[ HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ]
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
ILLUSTRATION: BRYANT FUKUTOMI / BFUKUTOMI@STARBULLETIN.COM
Kamehameha receiver Waika Spencer, left, and Saint Louis receiver Desmond Hanohano take advantage of their lanky frames. The two face off tomorrow night with the Interscholastic League of Honolulu title at stake.
Kamehameha's Waika Spencer
and Saint Louis' Desmond Hanohano
specialize in making big plays
AS far as Hawaii high school football goes, tomorrow night's late game at Aloha Stadium is considered the big boy.
It's Saint Louis vs. Kamehameha with the Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship and a spot in the Division I state tournament for the taking.
Fittingly, both teams have their own "big boys" -- adept wide receivers who usually rise above the competition on the field and nearly always win on the size chart.
When they need an offensive lift, the Crusaders can count on Desmond Hanohano --all 6-foot-6, 220 pounds of him.
ILH showdown
Who: Kamehameha (7-1, 5-1) vs. Saint Louis (6-1, 5-1)At stake: ILH title and state tournament berth
When: Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Aloha Stadium
Similarly, when the Warriors need some tough yards in a crucial situation, 6-foot-3, 210-pound Waika Spencer is the man.
Kamehameha (7-1, 5-1) is trying to snap Saint Louis' domination of the league. The Crusaders (6-1, 5-1) have won every ILH championship since 1986, while the Warriors haven't won an ILH title since 1979.
In the season's first meeting, the Warriors prevailed, but they're coming off a 14-6 upset loss to Punahou.
Spencer, the son of former Saint Louis quarterback Kaipo Spencer, is up for the challenge.
"Some of my dad's friends needle me because I play for Kamehameha," he said. "But my parents (his mom is former Rainbow Wahine volleyball player Terry Malterre) support me and there's no pressure.
"We're playing as a team -- as one, not like last year -- so we have a good chance."
Hanohano knows his high school football history and is well aware of how important it is to keep the ILH string going.
"It's up to us not to lose," he said. "We've waited to be in this situation for the championship. This is what we've prepared for all season."
Hanohano, a senior, and Spencer, a junior, are also starters for their schools' varsity basketball teams. They play the front line and are top-notch leapers and rebounders.
Those skills come in handy when Saint Louis quarterbacks Kealii Perbera and Stanley Nihipali and Kamehameha signal-caller Pono Kam send the ball their way.
"Desmond has confidence and a swagger about him," Crusaders first-year coach Darnell Arceneaux said. "He wants opportunities to make a play. Even when he misjudges his jump, he's still usually higher than the defender and ends up with the ball. He has unbelievable hops."
Good hops can also describe Spencer, who is a top track and field athlete for the Warriors in the long jump, triple jump and high jump.
"He's a big target who has made some great, clutch catches for us and he blocks real well downfield on the corners," Kamehameha coach Kanani Souza said. "He's a good all-around team guy."
Hanohano is being recruited to play basketball and is thinking about going to a school where he could also suit up for the football team. Linfield (Ore.) College is one possibility.
Utah, Brigham Young and Kentucky have shown interest, according to Arceneaux.
Spencer is also interested in playing college football and is shooting for Division I.
"I feel like I'm a clutch player," Spencer said. "But I'm not the type who gets mad when I don't get the ball. When it's third-and-10, if the ball comes my way, I know I gotta catch it because the coaches are counting on me to make big plays."
Said Hanohano: "I like to get the ball in those tough, important situations."
Hanohano is more than a big, lanky receiver who can catch the ball.
"He is a complete package on offense," Arceneaux said. "It's not just his size out there. He's really a technician. He knows how to position himself so the quarterback can make an easy throw and how to get in a more advantageous position than the defensive back."
Arceneaux wouldn't be surprised if Hanohano and Spencer switched to a new position in college.
"You look at Tony Gonzalez and Jeremy Shockey, all those prototype tight ends in the NFL, they were all tall and lanky and had to fill out," Arceneaux said.
"If they take the weight room seriously and get up to 245 in college with the same speed, I can see Waika and Desmond getting in the trenches at tight end."
For now, they're big-play, big-target wide receivers. One is looking to help change the course of ILH history. The other is trying to keep it going on the same path.
Either way, it won't be a surprise if one of the big boys --Spencer or Hanohano -- makes a game-turning or game-winning catch in tomorrow's 7:30 p.m. game.
