Na Ali‘i Football Starts With Strong Team Of 65 Players

Wednesday - May 30, 2007
By Jack Danilewicz
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS | Share Del.icio.us

Longtime Aiea football coach Wendell Say spent as much time reviewing injury reports as he did scouting reports last fall.As his team began spring practice last week, he welcomed a healthy throng of 65 players.

“We have a good nucleus of committed kids,“said Say, who starts his 28th season in August.“My biggest concern is that we stay healthy. We had 24 players miss games due to injuries last season, including 17 who were starters, so we never had our full team for any one game. But that’s part of the game.We hope we can stay healthy this year.”

Aiea finished its injury-riddled 2006 season with a 4-6 record, but the byproduct of a difficult season was that a number of underclassmen picked up valuable experience along the way.As a result, Say greeted a seasoned team last week.


Nowhere is Na Ali’i leadership more evident that in its wide receiver corps, which returns eight of its top 10 pass catchers.

“That’s our strength,” Say said. “I would attribute a lot of the success that we’ve had in the past few years to our passing game. We’ve been able to throw the ball in a run-dominated league.”

Indeed, operating a wide-open offense has done more for Aiea than put a few more spectators in the seats. It’s also led to bigger rosters.

“(The spread-shot gun) has definitely helped us,” Say said of an increasing interest in football at the school. “Since we hired (offensive coordinator) Amosa Amosa eight years ago, our turnouts have always been good - in the 60-65 range. It’s a fun offense - everyone wants to play one of the skilled positions.”

Aiea’s on-field success has no doubt generated interest in the program as well.Including the 2003 season when Na Ali’i were in Division II, Aiea has played in the Oahu Interscholastic Association championship game in three of the past six years. Na Ali’i won both the DII OIA and state titles in 2003, while finishing as the DI runner-up twice.

The team will not hold a spring game, and closes out spring practice on Friday. Hawaii high schools officially begin fall camp the first week of August.

“The spring will be a learning period,“said Say.“We mostly teach them our offensive and defensive schemes.We’ve invited the kids who came out for our off-season program as well as kids who were involved in other sports (during winter and spring).”

Should they return to championship form again in the fall, they will likely rely heavily on their receivers, led by Daniel Liilii, James Buchanan, Aldodius Colquitt, Bryan Echalas and Ezra Knight. Quarterback Keenan Naeole also returns. Although injuries plagued him throughout 2006, he showed great promise in Say’s view.


“We’re confident in him.He’s very mature, and he has a strong mentality. He’s been a starting pitcher for the baseball team since his freshman year.”

Senior Lika Aviu, a third-year varsity player, will anchor the offensive line.

For all Na Ali’i's reputation as a scoring machine, Say said “our success is determined by our defensive play. Defense wins championships. Defense will keep you in games, and ours has in the past.”

Free safety David Sevaaetasi returns to the secondary along with cornerback Josh Chung and strong safety Alex Mauga, a three-year starter. In the trenches, Kaneoka Asing, Miah Faatoafe, Brennan Sato and Lawrence Lagafuina are also back.

E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS

Most Recent Comment(s):

Posting a comment on MidWeek.com requires a free registration.

Username

Password

Auto Login

Forgot Password

Sign Up for MidWeek newsletter Times Supermarket
Foodland

 

 



Hawaii Luxury
Magazine


Tiare Asia and Alex Bing
were spotted at the Sugar Ray's Bar Lounge