[ HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL ]
Red Raiders stocked with
former Hawaii players
Three former University of Hawaii players are assistant coaches for the Kauai High School football team, and they'll be on the sidelines today at 5 p.m. when the Red Raiders meet Kahuku in the first round of the First Hawaiian Bank state championships.
Brian Derby played offensive line and Dirk Apao was a receiver for the Rainbows in the early 1980s, while Kauai alumnus Mike Tresler was a UH defensive back from 1987 to 1990.
They are just part of the staff's bigger Oahu connection. Head coach Kelii Morgado played at Punahou and is a nephew of UH assistants Ron and Cal Lee. In addition, Red Raiders assistant Paki Morgado, Kelii's brother, played at Saint Louis.
"We brought some new ideas here the past few years, and in some cases, it ruffled some feathers," said Derby, who lives on Oahu and flies to the Garden Isle for games and selected practices. "It's a small island and they were used to doing things a certain way. It's natural to fight change, but what we're doing is working."
The Red Raiders (5-3) won their first Kauai Interscholastic Federation championship since 1991 by beating 11-time defending champion Waimea in two of three matchups.
Lee waiting: The head coach who led Kalani to the Oahu Interscholastic Association girls volleyball championship said yesterday that reports of her retirement are somewhat premature.
Coach Aven Lee, who competed for the Rainbow Wahine and completed her bachelor's degree at UH, plans to attend graduate school. She applied to UNLV and Chaminade, but won't leave as the Falcons' coach unless she is accepted.
If she goes back to school, she'll "miss the girls" and the "wonderful time" she had coaching in her one season on the job.
Furtado talks hoops: It helps to have an athletic 6-foot-7 center like Sam Wilhoite, but new Kalaheo boys basketball head coach Chico Furtado knows it's team play that counts.
The Oahu Interscholastic Association champion Mustangs were one of the many teams statewide that started practice for the winter season this week.
"Outside of Sam, we don't have much size or experienced shooters, so we hope to use our defense to create opportunities," Furtado said. "One guy doesn't win a championship. We had Alika (Smith) for four years and Julian (Sensley) for three and didn't win a state championship with them. It took our balanced teams in 1995 and 2001 to win at the states."
Furtado, who also coaches the girls team in the spring, was a longtime assistant under coach Pete Smith, whose condition and awareness of his surroundings is improving at Straub Clinic and Hospital.
Late last month, Smith suffered a heart attack and fell into a coma as a result of complications from surgery for colon cancer.
He led the Mustangs to three state titles before stepping down after last season.
ILH has strong argument: Only one Interscholastic League of Honolulu team makes the state Division I football tournament, but if it was up to league champion Saint Louis coach Darnell Arceneaux, there'd be two more this year.
"Kamehameha and Punahou are great teams and deserve to be there," said Arceneaux, whose Crusaders take on Mililani tonight at 8 in the first round. "The fact that Damien is in it this year (in Division II) is awesome, though."
The Warriors finished a highly respectable 7-2, while the Buffanblu were coming on strong at 6-4 when their season ended.
No TV: The D-I and D-II state championship football games won't be televised, either live or on a delayed basis. Tonight's first-round games at Aloha Stadium (Kauai-Kahuku and Mililani-Saint Louis) can be heard on KWAI 1080-AM radio. Two first-round games on Maui (Kailua-Baldwin tonight in D-I and Hawaii Prep-Lahainaluna tomorrow night in D-II) are on KMVI 550-AM.
Bright future: The junior varsity football team at Kamehameha's Big Island campus finished with a 6-0 record in its first season of competition, which may mean the Big Island Interscholastic Federation could have a new force when Kamehameha eventually adds a varsity team.
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