Despite Injuries, Cougars Gear Up To Challenge Radford

Wednesday - October 01, 2008
By Jack Danilewicz
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Kaiser High’s Travis Nelson (right) attempts to stop Marcus Nelson during Cougar football practice. Photo by Byron Lee, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Should the Kaiser football team achieve its annual goal of making the OIA White Division playoffs, head coach Pat Samsonas and the players know they will have taken the long hard route.

The Cougars, who took a 2-2 record into last weekend’s game with Waialua, close out their season against three teams that were competing in Division I at this time a year ago - Radford, Moanalua and Campbell.

“We’re still in the hunt,” he said. “We have the hard teams to beat remaining, but the kids seem up to that challenge.”

First up is Friday night’s trip to Radford. The Rams took a 3-1 record into the weekend and have impressive wins over Aiea (40-9) and Campbell (26-14) on their resume. Radford’s only league loss came Sept. 20 to division leader Kalaheo (13-10).


“Anytime a team moves down from Division I, they feel like they shouldn’t be there and they want to prove that they belong in Division I. That’s a challenge.”

A bigger challenge for the Cougars to date has been managing their injury situation. In addition to losing a handful of players to injuries prior to the season, Kaiser lost a pair of three-year starters in Pasi Toetuu and Brian Freeman when the pair went down in games versus Anuenue and Kalani, respectively.

“We’re under 30 (players) at any given time in practice, so our No. 1 concern is making our team last the whole game no matter the opponent,” said Samsonas, who led Kaiser to a 6-1-1 record in 2006 as well as an OIA White regular-season title. “The unity we have with the guys who have been stepping up (in place of injured starters) has pleased me most. The team has rallied around those two guys.”

In Radford, the Cougars will see a mirror image of themselves, offensively, according to Samsonas, which could aid his team in its preparation.

“They run a Northwestern-type offense like us, so our scout team will be our team during practice this week,” he said. “Defensively, we’ll have to do our homework to try to out-scheme them. The one positive thing is that we see it every day in practice.

“Radford is a very, very good team,” he added. “They have a great wide receiver and a great quarterback and two of the best defensive linemen in our league. It will also be their homecoming, so playing the role of the spoiler is an added incentive.”


Dictating the pace with their own spread offense could enable the Cougars to keep the Ram’s explosive offense off of the field. In sophomore Jarren Inagaki and junior Jesse Kauhola, the team has two of the top backs in the White division. Both also are two-way starters, manning linebacker spots on defense.

“Both are on the field 98 percent of the time,” Samsonas said. “Jarren’s an awesome guy to coach. He’s a tough kid - he reminds us of a young Isaac Saffery (‘06). He’s the second coming of Isaac. He’s not flashy, he’s not vocal, he’s just a down-and-dirty (runner). If I have to get into a fight, he’s coming with me.

“Jarren can pound ‘em with his powerful style. Jesse can come in and make a move. He’s not vocal either; he just gets the job done.”

Inagaki has rushed for 379 yards (and two touchdowns) to date, second only to Kalaheo’s Phil Tauai in the White, and good for ninth overall in the state, heading into last weekend’s action.

In the trenches, senior Bijon Mostoufi has led the way, providing leadership for a young unit.

“His versatility helps us,” Samsonas said. “He’s playing O-line and tight end. Against Waialua, he’ll play on the line, and against Radford, we’ll use him a lot at tight end, too. His strength is his toughness.”

Safety Bryce Marcoulier has anchored the Kaiser secondary from his safety position, meanwhile, living up to all preseason expectations. “He’s just been a solid guy. We don’t have to worry about him. We always know he’s going to give 100 percent and do his job. We’re moving him to offense to fill in for Freeman.”

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