Team Finds Strength In Adversity
By Jack Danilewicz
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The Hurricanes’ quarterback Mason Koa in a
game against Aiea.
Photo by replayimages.
If there’s one characteristic above all others that Kapolei head football coach Darren Hernandez likes about his current Hurricane team it is their ability to respond to adversity.
In a season of peaks and valleys, the Hurricanes’ability to tend to the matter at hand remains rock solid.
“These kids are pretty thick-skinned about everything,” said Hernandez. “They’ve moved on from our loss to Mililani,and they’ve been pretty focused this week. That can be good and bad - the good part is that they don’t get too down on themselves. We hope it’s resiliency.”
The Hurricanes are in the midst of a tough stretch in an Oahu Interscholastic Association Red West conference that is akin to College Football’s Big Ten conference, where parity is the order of the day. Last Friday night, Kapolei was to celebrate its homecoming with a game against neighborhood rival Campbell, its third straight game before a statewide television audience. This Friday (6:30 p.m.) they face their toughest road test of the year when they travel to Wahiawa to play Leilehua.
“It’s going to be tough,” said Hernandez, whose team took a 1-1 regular-season record into the weekend.“It’s a difficult place to play, especially with the field usually in bad shape, and playing in a hostile environment is never an easy task.”
The Hurricanes’ hopes in recent weeks have been bolstered by the return of guard Michael Matamua, a 6-foot-4, 290-pound senior, who rates as one of the top college prospects in the state, although the status of all-around performer Aaron Santiago (high ankle sprain) remains uncertain for the Leilehua encounter. He was expected to miss the Campbell game and is “day to day” this week, according to Hernandez.
“We’re hopeful he can get healthy quickly,“Hernandez said of Santiago. “We’ll have to use a bunch of guys to pick up the slack.”
Regardless of who fills out the Hurricane lineup, Hernandez sees his team’s fate on Friday night linked to how well it can defend Leilehua’s offense, which is led by versatile senior quarterback Bryant Moniz. A starter since his sophomore year, although he missed several games due to an injury in 2005, Moniz is one of the state’s most capable at his position.
“He brings a lot to the table,” Hernandez said.“He’s such a savvy player that you can have perfect coverage and a good pass rush and he can still break down the defense because he can run. He’s a lot of weapons rolled into one. He’s the total package.”
For their part, Kapolei will counter with a stellar secondary, highlighted by safeties Kamuela Foki and Cyril Ontai.
“Those two guys are hammers in the secondary,” Hernandez said. “They both play at a high level every week. We’re hopeful both will step it up in the next couple of weeks.”
Last week, as the Hurricanes prepared for Campbell, Hernandez’s staff was working to fine-tune Kapolei’s defense, which had given up 358 rushing yards to Mililani.
“We really did a great job on defense against Aiea,” Hernandez said of Kapolei’s 19-14 win Sept. 8. “Against Mililani, we had a lot of mental mistakes and assignment (related) errors. A lot of the long runs they ripped off against us were due to poor technique. We’re addressing that. We want to play hard, and we want to play smart.”
Offensively, Hernandez likes the way quarterback Mason Koa is progressing since taking over the starting job three games into the season.
“Mason is getting ready to explode - he’s on the brink of it,” Hernandez said. “He has the ability to run and pass.We haven’t seen the best of him yet. He’s going to put it all together.”
On the heels of Friday’s game with Leilehua, the Hurricanes meet Radford (10/6) and Waianae (10/13) in the final two weeks of the regular season. Both games are at home.
The OIA’s post-season begins Oct. 20 with first-round action.
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