Kamehameha’s offensive line is developing into one of the best in the state. There were issues in a preseason scrimmage against Kahuku, but that turned into a lesson the Warriors have learned well from. But how will they fare against a Saint Louis front seven that includes defensive lineman Faatui Tuitele and linebacker Noa Purcell tonight at Aloha Stadium?
Kamehameha’s offense has become more and more balanced, allowing Thomas Yam to do more managing than scrambling. They’ll smash, Yam will throw quick passes and they’ll move the chains — against almost every team.
Saint Louis’ defense is built to be physical and aggressive, and Kamehameha’s offensive philosophy will allow the Crusaders to play downhill, just the way Cal Lee likes to see his ‘backers play.
Yam, formerly known as “Boogie”, has been quite efficient, too. Though Chevan Cordeiro’s numbers are tempered by blowout wins and playing time for backup Maika Bonner — arguably one of the best reserve QBs in the state — Yam has been picky and quick. With 351 passing yards and four TD strikes without an interception, he is at a probably unsustainable average of 11.7 yards per pass attempt. (These are statistics from the Farrington and Carson games.)
It has been quite an ascent for Yam and the Warrior offense since last year. In addition, the offensive line is plowing ahead, which has turned into healthy numbers for Kanoa Shannon (271 yards, two TDs in three games) and a deep corps of running backs.
I must say, Kamehameha has had a few down years recently, but they always have talent to compete. Aside from Kahuku, Farrington, and Waianae, I think Kamehameha might have the most consistently large and talented OLs and DLs. They might even fit right into that group. If you add in the fact that they also have some equally talented offensive skill talent and a pretty good QB, then I think this might be the year Kamehameha could break through. That’s not to say that they will beat the consistently dominant STL and PUN teams in the ILH, but I’d venture to say that they shouldn’t lose any of their league games by the 2+ scores of the last 4 or 5 years, and having seen the recent performances by PUN, they might be in a transition year by their standards, so the PUN vs KSK games might really get competitive if the KSK offense can click.
If Kamehameha has gotten better since the Kahuku scrimmage then Coach Maafala should be the lead candidate for COACH OF THE YEAR. Dude they were not good at all and thats being nice. Good luck against the Crusaders.
@Coach_B, I think we are watching the downfall of Punahou. They have far less talent than in years past. They had 27 kids and 30 kids suit up for JV and Intermediate respectively the other week. The numbers are alarmingly low.
The total amount of kids applying into Punahou is at it’s lowest. Part of that is due to the high tuition, part of that is certain families do not qualify for financial aid, and the other one is kids are preferring to play for public schools that have a good football team and the tuition is free.
Like I have written before, another huge factor is the risk on playing football. Punahou is generally a middle to upper class school. Many families don’t want to risk long term injury when they can afford to pay for college and do not need the athletic scholarship.
All these factors are causing the interest in Punahou Football to go around. There is less alumni interest. Punahou doesn’t offer any athletic scholarship even though people think they do. They do have gifting available from some alumni, but that isn’t as much as in years past.
There is a good chance that Punahou drops to the tier where Iolani is within 3-5 years.