Cougars Ready To Spring Into Tough Gridiron Schedule
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usChampions in prep football may be crowned in November, but the groundwork is laid in late July and in the grueling off-season workouts away from the public eye.
In Kaiser High’s case, the off-season brought more change with the hiring of new head coach William Lobendahn to replace Pat Samsonas, who retired after a successful stint to spend more time with family.
With fall practice starting this week, MidWeek‘s East Oahu Islander looks at themes that will shape the 2010 season.
The Cougars play Farrington Aug. 20 (at Roosevelt), at Iolani Aug. 28, Kahuku Sept. 3, Castle Sept. 10, Moanalua Sept. 17, Kailua Sept. 24 and at Roosevelt Oct. 8.
Breaking down the schedule: The schedule in the first month is one of the toughest in the state with games against Farrington, Kahuku and Castle. The good news is the latter two are at home, as are the next two. In fact, following their inter-league game with Iolani Aug. 28, Kaiser won’t play on the road again for six weeks.
Can’t-miss game 1: Versus Kahuku at home Sept. 3. A visit from Kahuku - arguably the most visible of public school programs in the state - is truly an event, given the wide following the Red Raiders command in their own community and within football circles. They have won eight OIA titles and five state titles since 2000 alone.
For the Cougars, this game is a chance to measure themselves against one of the state’s best.
Can’t-miss game 2: At Iolani Aug. 28. It may be outside the OIA, but this will be a key game, as it comes between Farrington and Kahuku. Iolani has won the Division II state championship in four of the last five years, so this is a chance for Kaiser to make an early statement with a win.
Upset special: Matching up with Kailua is never easy, but catching the Surfriders between their games with Farrington and rival Castle might be a good time for Kaiser to spring an upset. This is Kaiser’s fourth straight home game, so the team should be more than settled in. Having played in different divisions for several years, these teams haven’t met, so there’s likely to be plenty of unknowns.
Sudden impact: Expectations are high at Kaiser because the varsity inherits the bulk of a JV team that won the OIA last fall. The Cougars went undefeated at 9-0, outscoring opponents 300 to 56. Kaiser defeated Pearl City 28-6 in the OIA semifinals before closing out Moanalua 28-13 in the title game. Offensively, the Cougars scored no less than 20 points in any one game and averaged 33.4 per outing in nine games. On the defensive side, Kaiser held its opponents to 6.2 points per game.
Make plans for the post-season if: the Cougars can win their final three games against Moanalua, Kailua and at Roosevelt. These are winnable games and perhaps “must games,” given the difficult first half.
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