In six years of varsity play, King Kekaulike has never been a serious contender for the Maui Interscholastic League football championship. With three head coaches breezing through the Pukalani campus in that span, Na Alii have never even posted a winning record in the league. Na Alii try turning
MIL cornerBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comBut with 19 seniors leading the way this fall, folks around the team are optimistic that this will be the year the program turns the corner.
"We're hopeful this will be a competitive year for us," Na Alii coach Dennis Dias said.
King Kekaulike is among the teams looking to dethrone Lahainaluna on the Valley Isle as the MIL season kicks off. The league schedule opens tomorrow night with Baldwin taking on St. Anthony at War Memorial Stadium. Maui faces King Kekaulike on Saturday. Lahainaluna has a bye.
King Kekaulike lost to Kapaa in a preseason game last week. But Dias said the players responded by working even harder in practice this week.
"It's always good to face some adversity early and see how we react," he said. "But we feel we'll be competitive this year."
While King Kekaulike tries to step up to join the league's elite, traditional powers Baldwin and Maui are the favorites to claim the MIL title.
Chad Kauhaahaa, a 1991 Baldwin graduate, is in his first season as the Bears' head coach and brought in former St. Louis intermediate coach Pohai Lee to serve as offensive coordinator. Kauhaahaa said Lee's run-and-shoot scheme is a perfect fit for fourth-year quarterback Michael Donahoo.
Maui got off to a strong start with a 14-7 comeback win over Kauai last week and the Sabers hope to reclaim the MIL title behind quarterback Dane Batao.
Lahainaluna earned a trip to the state tournament by winning the MIL title a year ago. But coach Robert Watson said this year's team will have to grow up quickly as the Lunas return just four starters.
"We're going to take our lumps this year," Watson said. "But who knows. It's football and anything can happen."
St. Anthony, under new coach Kevin O'Brien, will have to avoid injuries with fewer than 30 players on the team. But the Trojans do have a returning MIL all-star in running back Brad Somera to lead their offense.
The MIL will again be a five-team race after Kaahumanu Hou was declared ineligible last week for not having enough players to field a team.
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