Santiago A Mini-coach For Sabers
By Jack Danilewicz
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS | Share
Del.icio.us
|
The new day begins at 4 in the morning for Derek Santiago. The Campbell senior tips himself out of bed, and within minutes he’s making his way through Ewa Beach in the darkness to complete a mile run.
Once back home, there are situps and push-ups, and then finally he’s off to school for a full day of classes and then football practice. He knows his eligibility clock is ticking, so it’s all worthwhile - at least for now.
“I do it because I feel like I have to,” Santiago said of his 4 a.m. wakeup call. “If I didn’t have to, I would-n’t, honestly. This is my senior year, and it might be the last time I’ll ever play football. I’m going to give it my all this season.”
Santiago’s early morning runs were suspended briefly last week, as he was on the mend from an injured ankle suffered against Kaiser Oct. 18, but he’s full-speed ahead this week as the Saber Nation counts down the minutes to Friday’s OIA Division II championship game at 4:30 p.m. versus Radford at Aloha Stadium (also on OC-16). A big game from Santiago, who plays slot-back, would certainly enhance the Sabers’ chances. Their run-and-shoot offense, brought in by first-year head coach and former Aiea offensive coordinator Amosa Amosa, has been among the most prolific in the state, with Santiago among its many play-makers.
For his part, Santiago has been preparing for a game of this magnitude since Amosa’s hiring was announced last winter.
“The respect we have for him is unbelievable,” Santiago said. “He’s had a definite impact on me, and (assistant) coach Wyatt (Tau), too - they’ve made us better players and better people.”
Santiago also prepared himself for a position switch. After playing running back as a junior in the run-oriented wing-T offense run by Campbell’s previous staff, Santiago made the transition to receiver during spring practice.
“I thought that was the best way to help the team out,” he said. “My strength is making good reads and stuff - my knowledge of the game. I’m not your averaged-sized football player, but I love catching the ball and turning up field, and I love blocking. Making that one key block and seeing a guy score - that’s as good of a feeling as scoring yourself.”
Santiago started his football career as a quarterback with the Ewa Beach Cardinals’ Pop Warner team. As a freshman at Campbell, he tried out for the varsity quarterback position, but an injury derailed his opportunity to compete for the job, and he ended up playing with the JV his first two years. In switching to slotback last spring, Santiago also has seen his playing time multiply. His carries at running back were sporadic last season, in large part because the Sabers also featured Samson Anguay (11 touchdowns in 2007) at the position.
This year, Santiago’s leadership abilities have also figured big, according to Campbell assistant Wyatt Tau.
“He’s like a coach on the field for us, and he’s probably our best all-around athlete. He loves the new offense. He’s so happy we brought in Amosa’s offense.”
Like Santiago, teammate and current starting quarterback Lalo Respicio also re-invented himself in the off-season. He transferred from Nanakuli, where he had run a ground-oriented offense, and has flourished in the spread with 17 touchdown passes against only two interceptions in regular-season games.
“It took a while to get used to each other, but everything was clicking from there,” Santiago said of Respicio. “Having a quarterback like him makes all of us look good, and our defense has given us so many opportunities, and we’ve been able to turn them into points.”
For all the focus shown by the Sabers in practice, the emphasis is still on having fun. “Practice does-n’t just feel like a practice this year,” he said. “I feel like I’m going out to cruise with my friends. We have a lot of fun on the field. I’m excited to be part of this.”
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS
Most Recent Comment(s):
