Wednesday, September 2, 1998

For 12 consecutive seasons, St. Louis has dominated high school football in Hawaii. Great players come and go, so obviously it takes more than talent to be that successful. Cal Lee is the main man behind the program, but his assistants have turned a winning tradition into a

By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin
Cal Lee has won 13 Prep Bowls.

Prep Football Preview:
Interscholastic League of Honolulu

By Randy Cadiente
Star-Bulletin

IT'S no secret that St. Louis has some of the most talented football players in the state. And it has a complicated system of X's and O's that is second to none.

But what separates the Saints from the rest of the best? Coaching.

"I think they have a lot of talent up there," former Damien coach Wally Aina said. "Another thing is they run a system on all three levels, from top to bottom. It's all consistent. The terminology has been the same and these guys can run the routes in their sleep. The defense, it's the same reads, everything from top to bottom. So when a coach talks, they're all on the same page . . . all talking the same language.

"But I think probably the most important thing is the coaching staff," Aina added. "These guys have been together for a bunch of years. And even if these guys leave the varsity level, they can go right back down to the freshmen (team), to the JV and back up to the varsity and things will still be the same.

Courtesy of Metz Photography
Delbert Tengan, above, directs the defense.

"So as far as continuity, these guys are hard to beat."

Aina, who is the dean of students at Damien, is not alone with his feelings. Former Interscholastic League of Honolulu head coaches Eddie Hamada and Glenn Young from Iolani, and Pac-Five head coach Don Botelho agree.

"In any kind of athletic team who has had a whole lot of success, you have to have people, you have to have talent -- a whole lot of talent -- and you've got to have a good coaching staff," Hamada said. "And I think their coaching staff is very good at handling that kind of program that they have. The kids believe in them (coaches). Heck, the whole school believes in them."

Said Young: "They have the best of two worlds. They've got good coaching and they've got good players. That's why they're successful."

Cal Lee is the mastermind behind the Crusaders' success.

In 17 years as the head coach at St. Louis, Lee has an impressive 189-28-4 record, 14 ILH championships and 13 Prep Bowl titles. He also has guided the Saints to an ILH record for most consecutive league wins (41) from 1985-89 as well as a 24-game winning streak against teams from the Oahu Interscholastic Association.

"I had the opportunity to work with Cal in an all-star game and Cal's an outstanding coach," Botelho said.

"His abilities, his leadership, his knowledge of the game and all the things that go with being a head coaching he has. But you know, it's not all his staff. He has a lot to do with it."

Lee, however, will tell you differently.

"Behind every good coach, no matter who it is, there's always a flock of good assistants," he said. "Heck, I don't need much credit. I just enjoy what I'm doing . . . helping the youngsters. I think that's what we're here for. We just want to help the youngsters.

"We're not getting two million dollars a season for coaching," he added. "We enjoy what we do."

The group Lee has surrounded himself with reads like a list of Who's Who in the history of St. Louis football -- Vince Passas, Shawn Kalima, Ron Lee, Frank Lacaden, Buddy Pai, Dana Paikai, Reid Hasegawa, Bill Duarte, Kalei Paikai, Pulou Tata and Tasi Malepeai. And when you add Sam Downey, Tom Heffernan, Jeff Matsuzaki, George Hanzawa, Frank Pahia, Elroy Paikai, Tim Seaman, Lance Teixeira and Delbert Tengan, you have more than 200 years of coaching experience.

"Before you get down to the X's and O's, before you get down to the three-point stance and start talking to kids, that's the most important thing that I think that a head coach needs to take care of is to surround himself with good, knowledgeable, experienced people," Aina said.

Ron Lee is Cal's right hand. A former head coach at Kaiser, where he guided the Cougars to the 1979 Prep Bowl crown, Cal's brother handles the Saints' potent run-and-shoot offense, which accumulated 1,263 yards on the ground and 2,718 through the air as St. Louis posted a 9-1 ILH record in '97. Thanks to its offense, St. Louis has not had a losing season since 1982, when the Crusaders finished 2-8-1.

Courtesy of Metz Photography
Ron Lee masterminds the offense
for a St. Louis staff that has more than
200 years experience combined.

Since then, however, the Saints have had eight undefeated seasons and lost a total of 13 games in 15 years.

"We've been running this offense so long everybody knows it," said Ron Lee, who has been with the program for 16 years. "It's not that complicated. We still stick with the basic stuff. The kids enjoy it . . . are real confident (about it). And I think that the key is the kids have a pretty good understanding of what's going on so they go into the ballgames confident."

The passing game makes the Saints' offense stand head-and-shoulders above the rest.

This season, Timmy Chang will be calling the signals. The past two years it was Jason Gesser. Before that it was Darnell Arceneaux. The list continues back -- Joel Lane, John Hao, Mike Nua. All have left their mark at quarterback.

The man behind the development of the aerial attack is Vince Passas.

Passas, a real estate broker by trade, is a 1974 St. Louis graduate and has been with the program for 19 years -- the longest of any of Cal Lee's assistant coaches.

"This is where I started, where my roots are, and I wanted to come back and share with the new players that come in, year in and year out, the system that we run here," he said.

As good as the Crusaders are offensively, they would be nowhere without a defense.

Delbert Tengan, who began as a trainer for St. Louis, handles the Saints' tough-nosed defense.

"He works so well with the kids, and for a guy that never played football, you would never know it because he's one of the top defensive coordinators in the state, bar none," Cal Lee said. "He's a student of the game."

Cal Lee has the last say in every situation, but Ron Lee, Passas and Tengan will tell you that the Saints' head man seldom gets in the way when it's time to coach.

"He's a head coach that lets us coach," Tengan said.

"Sometimes you get a head coach that's overbearing," Tengan added. "He'll tell you everything from how a kid ties his shoe laces to how to make tackles. Cal gives us the free rein on how to coach. He'll voice his opinion if he thinks things aren't going right or things aren't done right. But as far as letting us coach, he'll let us coach. And that gives us some freedom."

That kind of freedom has led to stability. And it shows in the longevity of Lee's coaching staff.

Passas has been with the Saints since 1979, and Downey and Teixeira have spent 18 years at St. Louis. Ron Lee, Tengan, Pai and Elroy Paikai each have been there 16 years, Hasegawa 15 and Kalima 13.

"When you have coaches that have been with you for a long time, they just know instinctively what has to be done," Aina said.

The reason behind it all, Cal Lee said, is loyalty.

"You can teach anybody to be a coach. That's simple," he said. "But you have to make sure they're loyal to you because you're going to have some up-and-down times that's going to happen. When things are going fine, everybody will be right there. But when times don't go well for you and the birds come down, you want to make sure everybody's still with you."

Downey, who handles the defensive line, is one assistant coach who is going to stay until Cal Lee leaves.

"I'm going to be loyal to the man who hires me," he said. "A guy who gave me a chance to coach. To me, a guy that doesn't know you (at the beginning) gives you a chance, you've got to show him that loyalty back and learn and do the best job you can for him."

St. Louis School Assistant Football Coaches/Personnel Sam Downey Defensive line Years with St. Louis: 18 Age: 48 High school: Kaimuki, 1968 Cal Lee on Downey: "We worked together from the JV . . . a real loyal guy . . . I think we grew as a family with him . . . excellent coach . . . hard worker." Reid Hasegawa Wide receivers Years with St. Louis: 15 Age: 34 High school: St. Louis, 1982 Cal Lee on Hasegawa: "A kind of guy the kids can relate to . . . he's older, but he's still a young boy at heart . . . a real technician as far as the wide receivers are concerned." Tom Heffernan Special teams Years with St. Louis: 8 Age: 49 High school: Kahuku, 1967 Cal Lee on Heffernan: "He's the kind of guy that can do everything because he relates well with the kids . . . another loyal assistant." Shawn Kalima Outside linebackers Years with St. Louis: 13 Age: 43 High school: St. Louis, 1973 Cal Lee on Kalima: "He's another young man at heart . . . loves the kids . . . works hard for them, with them . . . he's kind of rough on the outside, but real soft on the inside. Another loyal coach." Frank Lacaden Outside linebackers Years with St. Louis: 7 Age: 29 High school: St. Louis, 1986 Cal Lee on Lacaden: "He's the kind of guy that's just starting out learning the program as well as the techniques of the linebackers . . . really loves to work with the kids at heart." Ron Lee Offensive coordinator Years with St. Louis: 16 Age: 54 High school: St. Louis, 1962 Cal Lee on Lee: "I probably wouldn't be coaching if he didn't give me a chance to coach with him when I was fired from St. Louis. It's funny how things worked out. I was happy to be at Kaiser, learned a lot while I was there and probably would still be there if he didn't retire. I learned a lot from him." Jeff Matsuzaki Slotbacks Years with St. Louis: 3 Age: 31 High school: Waipahu, 1985 Cal Lee on Matsuzaki: "A real student of the game . . . he's just constantly trying to improve his slotbacks, constantly trying to improve all the players that he works with . . . good motivator." Buddy Pai Kickers Years with St. Louis: 16 Age: 40 High school: St. Louis, 1976 Cal Lee on Pai: "He works with our kickers, and you know how important kickers are . . . does a good job because we won one game with the kicking game and that's a direct reflection on him working with the kicking game." Pulou Tata Running backs Years with St. Louis: 2 Age: 24 High school: St. Louis, 1992 Cal Lee on Tata: "Wants to give back to the school . . . has given his time and efforts to develop our running backs . . . does a real nice job working them." Tasi Malepeai Offensive line Years with St. Louis: 2 Age: 24 High school: St. Louis, 1992 Cal Lee on Malepeai: "Another one that wants to give back to the school for what he's gained from the school . . . works really, really well with the offensive line with the techniques that he's learned at Oregon." George Hanzawa Video Cal Lee on Hanzawa: "He's a guy that can do anything . . . he can work the phones, can help any coaching position that we would want him to." Frank Pahia Offensive line Years with St. Louis: 8 Age: 44 High school: Waipahu, 1972 Cal Lee on Pahia: "Hard worker . . . always moving around . . . great motivator for the kids . . . gets the best out of his players. His work coaching at Fontana High really helped him and we're trying to find out all that he knows about football." Dana Paikai Defensive line Years with St. Louis: 5 Age: 32 High school: St. Louis, 1984 Cal Lee on Paikai: "Dana is an overachiever . . . and that's the way he coaches . . . he tries to do as much as he can with what he's got." Elroy Paikai Running backs Years with St. Louis: 6 Age: 54 High school: Kamehameha, 1962 Cal Lee on Paikai: "Real loyal. I think all the guys we have are loyal, but he's the guy that's been with us when we were losing and he's stuck with our program . . . he's been one guy we can depend on." Bill Duarte Offensive line High school: St. Louis, 1985 Cal Lee on Duarte: "Very good technician as far as the offensive line goes . . . knows what he's talking about . . . works them hard . . . does a great job for us." Vince Passas Quarterbacks Years with St. Louis: 19 Age: 42 High school: St. Louis, 1974 Cal Lee on Passas: "He's worked with the defensive backs, receivers . . . I think he's finally found a home with the quarterbacks because all the quarterbacks that he's worked with for the last 15, 16 years have turned out to All-State caliber quarterbacks. He's a good reflection of his coaching ability." Tim Seaman Inside linebackers Years with St. Louis: 3 Age: 38 High school: Kaiser, 1979 Cal Lee on Seaman: "The kids really like him, which makes it a great marriage . . . the players seem to like his coaching techniques, his motivation, his knowledge of the game." Lance Teixeira Administrative assistant Years with St. Louis: 18 Age: 48 High school: Kalani, 1968 Cal Lee on Teixeira: "He's the kind of guy that will always tell you what you've got to do no matter if you've already done it." Delbert Tengan Defensive coordinator, defensive backs Years with St. Louis: 6 Age: 38 High school: Kailua, 1978 Cal Lee on Tengan: "Works so well with the kids . . . for a guy that never played football, you would never know it because he's one of the top defensive coordinators in the state, bar none . . . he's a student of the game . . .keeps trying to develop to be a better person, a better coach and a better defensive coordinator . . . a plus for our program." Kalei Paikai Running backs Years with St. Louis: 9 Age: 31 High school: St. Louis, 1985 Cal Lee on Paikai: "He's another overachiever . . . really enjoys working with the kids and sharing all the knowledge that he has to the kids."