Solid Defense Gives Marauders Lead
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usTwo games into its regular season, Waipahu head football coach Sean Saturnio is as pleased with his team’s win-loss ledger as he is its cohesiveness. To hear him tell it, the former is a direct result of the latter.
“What I’ve really been proud of is that the kids have been real good at putting the ‘team’ (concept) first,” said Saturnio, whose team opened the season with wins over Waialua and Roosevelt. “They believe in each other, and they work hard for each other. Everyone here has a role to play. We talk about doing your best at doing things the right way. I’m glad the kids have had a chance to taste what it feels like to be successful again. It validates why we do what we do.”
The Marauders, who had an open date last week, return to action with a key Oahu Interscholastic Association White conference game at home against Kaimuki (at 6 p.m.) on Saturday night.Waipahu, Kaimuki and Pearl City all took 2-0 records into the weekend. Kaimuki and Pearl City were both to play each other on Friday night, a game of obvious interest to the Marauders. Waipahu and Pearl City also meet later in the season in another contest that figures to go a long way in determining the White conference champion. Although only two games into the 2006 campaign, the Marauders have already become one of the ‘feel good’ stories of the prep football season, having won only one game in 2005. Those days seem a distant memory now. Leilehua coach Nolan Tokuda can be counted among the believers.
“They’re gaining respect the old fashioned way - they’re earning it,” said Tokuda, whose team scrimmaged the Marauders in early August. “I’m real proud of Sean.”
While Waipahu’s 2-0 start has been the result of a balanced team effort, the Marauder defense has perhaps been the most improved area from last year to this season. In its wins over Waialua and Roosevelt, Waipahu yielded negative yards rushing to both teams, while they are giving up only an average of 150 yards through the air.
“I’ve been very, very happy with the defense,” Saturnio said. “Our defensive coordinator, Patrick Ema, has done a great job with them. Players and coaches have stepped up. Our nose guard Samson Ma’u has played exceptional, and our defensive backs have been very good in coverage.”
The Marauders hope they can continue their solid defensive play this week, as Kaimuki presents a formidable challenge for Waipahu, according to Saturnio.
“They’re small numbers-wise with only 24 kids (dressing), but they have some very good athletes and they have good size,” he said. “They’re real physical, and they execute what they do well. Their (offensive) line fires off the ball real well, and they have a strong runner. Against Kaiser, they also showed a real good passing attack. We have a plan in mind, which we’ll solidify this week.”
Should the Waipahu defense come up with another good effort on Saturday night, then how the Marauder defense fares against the Kaimuki defense could go a long way in influencing the outcome. Waipahu is averaging 350 yards of offense per game and scored exactly four touchdowns in each of its games. The catalyst for the Marauder offense has been senior quarterback Gil Fernandez.
“He’s making some good decisions for us - his reads have been very good,” Saturnio said of Fernandez.“Even though we didn’t have a great season, he improved every week last year. I’m proud of him for devoting himself to getting better this summer. The load has been evenly distributed. Keo (Palimo’o) stood out against Roosevelt, but we’ve had a bunch of guys run well, and the line has been getting better. We’ve controlled the ball and the clock, and we’ve finished drives.”
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