A ‘Feel Good’ Year For Marauders
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usWaipahu head football coach Sean Saturnio’s holistic approach to running his program is well-known throughout the Marauder community. But make no mistake: He’s as interested in winning as anyone else.
“We know there’s a bigger picture, but wins are sure better than losses,” laughed Saturnio, whose Marauders meet Kaimuki in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Division II championship game at 4 p.m. Friday at Aloha Stadium. “The sun shines a little brighter, the air is a little more clear and the birds sounds a little better the day after a win. A year ago at this time we were packing up the pads. We were a model in futility.”
Indeed, Waipahu’s change of fortunes on the football field has transformed the team into the “feel good” story of the West side of Oahu. Last fall, the Marauders won only one game and lost seven, including a game they forfeited after suspensions for off-field issues had left them with not enough players to safely field a team for one week during the regular season. In the long run, Saturnio’s resolve to not over-emphasize winning at the expense of sending the wrong message has paid dividends.
“Anytime you face adversity, it gives you an opportunity to get better,” Saturnio said. “What you do with the opportunity is up to you. You can use it as an opportunity to get better, or you can use it as an excuse to create more excuses. I’m proud of our staff and players. The by-product of their working hard to become better people has been the on-field success this year.
“The kids have done a good job of loving each other and playing for each other,” he added. “We’re more proud of the off-the-field stuff than we are the on-field success. The parents and faculty have also been great. Our turnout the last few games has been wonderful, and the wives and girlfriends of the coaches deserve a thank-you as well because they get short-changed this time of the year with all of the time the coaches devote to being good mentors for the kids. Hopefully, we’ll keep this train running a little longer.”
Waipahu (7-1-1) advanced to Friday’s title game by defeating Waialua 29-26 on Oct. 28 in the OIA DII semi-finals, a win that also guaranteed the Marauders a berth in the upcoming First Hawaiian Bank state football championships. Only a 13-6 loss to Pearl City on Sept. 23 kept the Marauders from an unbeaten regular season. Waipahu and Kaiser played to a 13-13 tie in the regular-season finale for both teams on Sept. 20, but the Cougars were eliminated from the post-season by Kaimuki two weeks ago.
The Marauders defeated Kaimuki 19-14 in the regular-season meeting between the teams, but Saturnio stopped well short of saying his team would have the upper hand this weekend as a result of that earlier encounter, conceding the game “will probably come down to the fourth quarter.
“They’re very physical and very athletic, and they fly around on defense,” he said. “Like us, they don’t have a plethora of bodies around. They probably dress eight to 10 less than we do, but they have an extra-talented corps of players.”
Kaimuki has thrived with a strong running game, but the Bulldogs are far from one-dimensional, according to Saturnio, whose staff spent much of last week “analyzing everything that we have on film of them.”
“They’ve thrown the ball well lately,” Saturnio said. “Their MO has been to get the lead and run from the power (two-back)-I (formation) so they can try to kill the clock. We’re gearing up to hopefully force them into something they’re uncomfortable doing.”
For their part, the Marauder offense, led by veteran quarterback Gil Fernandez, has been able to keep opposing defenses off balance with a varying attack. How well the Waipahu offense can hold onto the ball could go a long way in determining the outcome of Friday’s game.
“They (the offense) have done a good job controlling the tempo of the game and giving our defense some rest,” Saturnio said, “and our scoring defense has been great. They always find a way to keep us in it. It’s been a collective effort with everyone living up to his role on the team.”
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