Moanalua football

Chad Owens Jr. is optimistic even in the face of certain impossibility. The cancellation of football season has only optimized his motor. “We still have eight weeks until the season should’ve started,” the Moanalua senior quarterback said. “They pulled the trigger too quickly.” When the Owens ohana moved home, Chad Jr. embraced the move 100 percent. The son of former Roosevelt, Hawaii and CFL great Chad Owens Sr. was ready for a new chapter. Even as a senior, having to […]

Bryant Moniz has been through all kinds of adversity, but nothing stopped his will. Now he gets back to football at the high school level as the new offensive coordinator at Moanalua. New head coach Vince Nihipali confirmed the hiring on Wednesday. Moniz knows the underdog path well. Growing up in Wahiawa, playing through the Mililani Pop Warner system, becoming an All-State quarterback for Leilehua under then-coach Nolan Tokuda, overcoming injuries to start at Hawaii, then playing four seasons in […]

Vince Nihipali didn’t see a ton of Moanalua football last year, but what he saw impressed him. Nihipali, 47, will get a much closer look at Na Mehehune now that he is their new head football coach. “It’s pretty big for me,” Nihipali, who was a defensive coordinator for Mililani and Campbell, said by cellphone Tuesday afternoon. “I’ve coached all these years, basically doing defense. I did it for so long, I always wondered if I could go out and […]

Vince Nihipali is the new Moanalua football head coach, Na Menehune athletic director Joel Kawachi said Tuesday. >> CLICK HERE FOR OUR UPDATED STORY WITH COMMENTS FROM NIHIPALI Nihipali was Mililani’s defensive coordinator under Rod York for three seasons and was a defensive coordinator for Campbell before that. Nihipali takes over for the outgoing Savaii Eselu, who was hired as the tight ends coach at San Diego State. Moanalua went 10-2 last season and won its first OIA Division I […]

TEAM RECORD >> 10-2 overall, 6-0 OIA Division I HEAD COACH >> Savai’i Eselu is 27-16 in four seasons with Na Menehune KEY UNDERCLASSMEN IN 2019 >> OL MJ Javar, 5-8, 215, Jr.; OL/DL Maugaoutufao Tauiliili, 6-0, 240, So.; LB/DL Rodley Nelson Jr., 5-8, 190, Jr.; DB Gabriel Suka, 5-10, 145, Jr. MOANALUA THROUGH THE YEARS: 1973-2019 HISTORICAL EQUIVALENT: 2001 Aiea Siavii Eselu‘s Moanalua crew doesn’t lose much, but when it does it is a heartbreaker. The 2019 OIA champion […]

Moanalua quarterback RJ Javar is back in the saddle. After being hit and suffering a concussion in the OIA Division I championship game on Oct. 26, Javar has been slowly working his way back on the field under the watchful eyes of Na Menehune’s trainers. “He’s all set, all clear,” Moanalua coach Savaii Eselu said Tuesday. “Business as usual.” Javar scored a touchdown in that OIA title game and was hit on a helmet-to-helmet blow as he crossed the goal […]