High School Beat
Star-Bulletin staff
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Tokuda: Crusaders are team to beat
Punahou and Kamehameha earned their share of headlines in the past two seasons, but at least one Oahu Interscholastic Association football coach sees a different trend.
"I think Saint Louis is the most athletic team as far as speed is concerned," Leilehua's Nolan Tokuda said after his team fell 20-0 to the Crusaders at Aloha Stadium. "They run the ball extremely well. If their passing game develops, they will be the team to beat."
Tokuda, who guided the Mules to the Division I state championship final two seasons ago, saw his normally explosive offense peter out at times. A big reason was the Saint Louis defense, which picked off Bryant Moniz twice and limited the talented passer to 50 yards through the air.
The Leilehua coach also has concerns within the OIA. Campbell, which is off to a strong 2-0 start with wins over Damien and Castle, is a powerful, physical foe. Another dangerous dark horse, he noted, is in the Red East.
"Kailua may be 0-2, but they are better than people think. I know they will upset some teams," he said.
Saving for a rainy day:
Sometimes coaches delve only a bit into the playbook early in the season by choice. Other times, it's a matter of inexperienced players and a lack of time to learn much.
David Tanuvasa never thought of anything but winning. Tanuvasa, now a vice principal at Baldwin, had a successful stint with McKinley.
"Personally, I have never thought of saving something for league play and overlook who I am playing," said Tanuvasa, who keeps close track of the game. He has participated in the Star-Bulletin Top 10 voting since last year along with other retired and current coaches, as well as the media.
"Because it's usually so early in the season, many teams are still working on basic stuff and naturally progress throughout the season, thus adding to their playbooks or revealing more of their playbook," he said.
"Teams that are ranked-type teams cannot afford to lose a preseason game because of ranking. Most (say) that it's not that important. It really depends on continuity of their players and where they are at that given point," Tanuvasa added.
A case in point is Farrington, with a wealth of returnees on defense and several key returnees at skill positions on offense. The opposite can be true with younger teams.
"One year, we could only do base plays," Tanuvasa said. "Another year, we could do base and complementary plays. So it really depends."
Emerald City luau:
The highly-anticipated get-together in Seattle has Punahou alums salivating.
Transplanted Buffanblu graduates see the No. 1 team in the Star-Bulletin Football Top 10 face powerful Eastlake (Wash.) on Saturday in the featured matchup of the Emerald City Classic.
For $15, fans can see five prep games, the first of which kicks off at 9 a.m.
A contingent of 170 Punahou football players and band members leaves for Seattle today. About 600 alums are expected to celebrate at the postgame luau, along with the Buffanblu girls volleyball team, which is playing in a Seattle-area tournament.
Athletes of the week
BOYS
Jordan Torres, Mililani football: rushed for 234 yards on 34 attempts and two TDs in a win over Iolani.
GIRLS
Kanani Herring, Kamehameha: pounded 17 kills in a tournament-championship win over Punahou.
Honor roll
AIR RIFLERY
Jollana Gollero, Pearl City: scored 257 against Kapolei.
Erin Nakayama, Kalani: scored 250 against McKinley.
FOOTBALL
Kyle Blair, Radford: caught three passes for 119 yards, including touchdowns of 11, 63 and 45 yards, in a win over Pac-Five.
Lionel Fujioka, Iolani: caught six passes for 166 yards in a loss at Mililani. Pulled in touchdown passes of 68 and 8 yards.
Jordan Helle, Baldwin: threw for 297 yards on 22-for-35 passing with three touchdowns in a win over Maui.
Jordan Ho-Ching, Pac-Five : caught eight passes for 174 yards, including TDs of 29 and 12 yards, in a loss at Radford.
Jesse Humalon, Castle: returned an interception 85 yards for a touchdown, and then caught an 8-yard scoring pass in a victory over Kalaheo.
Chase Nakamura, Baldwin: caught nine passes for 170 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown, in a victory over Maui.
Miah Ostrowski, Punahou: caught 12 passes for 221 yards in a win at Waianae.
Darren Sugimoto, Kailua: caught four passes for 99 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown, in a loss at Kahuku.
Simiona Vehikite, Lahainaluna: rushed for 120 yards on nine carries, including a 33-yard touchdown, in a win over Kamehameha-Maui.
VOLLEYBALL
Brianna Amian, Moanalua: had 10 kills in a loss to Kamehameha.
Kaleinani Kabalis, Moanalua: pounded nine kills in a loss to Kamehameha.
Bekah Torres, Kamehameha: had 13 kills, two aces and a roof in a win over Punahou.
To nominate ...
Contact the Star-Bulletin by 11 p.m. Sunday:
Phone: 529-4782
Fax: 529-4787
E-mail: sports@starbulletin.com
To nominate ...
To nominate an athlete of the week, contact the Star-Bulletin Sports Department by 11 p.m. Sunday:
Phone: 529-4782
Fax: 529-4787
E-mail: sports@starbulletin.com
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