Both Waimea and Kapa‘a high schools have introduced new offenses and both their head coaches said they’re about as ready as they can be for their Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation season opener at 7:30 p.m., tonight, at the Hanapepe Stadium.
In preseason games, Waimea has practiced passing to the outside more than using their usual running game.
“I think we’ve done a pretty good job adjusting to (our new offense)” Waimea head coach Kylie Linoz. “There are no changes in our lineup from our preseason.”
That means they will be utilizing Cole Parongao as their main playcaller. Linoz has said Parongao is the team’s pure passer for times they need to pull off a clean throw.
But Linoz has said time and time against that the heart of the Menehune team is their defense, which this year is built around one of their biggest, strongest and quickest players, Siasau Matagiese.
Tonight’s game will also mark the return of Kapa‘a head coach Keli‘i Morgado in his first official game since the state championship game in 2006. Morgado coached Kaua‘i High School for many years, leading them to four consecutive KIF titles and a No. 1 ranking in the state.
After a year off, Morgado returned to coaching, this time for Kapa‘a and he brought with him many of his staff from Kaua‘i and his run-and-shoot-offense.
“It’s the first game of the season, so you never really know what’s going to happen,” Morgado said.
He is very experienced and well-respected in the community as a coach and has made lots of progress with the Warriors in a short period of time.
He is also aware of the changes Waimea made to its offense and said that will be Kapa‘a’s biggest challenge. He said because Waimea is spreading it out more, as opposed to running up the middle, it will be more difficult to cover them.
Kapa‘a’s biggest threat to Waimea is running back Caleb Sarsona.
Sarsona is quite talented at his position and is good at finding available openings for a run.
Last year, the two schools split games with Kapa‘a winning the final matchup at the Warriors home stadium.
Junior varsity will take the field first at 5:30 p.m.
Kapa‘a vs Waimea
Hanapepe Stadium
JV kickoff, 5 p.m.
Varsity 7:30 p.m.
