If playing quarterback is a gift from your coaches, what exactly does playing defense mean?

On the football field, defense is about knowing your role. Executing your assignment. Trusting teammates. There are no gifts. You give back to the team.

In Kela Marciel's situation, offense was a great fit. As a junior one year ago, he passed for 189 yards and rushed for 122, accounting for three touchdowns, as Division II 'Iolani nearly upset Division I Saint Louis in a 49-34 loss at Aloha Stadium.

It was a remarkable demonstration of Marciel's intelligence, intuition and spontaneity. Speed and skill in one package. Saint Louis went on to win the Interscholastic League of Honolulu's D-I crown. 'Iolani, perhaps spent and battered after the loss, fell in three of its next four games. The Raiders still managed to win the league's D-II title, though, and a three-week break before the state tourney was timely.

With 273 total yards against Kauai and 330 more against Lahainaluna, Marciel was nearly unstoppable and 'Iolani captured its second D-II state championship in three years. Marciel was one of the top quarterbacks in the state regardless of classification.

If it ain't broken, don't fix it, right? On the surface it seemed ludicrous to move the team's best athlete away from his natural position. But something happened after coach Wendell Look and his staff shifted Marciel from the pocket to the corner early in the season. With Marciel playing defense full-time, 'Iolani rose to a higher plane. It was simple math: switching Marciel to defense allowed promising junior Jarrett Arakawa to take the field.

“;Last year, I knew that Jarrett was going to be ready,”; said Marciel, who crafted a 3.4 grade-point average in the midst of football season. “;He doesn't look to run at all. He's relaxed and lets everything happen. He's doing good now.”;

The move worked. The Raiders went 7-2 in league play (9-3 overall), including a shocking 35-30 win over Saint Louis.

Look, a demanding taskmaster, still beams over Marciel's one-team attitude.

“;Having Kela's support is huge. Kela supported Jarrett from Day 1,”; Look said.

Initially, Marciel saw significant time at wide receiver, drawing extra coverage.

“;It's not my style to play guys two ways as much as we have with him,”; Look said. “;With our staff, it was how much are we going to use him?”;

Maybe nobody in the program, aside from offensive coordinator Joel Lane—a former Crusaders quarterback—wanted the Saint Louis win as badly as Marciel. After attending Saint Louis as a seventh-grader, Marciel knew quite a few of his former schoolmates across the line of scrimmage.

“;It was kind of heartbreaking because it hurt their season, but we came out firing,”; Marciel said. “;Actually, I'm still surprised we pulled that off.”;

There was no single play more telling of Marciel's stature than the one that ended Saint Louis' comeback attempt. The Crusaders, with efficient Jeremy Higgins in the shotgun, drove to the 'Iolani 4-yard line in the final seconds. Higgins read the defense and saw Marciel—the shutdown cornerback—hovering over the big-play man, Billy Ray Stutzmann.

“;I'm hoping if he catches the ball, he doesn't score,”; Marciel said. “;They sent everybody out. Billy ran a 2-yard in. He was a decoy, I guess. After the snap, (Higgins) took one glimpse at me, then he looked at the opposite side. We had quick pressure and our guy (Kaena Moose) sacked him.”;

Instantly, a sea of black and red enveloped the field. Normally cerebral kids went bonkers.

“;We were running, everybody was hugging everybody,”; Marciel recalled. “;And we still had to take a knee. Right after that game, I thought, 'This could be our year.' “;

Again, however, a battle with the big boys from Kalaepohaku took a toll on the smaller Raiders. A close loss to Kamehameha and a lopsided defeat at Punahou virtually ended 'Iolani's dream of outright winning the ILH crown over the elite D-I programs.

“;Guys were so hyped about beating Saint Louis that we came out flat against Kamehameha. Punahou saw us in the two games and had time to prepare,”; Marciel said. “;They controlled us.”;

Bitter tears in Marciel's eyes after the loss to eventual ILH D-I champ Punahou told the story of a David who longed to slay another Goliath. 'Iolani refocused and won another ILH D-II title.

Arakawa, the sharp lefty, continues to make strides in the pocket. Arakawa has passed for 1,706 yards with 19 touchdowns and only eight interceptions in 'Iolani's no-huddle, run-and-shoot attack.

Learning on the new job, Marciel is already one of the best cornerbacks in the state. With speed and great hands, he is bigger (5-foot-11, 175 pounds) than most corners.

When 'Iolani lines up against OIA champ Campbell in Friday's state-tournament semifinals, the Raiders defensive unit will see the most prolific run-and-shoot offense in all of Division II.

“;I haven't seen anybody like this,”; Marciel said.

Like last year, the Raiders had three weeks off before states. That's a lot of time for Marciel to learn from his position guru (John Stepien).

“;Sometimes, I do some things that I feel are right, but Coach Step preaches that you have to do things better,”; Marciel said. “;He knows I can do a lot better than I'm doing now.”;

He wants to be dependable. He wants to be great in the clutch.

“;I like being the captain and the leader on the field. Sometimes, there's a lot of pressure,”; Marciel said. “;But if you want to win a championship, you want to perfect everything.”;