Strong Leilehua Team Still Taking Games One At A Time
By Jack Danilewicz
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With another stellar defense in the fold this fall, the Leilehua football team hasn’t had to bank on its special teams’ play to win games. What matters most to coach Nolan Tokuda, however, is that his players on special teams are preparing as if the game is on the line every time they hit the field.
“It’s the attitude of the players - they think they can win games on special teams,” said Tokuda, whose team took a state-best 11-game win streak that dates back to 2007 into last Friday night’s game with Waianae. “We always try to (emphasize special teams), and this is the year we’re doing it.”
The attention to special teams has been highly visible in recent wins over both Kapolei and Pearl City. Leilehua blocked a punt versus the Hurricanes and also forced a pair of rushed punts with pressure from its defensive line. In a road win over the Chargers, they also forced a dropped punt snap with pressure from its punt-rush team. Equally important to the Mules’ big plays on special teams - albeit perhaps less noticeable to the average fan - has been their steadiness in coverage.
“On our kickoff returns, we just want to get the ball past the 30 (yard line), and we’ve been doing that. On our kickoffs, we want to keep them inside the 30, and we’ve been doing that. Our guys from both the O-line and the D-line have protected well. Our coverage has been better than in past years.”
In the kicking game, Leilehua place-kicker Maika Kunioka has established himself as the second-leading scorer in the state behind Kalaheo’s Dongwoo Kim, with three field goals and 24 point-after kicks, while Rico Newman has averaged 46 yards on his punts to date.
“He can pin teams down with corner kicks, and he can boom it and put it where it needs to be,” Tokuda said of Newman, who is better known as a running back/slot back for the Mules.
As they prepare for Friday night’s road game at Nanakuli, another area of emphasis will be to avoid a letdown. Leilehua is coming off homecoming week as well as a much-anticipated home-coming game with Waianae last Friday. The Golden Hawks, who were just 0-3 entering the weekend, will also catch the Mules in between games against the Seariders and a date next weekend with Waipahu.
“There’s always the chance the kids won’t play up to their abilities and will play to the level of the competition,” Tokuda said.“At this point, our kids know we can’t look past any team. Our biggest thing is making sure Leilehua doesn’t beat Leilehua. We’ve been having a lot of penalties, and we’ve been doing extra conditioning to remind them (of eliminating self-imposed miscues).
“On the Saturday after the Pearl City game, we came in and ran 12 200-yard sprints,” he added. “On Monday, we ran 15, and on Tuesday, after a hard practice, we had them run twelve 10-yard sprints with no recovery time. We’re constantly reminding them (of the importance of playing error-free).”
As in past years, defense continues to carry the day for the Mules - no small feat for a team that has quarterback Andrew Manley and a handful of play-makers.
“The obvious thing is our defense,” Tokuda said, summing up the Mules’ strong start this fall. “We’ve shown we’re a team that can reload. We graduated a lot of kids, but we have some younger ones who we told, ‘you’re going to be the guy, and you have to step
up.’ We’re proud of them (the defense).”
In Nanakuli, the Mules will face the run-oriented wing-T offense Friday night. It will be the second week in a row Leilehua faces a power attack, having played Waianae a week before.
“It’s an old-school run game, with two tight ends. We know they’re going to run the ball. Can we stop it? That’s going to be a key.”
LEILEHUA NOTES: Friday’s visit to Nanakuli marks the third week in a row the Mules will be part of a homecoming game. In addition to their own versus Waianae last weekend, Leilehua was Pearl City’s homecoming opponent Sept. 19 ... Tokuda has been pleased with his team’s work in the classroom with 11 players in advanced-placement classes. The Mules also could exceed last year’s cumulative grade-point average of 2.9.“That’s the thing I’m most proud of - they’re students first before they’re athletes” ... Leilehua’s plus-minus turnover ratio stood as a healthy plus-7 entering last weekend’s action ... Quarterback Andrew Manley was to be among those taking part in Saint Jude Hospital’s cancer benefit at Chili’s in Mililani last Thursday night. Mililani standout Taz Stevenson was also expected to participate.
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