1 more for the seniors

WEST: Discipline doesn't stop for exhibition game

>> EAST: Stars will go as hard as the rules will allow

THEY HUSTLED in from near and far, for good reason.

After all, not everyone gets to work with some of the state's best players and coaches at Aloha Stadium.

The West squad has begun its second week of preparation for the 15th Annual HUB Goodwill Senior Bowl, which kicks off tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.

15TH ANNUAL HUB GOODWILL SENIOR BOWL Who: East vs. West, Oahu's top senior football players When: Kickoff at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow, with pre-game festivities beginning at 7 Where: Aloha Stadium TV: OC-16 Internet: www.starbulletin.com Tickets: $5 (children 6 and under get in free)

The West team, a blend of players from public and private schools, has the benefit of an all-star staff of coaches. Sean Saturnio of Waipahu is the head coach, which means discipline is paramount. So is love.

On the squad's mission statement, core value No. 1 (out of 14) says: "Love our players as people first, and as athletes second."

On the list of player expectations, six in all, one reads, "Honor the team, not yourself."

West offensive coordinator Nolan Tokuda of Leilehua plans to implement the mission statement into his program.

"This is about character-building, just like Coach Sean said," Tokuda said.

For the players who travel farthest, the game is a treat, as well. Nanakuli's Aaron Watson made the trek for all four of last week's practices.

"Everybody goes real hard," the 6-foot-3, 395-pound offensive lineman said.

Twice, the team went at it in full pads, he added. Watson's older brother, Keala, plays defensive line for the University of Hawaii, but Aaron expects a different course for himself.

"Mostly, I'm hearing from D-III schools," said Watson, who carries a grade-point average of 3.9.

The West team has players from the Oahu Interscholastic Association's west-side schools, of course, but includes the westward teams of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu -- Kamehameha, Damien and Punahou.

Punahou's players, who get out of class at 3:30 p.m., were hustling into the stadium as practice began. The cross-section of talent will make for interesting matchups tomorrow. Some players from the two leagues have never met on the gridiron, while others will have familiarity.

For quarterback Kali Kuia, learning Tokuda's playbook is a challenge.

"We're using maybe only 30 plays out of 100," the Aiea quarterback said. "There's gonna be some option for Brad."

Brad would be Kapolei's Brad Padayao, who has drawn interest from Air Force, which runs a flexbone option. Kuia is familiar with prolific passing attacks, but sees a difference in Tokuda's schemes.

"It's really precise routes with quick reads," he said. "We could still go deep. It depends on what he wants."

For better or worse, Kuia and Padayao won't have to deal with blitzes, which are outlawed in the Senior Bowl.

"That's kinda good, but there's also going to be more coverage," Kuia noted. "We've got a talented group of receivers, so we'll see."

Conditioning is always an issue with exhibition games, particularly for players who have not been on the field since the end of the regular season a month ago. "You run on your own, so I run after practice," said Kuia, an elusive scrambler. "There's not a lot of time."

Waianae safety Junior Faliuga plays basketball, so he's remained mobile. The prospect of facing East quarterbacks Kiran Kepo'o (Iolani) and Stanford Leti (Moanalua) is quite a task.

"Kepo'o is good. When we scrimmaged against them, we got smashed," the 6-1 195-pounder said. "He can run, too."

Kepo'o will likely avoid scrambling too much, but at 220 pounds, he's a load to bring down. Leti, arguably the toughest option quarterback in the state, is no fun for a defense to face, either.

Faliuga may prefer to see Leti.

"He's a running quarterback, so we can hit him," the Searider said. Leti helped lead Moanalua to a Division II state-tournament berth, but Moanalua and Waianae never met this season because the Seariders are in Division I.

Tokuda, meanwhile, planned to trim the offensive package even more.

"It's not like with our program (at Leilehua), where players get the playbook and learn it in JV," said Tokuda, who is looking forward to incorporating Kapolei's talented skill-position seniors -- Padayao, running back Radford Raquedan and slotback Jon Santiago.

The West features two more outstanding speedsters in Kamehameha receiver Aaron Nichols and Damien running back Kealoha Pilares.

"Nichols is better than Chustin," Tokuda said, referring to Leilehua's former All-State wide receiver Chustin Senas, who did not play this season.

"Pilares is unreal. He's the best athlete out here," he said of the scholar-athlete. Pilares is weighing scholarship offers from Boise State, Air Force and Hawaii.

The squad of 50 was selected from a field of 140 nominees.

West roster

No.	Name	School	Pos.
1	Kekoa Perbera	Mililani	RB
2	Michael Smith	Mililani	WR
3	Jon Santiago	Kapolei	SB
4	Aaron Nichols	Kamehameha	WR
5	Mike Sipili	Damien	DL
6	Sean Felise	Waipahu	LB
7	Gabe Montero	Mililani	DB
8	Gerritt Vincent	Kamehameha	LB
9	Chris Dickerson	Mililani	DB
10	Russell Wantowski	Radford	DL
11	Brad Padayao	Kapolei	QB
12	Andrew Blue	Pearl City	QB
13	Guyes Galdeira	Leilehua	LB
14	Siavalua Faliuga	Waianae	DB
15	Kali Kuia	Aiea	QB
16	Jay Angotti	Punahou	DB
17	Sam Higgins	Punahou	DB
18	Winni Gapuz	Damien	DB
19	Kennedy Orteza	Leilehua	DB
20	Kapena Fonseca	Aiea	LB
21	Kealoha Pilares	Damien	RB
22	Jordan Apduhan	Mililani	RB
23	Guy Cantrell	Leilehua	WR
24	Lahaina Olsen-Kuroda	Aiea	SB
25	Alex Daniels	Radford	RB
26	Trevor Maldon	Radford	DB
27	Alvin Foster	Waialua	RB
28	Isiah Smith	Campbell	RB
30	Drew Ueno	Kamehameha	DB
32	Radford Raquedan	Kapolei	RB
42	Mana Lolotai	Kamehameha	LB
44	Jonathan Puletasi	Waipahu	LB
50	Shannon Saili	Waipahu	DL
51	Kapono Rawlins-Crivello	Kamehameha	DL
55	Ben Kahalehoe	Kapolei	DL
56	Cody Kekipi	Punahou	OL
58	Po'okela Ahmad	Kapolei	LB
60	Travor Grace	Punahou	OL
63	William Keliikoa	Waianae	OL
65	Ramsey Feagai	Radford	OL
70	Aaron Watson	Nanakuli	OL
72	Eddie Williams	Damien	OL
74	Ikaika Rodenhurst	Kamehameha	OL
78	Bronson Tiwanak	Damien	OL
80	Christian Mendez-Claudio	Leilehua	WR
90	Jon Overton	Punahou	DL
91	Chris Iosefo	Leilehua	DL
94	Lolomana Mikaele	Damien	DL
95	Justin Hunt	Aiea	DL
98	Alasi Toilolo	Kapolei	DL