Tokuda’s Mule Train Hitting Hard, Ready For Fall Camp

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Leilehua High’s spring practice may have rated an A-plus from coach Nolan Tokuda, but the third-year coach admits there’s nothing like the regular season.

“Our guys can’t wait to hit somebody else,” Tokuda said. “They’re looking forward to it.There was some good hitting in the spring, but it was just us.”

If anything defines Mules football in Tokuda’s reign, it has been their ability to be physical.

That was also evident when spring practice wrapped up June 7 with a 130-play scrimmage that drew a 200-plus crowd. The OIA allowed Leilehua 14 days in which to conduct 10 practices.

Expectations remain high for fall camp,which begins July 31.Leilehua was 3-3 last season in the OIA’s Red-West Division, a year after a riveting run in the 2004 state tournament that saw them post an upset win over Kahuku. Leilehua was 5-1 in the 2004 regular season.

“We’re excited,” Tokuda said. “We’re ahead of schedule. We look like we’re in early to mid-season form. We’re well-conditioned. Our scrimmage was like playing two games in one day.We split the team up and went offense vs. defense, and we had only one guy injured from a slight ankle sprain, so (overall) we came out healthy. There are some little things that we still need work on, but we’re ahead of where we were two years ago.”

Much of that optimism centers around the return of a veteran cast which includes quarterback Bryant Moniz and linebacker Mene Coffin (6-0, 210). But an incoming junior class that won the OIA junior varsity title last fall is also in the fold.

As at most schools during spring practice, the Mules’ defense was ahead of its offense, Tokuda said.

“The defense will always be ahead (at this stage). Offense is all about timing,” he said.“But they’re already clicking, too. We have about five running backs that we’ve been rotating, and it’s hard to say which one we’ll be starting. We’re excited about how far along they (offense) are execution-wise.”

The good news begins with Moniz, one of the OIA’s most capable the past two seasons. He threw for over 1,000 yards last season despite missing five games due to an injury, and started every game in 2004 as a sophomore. His playing time was limited during spring scrimmage to avoid the possibility of injury.

“He got us into the red zone three of his four possessions, and one was for a touchdown, so he looked good,“Tokuda said of Moniz, who has visited college camps in California and Oregon State this summer. “We already know what he can do, so we wanted to turn it over to a couple of the younger guys, who are going to need to get adjusted to the speed of the game (at varsity level). All three of our quarterbacks did good.”

Juniors Kaipo Derego and Robert Siavi’i also took snaps in spring ball. “They both bring confidence. They trust the system,and they trust the players around them.”

Siavi’i “can do it all,” Tokuda added.“He’ll play wide receiver and safety, as well as being our punter.”

One emphasis in spring was special teams, Leilehua’s Achilles heel. Mishaps cost them dearly in narrow losses to Mililani and Aiea.

“We definitely wanted to address those things in the spring, and we worked at special teams every day.

“In a tough conference like the Red-West, you have to be solid there. Once we put the pads on (in fall camp), it will be more a matter of tweaking things (on special teams), since we have everything in now.”

Tokuda credits his staff - Rod and Tanu York, Ed Kama, Burt Souza and Mark Kurisu - with enabling the Mules to maximize their off-season workouts.

“They made the off-season work,” he said, while also noting the community support. “One of our team moms, Kuini Salavea, did it all for us in the off-season - grade-checks,fundraisers,study hall ... She’s a very giving young lady. It was nice to see so many people at our spring game. Wahiawa loves its football,and they (the community) made it feel like a ‘game-day atmosphere.’”