Cougars Move To Passing Game With New Quarterback
By Jack Danilewicz
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS | Share
Del.icio.usWhether or not the Kaiser football team can duplicate its success of a year ago will be determined in the coming months, but the Cougars have left nothing to chance in the area of conditioning, to hear head coach Pat Samsonas tell it.
“We’re going extremely hard to make sure that we’re in shape,“said Samsonas, whose team opened fall camp on Monday. “Conditioning has always been an area of emphasis because of our (spread) offense, but we’re almost doubling and tripling what we did (in the past). That, hopefully, will be our asset. We’re hoping we can still be going hard in the fourth quarter.”
The Cougars also are hoping to go deep into the season.A year ago, the Cougars finished 6-1-1 en route to winning the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II regular-season title. Only a quick exit from the post-season could put a damper on the Cougars’ season. The silver lining has been Kaiser’s work ethic in the off-season, according to the coach.
“Our off-season conditioning program was the most successful since we’ve been here. The returnees we do have learned a lot from last year’s senior class.All their work will pay off in the end. We’ll be smaller in numbers, but we have guys who will find ways to win.”
Kaiser had a roster of 50 last fall, but will dress closer to 30 for its pre-season opener Aug. 18 against Iolani at Aloha Stadium. Twenty-nine seniors graduated from last year’s team, most notably running back Isaac Saffery, who rushed for 1,381 yards (with 18 touchdowns) last fall. Quarterback Skylar Chan has also completed his eligibility, leaving plenty of holes to fill in the backfield.
Kaiser was among the state’s more productive offenses a year ago, and how well the Cougars perform on that side of the ball could go a long way in determining their fate this season. Kaiser’s offense is patterned after Northwestern University’s version of the spread, which has made the Wildcats one of the most exciting offenses in major college football. While an assistant to Iolani coach Wendell Look, Samsonas traveled to Evanston, Illinois to learn from the late NU coach Randy Walker and his staff.
Kaiser returns only four starters from a year ago in wide receiver Kalua Noa, place-kicker Kyle Niiro, defensive end Bronson McMoore and offensive lineman Lono Awong, but each is drawing interest from college recruiters.
“Those are four guys we can count on,” Samsonas said.
Noa, McMoore and Awong were all selected as First Team All-Conference by the league coaches last fall, while Niiro has been twice named to the Second Team.
While the Cougars were run-oriented last year, that figures to change this time around.
“Our strength will be our passing game,” Samsonas said,“but we have question marks all over. Our offensive line will be completely new - except for Lono,we’ll have a new quarterback, a new running back, and a lot of new receivers.”
Juniors Laakea Awong and Cal Tashiro will vie for the starting job to replace Chan at quarterback.
Whoever Samsonas settles on will have one of the league’s top receivers in the aforementioned Noa, who showed his athleticism with a 68-yard kickoff return for a touchdown last season against Anuenue.
Noa participated in an invite-only Nike combine in Los Angeles this summer and, more recently, has been participating in informal 7-on-7 pass league type workouts with University of Hawaii quarterback Colt Brennan and some other UH players in preparation for the upcoming season.
Defensively, McMoore will lead the way for Kaiser from his line-backer position after making the transition from defensive end in the spring.
Kaiser’s kicking game should be in good hands once again with the return of Niiro, who converted on field goals of 38 and 53 yards last season as a junior.
Samsonas sees a balanced race in Division II this year.
“Kaimuki has D.J. (Darren Johnson as its coach) now, so they’re going to have the numbers,” Samsonas said. “Pearl City will be tough, and Waipahu is always well-coached with Sean (Saturnio), and Waialua is enjoying a resurgence - so it’s an open league.
“A team that could go 8-0 could go 0-8 with a little bad luck.”
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS
Most Recent Comment(s):
