Waipahu Game A Royal Homecoming For Pearl City’s Kamaka
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usWhen Waipahu marks its homecoming at 7 p.m. Friday with a key game against Pearl City, one of its more prominent football alumni will be decked out in royal purple.
That would be Chargers head coach Kai Kamaka, a former All-State player at two positions on Waipahu’s 1991 team, which went 8-0 in the old West. He also spent six seasons as an assistant at Waipahu under then-head coach Sam Delos Reyes.
“I haven’t been back on that field since I stopped coaching there,” said Kamaka, who left Waipahu to coach his son’s youth football team.
But Waipahu’s been much on his mind in recent months. In preparation to face the Marauders’ powerful option offense, Kamaka scheduled Pearl City’s pre-season scrimmage as if it was preparing to face Waipahu. “That was why we played Waianae, Radford and Kapolei in our preseason,” he explained. “They’re running teams.”
As the OIA White Conference season hits the back end, the race has centered around four teams - Waipahu, Pearl City, Kalaheo and Kaimuki. Waipahu was to play Kalaheo last weekend, while Pearl City will visit the Mustangs next week. The outcome of the Pearl City-Waipahu game should go a long way in determining the champion.
“If we go 5-0 and they come in 4-1, it’s a pretty huge game,” Kamaka said. “There’s a lot going into it. It’s homecoming, positioning for seedings, and they’re a rival. We feel good because we haven’t played our best football yet. We’re peaking at the right time.”
Between the sidelines, Kamaka expects his stout Charger defense to face a stern test in Waipahu. The Marauders feature a host of playmakers on the offensive side of the ball led by Victor Moananu (145.8 yards per game and rushing 6.9 yards per carry), Jerry Tanupo Jr. (241 ypg, 16/1 ypc), Mark Bumanglag, Eraeji Au, Drake Yoshioka and Devin Kaneshiro.
“Everything is based off of the dive back, who is a really strong kid,” Kamaka said. “If we could neutralize the dive back, it would help. They’re good with ball control, they’re big, and they execute very well up front.”
Waipahu had already amassed nearly 1,300 rushing yards and 19 touch-downs through its first five games. Pearl City will counter with a defense that had given up a league-low 24 points (when non-conference or preseason games are included), heading into last weekend.
Kamaka called his defensive line, which features Josiah Demello, Mike Feao, D.J. Moe and Troy BarbosaScanlan, the most improved unit from a year ago. The Chargers’ linebacking trio of Ray Cooper, Cyrus Coen and Chase Tagalog is one of the best in the league, while Ronson Barret has been a star in the secondary for Pearl City.
“We have a strong front seven - they’ve been really physical - and Ronson gives really good run support. All of our defensive backs are playing good football.”
Above all, the Chargers have taken the ball away from their opponents in 2010, forcing 21 turnovers in five games, while committing only five turnovers themselves in that span.
For their part, the Charger offense has been a picture of balance, with 838 yards on the ground and 882 via the airwaves, as of late last week.
Kamaka attributed his team’s balance to the spread offense being “a true-read offense,” wherein the defense dictates the play call by the offense.
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