Kalaheo names Tuioti
its new football coach
Kalaheo hired former University of Hawaii defensive tackle Tony Tuioti as its new football coach, Mustangs athletic director Lee Cashman said today.
Tuioti, 26, takes over for Mike Akiu, who departed after Kalaheo went 0-8 in the Oahu Interscholastic Association last fall.
"He's the person we selected after close to a month of interviews," Cashman said. "We're fortunate and excited to have him. He's a great inspiration and a great example for our athletes."
Tuioti will be giving the Mustangs a Warrior look. Four of his assistants are his former teammates at UH. Craig Stutzmann will run the offense and Jacob Espiau will run the defense. In addition, Yaphet Warren will coach the linebackers and Carmen Salisbury will take care of the defensive line.
"We have a common bond of taking something from scratch and building it into something respectable and to be proud of," said Tuioti, who was recruited by Bob Wagner and suffered through the Fred von Appen years before riding the successful crest of the June Jones wave by beating Oregon State in the 1999 Jeep Oahu Bowl.
Tuioti, who graduated from UH in May of 2000 and served for two years as a graduate assistant under Jones, said he may bring in more former UH players as assistants.
"It's very exciting to start something," he said. "Kalaheo is waiting for us to start something. We have a lot of fresh new things we want to put into place."