to junior Duke Spencer.
“Throughout the whole West, every team is playing solid defense,” Say said. “Leilehua is real solid on defense, too. The game will come down to who makes the least amount of mistakes.”
Aiea also is a solid defensive team, yielding only a touchdown in each of its three games to date under longtime defensive coordinator Mika Liilii. Two of three scores against its defense - versus Damien and Kapolei - came by way of broken plays.
“Overall, our defense has really been solid. They’re quick, they hustle to the ball, and they have great chemistry. We’ve had a lot of talented kids here, but as far as playing well together, this may be one of Mika’s best.”
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