Trojans Battling For Starting Quarterback Position

Del.icio.us

Around the Mililani football program there’s never any confusion as to who sets the pace. That would be head coach Darnell Arceneaux and his staff.

“We go out there with a lot of high energy,” said the second-year coach and former Saint Louis School and University of Utah standout. “At the end of practice, we look at our watches and we can’t believe where the time has gone.”

Coaching aside, nothing adds to the intensity level like full contact drills, in which the Trojans were allowed to participate last week as their spring practice sessions wound down. Mililani, which won the Oahu Interscholastic Association’s Red West regular-season crown last fall, was to hold its spring game over the weekend. Under the OIA’s guidelines, the Trojans were allotted a three-week period in which they could hold 10 practices, five of which were to be in full equipment.

“It’s not every day that they get to hit,” Arceneaux said. “Right now, we’re focusing in on getting our reps. We have a lot of young guys who are stepping into key roles. We’re building a foundation. We want to be fundamentally sound, especially on special teams, which we work a lot on in spring. We don’t expect them to be ready (at the end of spring ball) to play a Saint Louis or a Kahuku yet, but we want to be on the right track.”

One glaring area of intrigue for the Trojans this spring is at quarterback, where Arceneaux must replace three-year starter Rustin Funikoshi. A pair of seniors - Joshua Manuma and Dean Shimokawa - are vying to fill the void.

“It’s wide open,” Arceneaux said of the battle to be the Trojans’ starting quarterback. “Joshua was a wide receiver last year, and he has tremendous ability. He’s an athletic guy who can run. We’re trying to get him on the same page as Rustin was last year.

“Dean is another guy who has been with us awhile,” he continued of Shimokawa. “He has confidence throwing the ball, and he’s starting to know where to go with it. He’s starting to see the big picture.”

Whoever emerges this summer to assume the reigns behind center will have the luxury of throwing to one of the state’s top receivers in Taz Stevenson. A junior-to-be, he demonstrated his athletic ability this spring when he ran a 10.88 in the 100-meter dash during the track and field season.

“He’s bigger and stronger than last year, and the light has gone off in his head as far as how much ability he has,” Arceneaux said of Stevenson, who also is a track standout at the school.

Defensively, the Trojans welcome back a host of play-makers at key positions, led by middle linebacker Sterling Cossey, defensive end Sitiveni Manu and free safety Tonka Marson.

Manu packs 330 solid pounds in a 6-foot-4-inch frame, and is being recruited by Michigan State, Oregon, California, Utah and Hawaii, among other Division I schools.

“He’s a physically dominant player,” Arceneaux said of Manu. “He’s a very athletic kid who looks the part and plays the part.”

Arceneaux calls Cossey the “heart and soul of our defense,” meanwhile. “Big things sometimes come in small packages,” he added of Cossey, who is 5-foot-9, 215. “He’s a shot of adrenaline for us, and he’s had a tremendous spring.”

Marson will anchor the secondary from his free safety spot.

“He’s a good all-around athlete who can make plays,” Arceneaux said of Marson. “He allows us to do a lot of things, and he’s a good tackler, a good finisher.”

Elsewhere, the battle for playing time has been intense this spring for Mililani, with battles at seemingly every position.

“There’s been a lot of competition and guys wanting to get better,” Arceneaux said. “They’ve looked forward to coming out, and they’ve been having a lot of fun together.”

While Arceneaux’s own transition year is behind him, the second year coach stops well short of saying he has settled in, preferring an atmosphere favoring a sense of urgency.

“When you’re comfortable, you tend to relax,” said Arceneaux, who led Saint Louis to a second-place finish in the state in 2003 while the Crusaders’ coach. “Experienced is the word I like to use. Every day I learn something new as a coach.”

Mililani will be participating in 7-on-7 pass leagues in the coming weeks in addition to its summer conditioning and weight training. Fall camp officially begins July 29.