Leahey to call
OIA games on OC-16

At 22, Kanoa Leahey's rhythm and flow was reminiscent of a young Al Michaels when it came to broadcasting live Hawaii high school sports.

Six years after doing football play-by-play for OC-16, Leahey is returning to the booth to do Oahu Interscholastic Association games.

Leahey, sports anchor at KHON, didn't hesitate to return to OC-16 once he received permission from KHON to work the Friday night football games.

"My general manager, Rick Blangiardi, said he doesn't want to hold me back from these kinds of opportunities. The play-by-play aspect of the sports broadcast industry is what's most exciting to me. To me, it doesn't get any better than that," Leahey said.

He will be reunited with Larry Price in the press box.

"I did OIA football for a year with Coach Price. I really liked it. And there's a lot of tradition with the OIA and OC-16, and part of that is Coach Price. Being alongside him is an honor," said Leahey, who has been around sports since he can remember. His father, Jim, is the longtime play-by-play TV broadcaster for UH sports.

"Hawaii has a long tradition of having passion for high school sports, particularly high school football. It's something to behold, the amount of talent Hawaii produces. The quality of play in the OIA, with the players coming through and coaching, with the evolution of the game in Hawaii, creates for compelling opportunities," said Leahey, an Iolani graduate.

Beyond getting his employer's permission, he worked out scheduling with weekend sports anchor John Veneri.

"That was the biggest thing. John was really gracious in supporting me. Conversely, he does the sideline reporting on the radio for UH football, so we're trying to help each other out as much as possible," he said.

Leahey has worked championship games and HPU sports over the years both on TV and radio. Returning to OIA football happened in the blink of an eye.

"I haven't even talked with them about money yet," he said.

Konawaena standout honored: Wildcat senior Dylan Rush will be on the cover of BiggerFasterStronger magazine this winter. Rush, who has committed to play football at UCLA, is a 6-foot-3, 230-pound multi-sport standout.

Rush uses BiggerFasterStronger's weight-training program and was named its high school athlete of the year. A crew from the magazine, which is distributed nationally, did a photo shoot with Rush recently in Kona.

He was an honorable mention selection to the Star-Bulletin All-State Team last year. He is also a two-time state wrestling champion.

Anae replaces Anae: Kahuku's new girls basketball coach is Val Anae, sister-in-law of former coach Wendy Anae. She was a standout as a high school athlete in basketball, cross country and track.

The former Val Cravens went on to a career at BYU in basketball. She and her family recently moved back to Laie from San Diego, where she coached high school basketball.

Falcons hire new coach: Joe Leilikis is the new swimming coach for Kalani.

Now a teacher at the school, Leilikis is a former University of Hawaii swimmer.

Leilikis replaces Fred Tester, who retired after coaching at Kalani for seven years. Tester will remain as swim meet coordinator at Kalani.