Health Is Key For Skilled Team
By Jack Danilewicz
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Del.icio.usKahuku defensive back Kawehena Johnson is a freshman, but first-year starter on varsity might be a more apt description.
Indeed,coach Reggie Torres sees Johnson as a player well ahead of his years. “He’s mature for his age; he’s played sports since he was little,“said Torres.“He’s a coach’s son who has been around football his whole life. He does things you can’t coach.”
Johnson is the first freshman to crack the Kahuku starting lineup since Torres took over in 2006. He’s currently holding down a corner back spot in the secondary for one of the state’s best defenses. The team is yielding one touchdown per game -versus Punahou, Kailua and Roosevelt.
“The good part is that they’re all young,“said Torres, whose defense will lose only three or four starters at season’s end,“and we have some juniors in behind Kona,Hauoli and Veteson Sauni, who are starting to see playing time - players we saw potential in. To see that coming to fruition is great.”
Johnson still has three-and-a-half seasons ahead - a comforting thought for Torres, who was a Kahuku High teammate of Johnson’s father, Darren. The elder Johnson was a quarterback in the early 1980s, coached Kailua in a successful run and turned around the Kaimuki team more recently.
While a quarterback for a time in youth football, Johnson is ideally suited to play secondary, said Torres. “He’s aheckuva a player. He knows the game of football. He’s always in the right position.”
Kahuku took a 3-0 overall record into last weekend’s OIA Red East matchup with McKinley and had extra time to prepare for Friday’s home game versus Kaimuki, with an open date Sept. 11-12. A top priority, however, was to heal some of its injured.
Currently out is all-purpose standout Lopaka Morris, who burst on the scene like a meteor in Week One and Two, scoring five touchdowns in a variety of ways. He has been out since the Kailua game with a knee injury. Torres was awaiting results of an MRI last week, but noted that Morris was progressing nicely. “He’s starting to loosen up, so hopefully he’ll be back before October,” he said.
That would be a big boost to Kahuku, whose schedule will stiffen in coming weeks with games against Farrington (at Roosevelt) Oct. 2 and at Castle Oct. 10.
Injuries on the offensive line also prompted the staff to shift nose guard Steven Siilata, a 6-foot,250-pound junior,to center, but that move has paid huge dividends so far.
“His tenacity and aggressiveness and his communication skills (are his strengths),” Torres said.“He’s making the calls (up front). He’s the voice of our line.He blocks non-stop until the whistle blows.We love that about him.”
Torres also likes the progress the offense has made in recent weeks, although he was disappointed to lose junior running back/slot back Galeai Malufau for the season to a leg fracture. Malufau was in the rotation with fellow backs Viliami Pasi and Tyrone Brown.
“His work ethic had increased, and he was becoming a leader, so it’s sad,“Torres said.
In this week’s opponent, Kaimuki, Torres sees a team with the ability to play physical.
“We have to establish the line of scrimmage if we’re going to have any type of success,“he said.“They’re solid on the line,and they gave us problems last year. They’ve struggled this year, but they’re still tough, defensively, so they’re going to be tough to score on.”
Torres also used the bye week to upgrade team conditioning, but on that Friday the team and staff gathered for a potluck after practice to lighten the mood before hitting the stretch run of a long season.
“We did it for team bonding and to break up the monotony of football,“Torres explained.
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