Some observations from two scrimmages I saw recently.
Waianae @ Pearl City
Missed the first 15 minutes, but caught the rest. Waianae is still evaluating players, so they lined up in the shotgun most of the first half (if not all). Not much success there. Pearl City did a fairly good job finishing defensively. Sound fundamentally, tacklers getting low and wrapping. Good team pursuit.
Pearl City’s offense didn’t do a whole lot either in the first half.
Second half, Waianae went more to its patented Wing T offense and bulldozed. Pearl CIty’s not deep, so when subs are in, it’s a huge task against Waianae’s solid O-line. Highlight for PC was Cyrus Coen’s 90-yard touchdown run on a speed option pitch. It came against Waianae’s backups, but still impressive since he played most of the night at middle linebacker.
Damien @ Kailua
Kailua has playmakers at QB, with a new sophomore who throws almost sidearm and wears #15. There’s also Chevy Mikaele, now starting at DE, but he got some snaps in the shotgun. ‘Iolani transfer Kila Zuttermeister made a smooth touchdown catch for Kailua. WOLA transfer Awa Poggi had a pick on the first play of the scrimmage from his new position at safety.
Damien had some nice offensive moments in the second half with #12 Rusty Kauahikaua at QB. His awareness of pressure and familiarity with the offense were big pluses. Good touch on the short and medium routes. Makes decisions quickly and doesn’t hold the ball too long.
All in all, play wasn’t too sloppy considering public-school teams don’t have 2-a-days like they did years ago. We’ll get a better feel for teams this weekend when nonconference games kick off.
Paul-Honda, Star-Advertiser
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