Unpaid D-I Football

[HS Football Fanatic]

HS FB Fanatic, one obvious thing is this: if we run the ball as "well" as we did in 2004, we can forget about going anywhere. That '04 team had great receivers and solid QB play but couldn't run the ball to save its life. We suffered beatings in the games that mattered and blew a 10-pt 4th quarter lead against Kamehameha because we couldn't run the ball. Is it any wonder that 2004 was the last year we finished below 2nd in the ILH?

With the potential that our current RBs possess, I'll doubt that'll be the case this time around. None of them will give us what Wayne gave us last year, but consistency from them is all I ask. If our running game produces and keeps defenses honest, it'll give us a balanced offense.

@gopunahou: People think that if you can't run the ball, you can't win. Not necessarily. There were some St Louis teams in the '90s that had almost no running game, but their passing game and their D were good enough to carry them to Prep Bowl (state) titles. The interesting question is: Can Punahou run the ball as well as Kahuku can throw the ball? If Kahuku can throw the ball "just enough," can Punahou run the ball "just enough"? Exactly how good are Punahou's RBs this year?

There was the 2005 team that made it to the state finals. They ran the ball "just enough" and averaged less than 100 rushing yards pg.

@gopunahou: OK, that also goes to show that you don't necessarily have to run well. Now, again: How good do you think Punahou's RBs are this year?

[gopunahou]

@gopunahou: OK, that also goes to show that you don't necessarily have to run well. Now, again: How good do you think Punahou's RBs are this year?

My honest opinion is that it remains to be seen. One of our RBs, Enoch, played some key minutes last season and showed flashes of brilliance. But being the main guy or one of the main guys is a different animal than spelling for Wayne. He ran for an 83-yd TD last week, but can he do that consistently? Another RB that might contribute heavily is Siteveni Kaufusi. I'll need to see more of him though because he's just a sophomore.

[rrforlifebaby]

Big Red has enough of a passing game. Excluding the Inoke Funaki years, Big Red's passing game has always been just enough. I think "gopunahou" was very generous in calling Big Red's passing game competent. Because of such a dominant running attack, throwing in the "wrinkle" of a passing game does keep opposing D's on their toes.

@rrforlifebaby: OK, if Kahuku has an adequate passing game to go along with their strong running game, they seem to be set on O. Now, how good is their D? It seems quite possible that Kahuku might meet-up against Punahou for the D1 state title. Looks like Punahou will be primarily a pass-oriented team this year. So:
1. How good is Kahuku's secondary?
2. How good is Kahuku's defensive front-seven?
3. How good is Punahou's O-line?
4. How do Kahuku's D-line and Punahou's O-line match-up against each other?
5. Seeing as Punahou seems to be pass-oriented this year, how good are Kahuku's DEs? DEs are so critical to getting a strong pass-rush on. There's nothing like a big, fast DE coming off the edge.

At this point, hard to say. Kahuku's secondary is solid with great athletes, but we'll have to see how they play without Santiago. Big Red has athletes all over the place, we'll just have to see how well they play together considering how much talent and experience was lost. I am excited to see the linebacking corps in action in a live game.
Coach Tata is a St Louis grad, but like Big Red coaches in the past, he has not shown much in the scrimmages.

If Punahou has enough of a run game to keep defense's honest, they look to be a very formidable team.

[huki-lau-lau]

kahus passing game suck all the time, competent years was funaki and 2010, we never had great pasing years
this new soljay hopefuly be kahus first colege caliber qb, we see dis week play oc16 if passing is legit
was funny after scrimages all teams starplayers injured, kahu rb,db,oline, mil lb,ol, punah lb,dl, stloui lb,db
team with most dept go fartherst

[unpaid]

One thing that stood out to me in scrimmage reports was that Kahuku's D overall looked to be slower than last year's team. I think that this references mainly the DL and LB's. Botelho and Kaniho are speedy enough. I think one reason why Kesi Ah-Hoy was shifted to defense at linebacker is because the RR coaches wanted to get some speed into the first seven on defense.

Punahou running game. 157 yards against an unranked Leilehua squad. Not enough information to decide. Let us see what they can get on the ground against Kamehameha and St.Louis. A running game by committee usually means you have a lot of average guys who will combine to put up average numbers. Someone needs to step up and make it easy for the coaches to decide.

[rrforlifebaby]

One thing that stood out to me in scrimmage reports was that Kahuku's D overall looked to be slower than last year's team. I think that this references mainly the DL and LB's. Botelho and Kaniho are speedy enough. I think one reason why Kesi Ah-Hoy was shifted to defense at linebacker is because the RR coaches wanted to get some speed into the first seven on defense.

Punahou running game. 157 yards against an unranked Leilehua squad. Not enough information to decide. Let us see what they can get on the ground against Kamehameha and St.Louis. A running game by committee usually means you have a lot of average guys who will combine to put up average numbers. Someone needs to step up and make it easy for the coaches to decide.

From what I saw, it looked more like reaction speed vs running speed. Anyone else see different? As far as Ah Hoy, they boy comes from a family of Defensive studs. A friend of mine thinks D is more natural for him to play anyway.

Running back by committee isn't necessarily a bad thing. As long as the Oline moves the pile, fresh legs every so many plays will wear down the D.

[harus0ra]

One thing that stood out to me in scrimmage reports was that Kahuku's D overall looked to be slower than last year's team. I think that this references mainly the DL and LB's. Botelho and Kaniho are speedy enough. I think one reason why Kesi Ah-Hoy was shifted to defense at linebacker is because the RR coaches wanted to get some speed into the first seven on defense.

Punahou running game. 157 yards against an unranked Leilehua squad. Not enough information to decide. Let us see what they can get on the ground against Kamehameha and St.Louis. A running game by committee usually means you have a lot of average guys who will combine to put up average numbers. Someone needs to step up and make it easy for the coaches to decide.

From what I saw, it looked more like reaction speed vs running speed. Anyone else see different? As far as Ah Hoy, they boy comes from a family of Defensive studs. A friend of mine thinks D is more natural for him to play anyway.

Running back by committee isn't necessarily a bad thing. As long as the Oline moves the pile, fresh legs every so many plays will wear down the D.

I think it's reaction and running speed but more reaction. I don't think they will be or even close to last year's D but t still going be tough to score on. That's why they're offense needs to be better than last year's offense which is remain to be seen.

[rrforlifebaby]

I agree. Last year's Big Red D was exceptional. It's hard for any program, let alone a public high school football program have that awesome type of a D year in and year out. But, they have more than enough athletes to still be a pretty darn good D.

[unpaid]

Headliners this week,

No.3 Waianae and No.5 Kapolei. My feeling is that Waianae has a better overall team than Kapolei does. The Seariders should be able to do enough against the Hurricane defense to win the game.

No.7 Kailua and No.10 Moanalua. Picking Moanalua in an upset. The Kailua D is tough,but how many bullets can you dodge against the Yuen-Ramones connection? I feel that Moanalua will score enough to win this game. Kailua is breaking in a new QB and I think the Surfriders will still be working out on the learning curve while Moanalua will be in an offensive groove.

[BowTow]

What happened to Kapolei's running back Esperas and defensive tackle Mahelona? Both were listed as juniors last year but not on this years roster. I thought Esperas was one of the better backs in the state last year when he wasn't injured.

[huki-lau-lau]

anyone kno why only 52 roster on kahu but all other top schools 70 or 80?

[harus0ra]

[quote="huki-lau-lau"]anyone kno why only 52 roster on kahu but all other top schools 70 or 80?[/quote

Well Kahuku is a small school but I know about 15 of them is at Orem and a hand full stop playing.

[HS Football Fanatic]

One thing that stood out to me in scrimmage reports was that Kahuku's D overall looked to be slower than last year's team. I think that this references mainly the DL and LB's. Botelho and Kaniho are speedy enough. I think one reason why Kesi Ah-Hoy was shifted to defense at linebacker is because the RR coaches wanted to get some speed into the first seven on defense.

Punahou running game. 157 yards against an unranked Leilehua squad. Not enough information to decide. Let us see what they can get on the ground against Kamehameha and St.Louis. A running game by committee usually means you have a lot of average guys who will combine to put up average numbers. Someone needs to step up and make it easy for the coaches to decide.

@unpaid: I think a team's RBs can be only as good as the O-line. My question is: How good is Punahou's O-line?

[HS Football Fanatic]

Headliners this week,

No.3 Waianae and No.5 Kapolei. My feeling is that Waianae has a better overall team than Kapolei does. The Seariders should be able to do enough against the Hurricane defense to win the game.

No.7 Kailua and No.10 Moanalua. Picking Moanalua in an upset. The Kailua D is tough,but how many bullets can you dodge against the Yuen-Ramones connection? I feel that Moanalua will score enough to win this game. Kailua is breaking in a new QB and I think the Surfriders will still be working out on the learning curve while Moanalua will be in an offensive groove.

@unpaid: Interesting, your prediction that Waianae will win. For the record, I'm neutral personally, as far as the two schools are concerned. I have no strong feelings, one way or another, about either school. However, I have a hunch that Kapolei might win this one. With a QB like Tagovailoa, and with June Jones as OC, I'm not sure that Waianae's D can prevent Kapolei from scoring enough points. Waianae beat Kamehameha on a holding penalty; that game went to the very last play. Kamehameha went mostly with the running game, and that might be because their top receiver (Cabunoc) sat-out the game with an injury. Kapolei, by contrast to Kamehameha, is obviously a pass-oriented team. They throttled a decent Campbell team, 38-0. I like Kapolei by 7 over Waianae.

[gopunahou]

About Kahuku--I wonder if they'll use Ah Hoy the way they used Kawe Johnson. Johnson mostly played defense but hurt a lot of teams the few times he played offense.