Strong Kailua Offense Faces Onslaught Of Knights Friday

Wednesday - September 29, 2010
By Jack Danilewicz
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When Kailua sophomore quarterback Kahaku Iaea began spring practice last May, he quickly saw things would be different in 2010.

“I didn’t know until the beginning of the year that we would be going to the shotgun and be passing more,” said Iaea. “I like it. I didn’t get to do it last year. We were under center. The offense is new. Everything is new.”

As the team prepares for its OIA East Red finale Friday against Castle, there’s no doubt the spread offense has paid huge dividends. And Iaea has been the catalyst behind the offensive resurgence, throwing for a state-leading 1,567 yards in six games. His grasp of the offense, implemented by the offensive coaching staff, has multiplied week to week, and he enjoyed one of his best outings Sept. 17 when he set season highs for completions (25) and percentage (69.4) in a 31-15 victory over Farrington. He’s topped the 240-yard mark in passing yardage in five of six outings and twice has thrown for better than 300 yards.


“My reads and what I have to do has gotten a lot better from last year, my coaches tell me. I think we’re all coming together and playing our hardest.”

Ironically, Iaea suffered a broken collarbone in last year’s Farrington game, ending his season prematurely. “They took me out, so it was good to come back (strong) against them,” he said. “I played my hardest, and we ended up winning. All the football boys here were excited we beat Farrington. We’ve been coming up big, and all the running and hard work has paid off.”

A deep wide receiver corps also has helped the offense. While Eric Lum and Jarrin Young have done much of the damage, Iaea connected with no less than seven receivers in the Farrington game.

Also contributing are Isaac Sato (14.2 yards per catch), Micah Lee, Kila Zuttermeister, Ryson Lee-Kealoha, Charlie Arellano, Chance Shutter, Jarron Crowell and Cody Johnson.

Iaea credits much of the offense’s success to its growing cohesiveness. “We all get along well, the line and our receivers, and do a lot of team-bonding. We get together to get closer to each other.”

Iaea’s own rise at Kailua came early. Although only a freshman in 2009, he was tapped to start against Kamehameha after an upper-classman was injured in a previous game against Baldwin. He held the job until his own injury late in the season.

“It all started versus Baldwin, when I stepped in,” he said. “Starting against Kamehameha was a big thing for me.”


If all goes as planned, Iaea could be Kailua’s first four-year starter at quarterback in recent memory. His next test is the Castle game, which could figure big for the post season, as the Surfriders could be in line for a No. 2 seed out of the Red East, depending on who won last weekend’s game against Kaiser. Iaea and his team-mates, meanwhile, are focused on the matter at hand.

“I really haven’t seen Castle yet,” he said late last week while prepping for Kaiser. We will watch film this week and see what they do.”

Kailua is currently fourth overall statewide in total offense with 1,915 yards going into the Kaiser game. The Surfriders’ 1,617 passing attempts lead the state.

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