Transition Goes Smoothly For Red Raiders’ Football

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As a sophomore, Kahuku’s Shiloh Teo established himself as one of the top defensive backs in the state last fall when he helped lead the team to its fourth state championship in the past six years.

This time around, Shiloh will put his signature to the Red Raider offense. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Teo made the switch to quarterback this spring after last year’s starter, Kaulen Krebs, completed his eligibility. Krebs’ talents are now the property of Oregon State.

“He played a little (quarterback) as a freshman on the junior varsity, and he played quarterback when he was growing up, so it’s more of a return (to quarterback),” said Red Raider offensive coordinator Darren Johnson.“The hardest transition for him was just leaving the defense, because he could be the best defensive back in the state. But like the rest of our kids here, he’s a guy who wants what’s best for the team.”

Transition is the key word around Kahuku’s spring practice. Although a veteran of Red Raider football, Johnson is new to the staff in a sense himself. He was an offensive coordinator at Kahuku in the early ‘90s before leaving to become head coach at Kailua, where he stayed through 2003. A former quarterback at Kahuku, Johnson is happy to be back under first-year coach Reggie Torres, who was promoted from head JV coach to head varsity coach earlier in the year. Torres replaces Suiaki Livai.“It’s nice to coach in the community you grew up in,” added Johnson, who graduated from Kahuku in 1983.

While a coaching change normally translates into a transition year, Johnson downplayed the effects of the change. The team’s spring practice culminated last Friday in the Red-White game. Kahuku starts summer work-outs this month. Fall camp for Hawaii’s high schools begins July 31.

“Because all of the coaches come from the community, and because a lot of the kids played for Reggie on junior varsity, it’s been a smooth transition,” Johnson said. “It’s probably gone a lot smoother than at most places. The kids have worked really hard in the off-season, and the coaches are putting in the time.”

Under OIA rules, the Red Raiders were allotted a 14-day period to conduct 10 practices, with Teo’s switch to quarterback among the more interesting developments from spring workouts.

“He’s penciled in as the guy right now - if we were playing a game today, he’d be the starter,” Johnson said of Teo, who is also being pushed by fellow quarterbacks Richie Torres and Nalu Carvalho. “He catches on quick and he’s easy to coach. He’s a pretty balanced quarterback. He’s a guy who can run, and he can throw, too.”

“He was a little torn (about going to offense) because he had such a great season at safety as a sophomore,“he added.“Basically, he’s having to start all over, but we feel he’ll get to the point we want him to.”

Kahuku’s offensive staff also includes Sterling Carvalho (running backs), Gerald Welch (wide receivers), Molia Salanoa (quarterbacks) and Tommy Heffernan (offensive line), who was Johnson’s own position coach when he played for the Red Raiders.

Johnson didn’t think Teo’s chances for a Division I college scholarship would suffer from switching over to offense since “he’ll have a chance at camps to show what he can do as a defensive back.

“We’re making it known (to recruiters) that he’s probably the best defensive back around. It shows that he’s a team player and willing to sacrifice, and they (college coaches) like that. We think he can also be looked at (as a quarterback).”

The team will stay with the I-formation for its base offense,“but we’ll run multiple sets, also. There will be good speed and size on the offensive line again. Right now, the main things is just trying to get the kids to keep getting better.”