LIHU‘E — Continued success is always a tall order, especially in high school athletics where the turnover rate is constant. “We’ve got to develop,” said Kaua‘i High School football head coach Derek Borrero. “Every year from March, we are on
LIHU‘E — Continued success is always a tall order, especially in high school athletics where the turnover rate is constant.
“We’ve got to develop,” said Kaua‘i High School football head coach Derek Borrero. “Every year from March, we are on the ground level.”
That year-in, year-out reset button is a result of developing players who quickly become leaders, then, just as quickly, “take their talents” elsewhere, to quote the now infamous LeBron James decision.
The 2009 Red Raiders took control of the KIF and ran an undefeated record all the way to Aloha Stadium, before losing 24-17 to ‘Iolani in the Division II state championship.
From that talented team, seven players will be strapping on the pads for college programs in the fall.
The two most highly recognized individual players from the 2009 KIF season, quarterback Trey Shimabukuro and free safety Cameron Largusa, will both be heading to Western Oregon University.
Shimabukuro, the KIF Offensive Player of the Year, decided on Western over the summer while at an Oregon State football camp. He took a ride over to see the school, where his dad also attended, and felt at home on the laid-back campus.
Largusa, the KIF Defensive Player of the Year, will be joining his co-captain in Monmouth, Ore. Having played all three phases of the game, Largusa was a league standout on defense and special teams. He then turned heads statewide with a huge day in the D-II championship game, keeping the Raiders’ title hopes alive with three interceptions.
They will be joining up with another former Raider all-KIF performer, Teila Huni, whose younger brother, Daylin, has shown himself to potentially be one of the most dominant defensive players the KIF has to offer.
Three members of the ‘09 Raiders defense are all heading to Alan Hancock Junior College in Santa Maria, Calif.
Cornerback Kalen Naakahiki, defensive end Kepa Naakahiki and linebacker Jamen Kealoha-Albarado will bring a united front to the Mainland to suit up for the Bulldogs.
One of the team’s most versatile and tough-nosed players, Kalena “Boom” Rodero Workman, will be playing for the Peru State Bobcats in Peru, Neb. The wide receiver and quarterback is headed to a squad that went 7-4 last season in NAIA competition.
Offensive lineman Aaron Victorino will be a part of the resurrected Pacific University football program, which will be fielding a team for the first time since 1991. The Forest Grove, Ore. school is set to play a nine-game schedule under head coach Keith Buckley.
The guys have continued to come out to train alongside the current Raiders, showing their commitment to improve and arrive on campus in the best shape possible.
“It’s nice to see they are not taking it for granted,” said Borrero. “We’ve groomed them in that manner.”
The Kaua‘i coach said that he tries to express the importance of how his players who move on to the college level conduct themselves while at school, in addition to how they handle themselves in front of the current high school players.
“They’re paving the way and they have a responsibility,” he said. “They give these other guys a chance.”
Borrero thinks that Hawai‘i high school football players have created a good name for themselves among college programs.
“Overall, a lot of these colleges love the Hawai‘i boys,” he said. “Number one, they are disciplined and obedient, because of their upbringing. They show respect.”
And what’s number two?
“They just tough,” he said.
Losing this amount of talent and team leaders is nothing new for a winning program, as Borrero stated that even going into what turned out to be a magical 2009 season, he had plenty of concerns. The 2008 team graduated 34 seniors, so seeing a number of new faces in key positions isn’t something to fear.
But he did say that last year’s team was unique in that it had a number of “uncommon” players. Borrero, who said he is currently reading Tony Dungy’s book titled “Uncommon,” remembered an occasion where three players weren’t at practice. When he questioned the team as to their whereabouts, one of his players quickly told him where they could be found.
That event triggered no resentment in the locker room, he said. The players knew they should all be at practice because the team had identified clear goals for itself and the influential players had instilled a focus on attaining those goals.
The leaders were “uncommon” in a way that it was fine for others to be followers, he said, as long as they were following those guys.
Seeking out that new leadership, along with a new, specific skill set moving up to the varsity level, will make the 2010 Raiders appear much different than their predecessors, a fact that the coaching staff is not shying away from.
“We’ve got to make it harder for them to figure us out,” said Eugene Fernandez, an assistant coach and manager of football operations.
The team had been strictly a Run & Shoot offensive unit, he said, before moving into some more spread tactics, then installing the no-huddle last season. Fernandez finds new schemes that he feels can be beneficial to the team and brings them to the offensive coaching staff.
“First of all, we’ve got outstanding coaches,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to have anyone else but Coach Bo (Borrero).”
While the x’s and o’s might be changing, so will the game plan, due to fewer players on the team. A number of starters may be playing both ways.
“I’ve got a quarterback who’s going to play free safety,” Borrero said. “It’s going to be very interesting.”
Such obstacles, along with now having to play the majority of the season in the afternoon sun, have led the coaching staff to make sure the boys are conditioned accordingly during spring and summer workouts.
“Let’s puke now,” Borrero said, instead of on the field when it counts.
While last year’s team came together very early on with its goal to reach the state championship game, Borrero has his sights on a much closer challenge.
“Coaches lay out the small goals,” he said. “How do you eat an elephant? One small bite at a time. Right now, Aloha Stadium is the furthest thing from my mind.”
No matter which players are returning, who is no longer around, what the new schemes may be, Borrero said the goal is ultimately the same.
“It’s not about me, it’s not about the team even,” he said. “It’s about the school, it’s about the community. We just want to put a good product on the field.”
