Crusaders hire Arceneaux
The 25-year-old has been named
the next coach of the defending
state football champs
Darnell Arceneaux is looking forward to carrying on Saint Louis School's rich football tradition again. This time, it won't be by barking out signals from under center, scrambling for a first down or waiting for the right run-and-shoot receiver to get open for one of his timely passes.
As the Crusaders' new head football coach, he'll be guiding from the sidelines, having already mapped out the X's and O's when the team takes to the field this fall to defend its state championship.
Throughout his days as a star quarterback for Saint Louis, the University of Utah and now with the Hawaiian Islanders' arenafootball2 team, Arceneaux has been a vocal leader with a lot of charisma. He intends to transfer those skills from the field to behind the bench.
"It's a huge plus, because I've always been able to communicate and motivate guys," said the 25-year-old Arceneaux, who accepted the job yesterday. "This is a great opportunity to give back to my alma mater for all of the wonderful things that I experienced when I was a player there."
Arceneaux played at Saint Louis under coach Cal Lee, who is leaving his athletic director post to become the linebackers coach at the University of Hawaii.
Arceneaux knows it won't be easy to follow Delbert Tengan, who won a state title last season in his only year as coach, and Lee, the winningest coach in Hawaii high school football history. Lee won 14 Prep Bowl championships as well as the first state tournament title in 1999.
Lee, the current Islanders head coach, was instrumental in choosing Arceneaux, who planned to be McKinley's quarterbacks coach this fall for new Tigers head coach William Moeava.
"Me and Cal have been together all season and have been face to face many times," Arceneaux said. "He knew I wanted to go into coaching and he knew I was going to McKinley, so he approached me and asked if I was interested. This is a great transition for me. There's no better place to coach than at Saint Louis."
To those familiar with the Crusaders' legacy, it's no surprise Lee found someone in his own backyard to coach. By choosing Arceneaux, Lee feels he's leaving the program in good hands.
"I saw Darnell on the field all season, and I didn't really think about it, asking him if he wanted to coach right away," Lee said. "Then Vinny (Passas, Crusaders offensive coordinator) mentioned Darnell, and I thought about it. He's the person we were looking for. He's young and energetic, and he's (an alumnus)."
Speculation was running high that former Waiakea coach Tim Lino was going to become the new coach, but Lino turned down an offer last week. He met with school president Father Allen DeLong yesterday to talk about the position, but another offer didn't come.
Lino learned later yesterday that Arceneaux was the new coach during Don Robbs' interview of Arceneaux on KKEA 1420-AM.
A search for a new coach started in April when Tengan stepped down so he could concentrate more on his duties as the head basketball coach.
John Kapele Jr., a former Kalaheo coach, and Barry Batts, a former Saint Louis intermediate school football assistant, were among the candidates who applied for the job. Others, including Saint Louis assistant John Hao, former Punahou assistant Brian Derby, Castle coach Nelson Maeda and Farrington coach Randall Okimoto, were mentioned by various sources as candidates.
It was a busy day at Saint Louis yesterday as Todd Los Banos was named the school's new athletic director to succeed Lee.
Arceneaux planned on flying to American Samoa last night to run a combine for football players there. He'll return in time for the Islanders' game Saturday night, but he won't play because of a hand injury.
On Monday, he'll start as the Crusaders' football coach and as a physical education teacher on campus.
"The kids are antsy to get back into it, and that's a really good sign," Arceneaux said. "We'll get them into some throwing and training."
Arceneaux will begin choosing his assistant coaches when he returns, but he's already received a lot of calls from people wishing him luck and offering help. He wants to emulate Lee in at least one area.
"People loved being assistant coaches for Cal because he let them coach," Arceneaux said. "He didn't micromanage and he had a good staff that was as tight as possible. So I hope to be able to get a staff that can be close like that."
He'd like to retain as many of Tengan's assistants as possible. Passas is likely to remain on the staff, but six assistants have been attending spring football practices at Kapolei, Hurricanes head coach Darren Hernandez confirmed yesterday. Hao (quarterbacks), Sam Downey (defensive line), Jeff Matsuzaki (receivers), Pulou Tata (running backs), Frank Pahia and John Naipo (both offensive line) have indicated they'd like to be on the staff at Kapolei this fall. But now that Arceneaux is the new Saint Louis coach, it's possible some of the Crusaders assistants will stay.
Arceneaux doesn't foresee changes in the Crusaders' famed run-and-shoot offense, which produced collegiate stars such as himself and quarterbacks Jason Gesser of Washington State and Tim Chang of Hawaii.
Arceneaux will leave his job as development program coordinator for Hawaii Sports Network's Prep Academy. He was involved in coordinating and facilitating communication between colleges and Hawaii athletes in the recruiting process.
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Los Banos accepts offer
from Saint LouisThe former wrestling coach
will become the athletic director
Todd Los Banos is the new athletic director at Saint Louis School.
A former Crusaders wrestling coach, he accepted the position yesterday after thinking it over for the weekend.
The 39-year-old Los Banos takes over for Cal Lee, who is leaving to become the University of Hawaii football team's linebackers coach.
"This is new for me, and it will be a challenge, that's for sure," said Los Banos, who is being promoted from his job as a physical education teacher. "It will be the first time I'll be working with all the coaches in all the sports. I'm up for the challenge."
Los Banos was somewhat surprised last week when he was approached by school president Father Allen DeLong about becoming AD.
"It happened so quickly (after Lee's decision to depart)," Los Banos said. "I had to take it back home with me before I could make a decision."
He said he'll be taking it slow at first, getting to the know the system before setting goals and looking at ways to improve the department. He also said he's hoping Lee will give him a hand during the transition period.
"His (Lee's) support is very important to me," Los Banos said.
Los Banos coached the Saint Louis wrestling team for seven years and won state championships in 2000 and 2001. He coached at Iolani as an assistant for 14 years before that and won a state title in 1990 while filling in for head coach Carl Schroers, who was on sabbatical. He was also a principal for four years at Children's House in Pacific Palisades.
In related news, former Waiakea football coach Tim Lino met this morning with Father Allen DeLong about the Crusaders' vacant head football coaching job. Lino didn't accept or decline the job offer last week. A principal at a Hawaiian immersion School on the Big Island, Lino would need to get a full-time job on Oahu in order to take it. It's not known if DeLong is ready to offer Lino a position on campus in addition to the head football coaching duties.
The school has been without a head football coach since April when Delbert Tengan stepped down after one season. Tengan followed Lee, the winningest coach in Hawaii high school football history.
Saint Louis public relations director Rebecca Fernandes and other sources have said Lee will continue to oversee the hiring process for a new football coach.
The school may also need to bring in new football assistants. Six Crusaders assistants have been attending football practices at Kapolei and may take jobs there.