DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Quarterback Darnell Arceneaux returns for a second season with the Hawaiian Islanders.
Lee begins pro career It was a new beginning at a familiar location last night for Cal Lee.
as Islanders open camp
The accomplished high school
coach tries arena footballBy Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comLee held his first official practice as a coach of a pro football team at Saint Louis School, the site where he built the most successful high school program in state history.
Now he is head coach of the Hawaiian Islanders, an arenafootball2 team going into its second season.
"It's the same," Lee said. "The players are just a little older, and I'm a lot older. If it wasn't for this, I'd be in a rocking chair by now."
Lee looked quite spry for his 56 years as he back-pedaled in warmup drills and did some hands-on coaching. And he'll have to live up to his reputation for efficiency, since the Islanders open their season in just 17 days. He also has to trim his roster of 35 down to 30 before tomorrow's practice, and again to 21 a week from Monday.
"We're trying to not cut anyone. We'll work hard and see who will stick with us. A lot of them will cut themselves once they see the level of the competition," Lee said.
The returnees from last year's 5-11 team include quarterback Darnell Arceneaux. He played for Lee at Saint Louis before going on to college ball at Utah. Arceneaux rushed for af2 records of 439 yards and 26 touchdowns last season, and figures to fine-tune his aerial game with the addition of Vince Passas, his high school quarterback coach.
Passas, now the offensive coordinator for the state-champion Crusaders, said he's excited for the new opportunity for himself as well as the chance to work with Arceneaux again.
"Darnell was probably the best quarterback to come out of our program," Passas said. "If I had to choose between him and Jason Gesser and Timmy Chang, he'd be my first pick. I'm surprised he hasn't made it (to the NFL) yet. He's always an exciting player to be around."
Former Damien and University of Hawaii standout Eddie Klaneski returned home last week and is giving his football career one final go.
"I had to come back and represent Hawaii. I talked with Cal and he wanted me to come back and play so I'm back," said Klaneski, a wide reciever/defensive back who has played for several arena teams the past five seasons. "I was going to retire after this past year after shoulder surgery, but I decided to give it one more shot and see how it goes. If I can stay healthy I'm going to try to keep it going. I'm ready to get out here and play some ball with the boys."
In addition to the shoulder, Klaneski dealt with hamstring, ankle and back injuries last year. But he -- like the other 36 players working out at Saint Louis -- isn't ready to give up on his dream and passion.
"Everybody's fired up. Players, coaches," Klaneski said. "We can't wait for that first game. We're going to have a real tough squad to beat this year and we're going to try to win a championship for Hawaii."
Short Yardage: Kapolei coach Darren Hernandez and former Kahuku coach Doug Semones are the only holdovers from last year's coaching staff. "I'm lucky to have two guys who were here last year to teach me the ropes," Lee said. ... Angie Yoon of the Islanders' ticket office said 1,200 season tickets have been sold for this season, compared to 16 last year, and the lower bowl at Blaisdell Arena is sold out. Upper bowl season tickets for eight home games are available for $65. Call 532-7362. ... Mike Funaro, a 5-11, 195-pound wide reciever/defensive back from Long Island, New York, tried out for the Islanders after playing in a semi-pro all-star game here Feb. 8 and made the 35-man training camp squad. ... The Islanders open at home against Green Bay on March 30.
Hawaiian Islanders
