Crowell takes over as head
coach of his alma mater

The football lifer is stepping into the shoes of another football lifer.

Maui High School has hired alumnus and former University of Hawaii running back Danny Crowell as head football coach. Crowell steps in for Curtis Lee, who retired after 21 seasons.

"We're happy to have it, but now is when the work really begins. Life as we've known it is over. Now we eat, sleep and live football," said Crowell, who will make his debut as a high school coach. For the past decade, he has been president and player-coach of the Maui Stars semipro football team, one of the perennial powers in the Hawaii Football League.

Now, he gets to devote his energies to his alma mater.

"I'm not gonna say we're going to win the MIL, but that's gonna be our goal," he said.

Crowell and Cy Peters, a Maui assistant coach, were the finalists for the position. They met with the school's selection committee Wednesday, and the decision was made Thursday.

Interestingly, Peters and Crowell are friends. Peters has agreed to be part of Crowell's staff as a defensive coach. Crowell has also secured commitments from three other assistant coaches: Lance DeSilva, quarterbacks; Nikom Los Ba–os, defensive backs; and Jerel Fukuda, linebackers. Peters, DeSilva and Los Ba–os have experience as Maui assistants. DeSilva and Los Ba–os are Kamehameha graduates. Peters is originally from Lahainaluna.

The selection process was very thorough. The selection committee included Lee, former McKinley head coach and current Maui vice principal David Tanuvasa, principal Randy Yamanuha and athletic director Don Snyder.

"It was kind of exciting," Crowell said. "I always think it's like, be careful what you wish for."

Back in the day, Crowell was a star running back in Lee's I formation offense. Times have changed, though. The birth of new schools -- King Kekaulike and Kamehameha-Maui -- have siphoned off some of the Sabers' greatest commodity: big linemen from Upcountry.

Under Lee, the Sabers won nine league titles and went 129-66-7. In recent seasons, however, the I formation didn't have the usual success. Crowell thinks a spread formation, possibly with a lot of option, will do the trick. It's a move that he oversaw with the Stars, and that team won the league title last season.

"The good thing with the spread we're going to run is, we send people out into space so we can find a mismatch. It's not just about having the biggest kids. Even the linemen don't have to be as huge like when we ran the I. We're running and throwing immediately, so they don't have to block their man too long," Crowell said.