By Russell Omo
[email protected]
On Aug. 15, on the gridiron of Kauinana Stadium, Punahou Schools’ varsity Buff and Blue squared off against the Trojans in a decisive interleague preseason game that that turned into the Trojans’ wakeup call before the season, as the Buff and Blue took the game, 24-14.
“(Performance) was part of their effort, they took it to (the Buff and Blue), because Punahou’s offensive line is like 6’3”, 280 (pounds) and above and I thought our defense played well against those big boys,” explained varsity Head Coach Roderick York, “But you know, you make errors against a good team and they’ll make you pay.”
On defense, the Trojans were able to hold off the Buff and Blue offense until the second quarter. However, a minute into the second quarter, the Buff and Blue scored their first touchdown of 31 yards with a pass from Quarterback Larry Tuileta to Wide Receiver Luke Morris. Shortly after, the Trojans matched the score with a 26-yard touchdown run by Running Back sophomore Vavae Malepeai, which was aided by alternations of quarterbacks sophomore Mckenzie Milton and senior Robert Faleafine. The Buff and Blue soon broke the tie with another touchdown, leading 14-7.
The Trojan’s next possession in the second quarter made it to the 1-yard line, only to be walled off by the Buff and Blue’s defensive line, negating any advances by Malepeai. After half time, the Buff and Blue extended the score gap with a 33-yard field goal followed by another touchdown of 7 yards, leading 24-7 in the third quarter. The Trojans began to realize their performance was falling short as the game progressed. “I felt confident,” expressed Milton, “I felt good in the game plan, it’s just that I didn’t play as well as I would like to.
The Trojans ended the game with a 12-yard touch down by Malepeai, however it was not enough to close the gap, giving the game to the Buff and Blue, 24-14. “It was just players who are stepping into the starting roles for the first time and guys were not mentally into the game, there were times where they were running run plays and they were blocking, there were times where they were running run plays and they were running out for a pass play. It was just that they got caught up into the game but, the hype of the game,” stated York.
The start of a new season meant a new roster of players who had not acclimated to the Varsity scene and for the players, a game against one of the state’s top teams was a new learning experience that revealed strengths, but more importantly, weaknesses. “There was a lot of things to work on, we’re never satisfied, always room for improvement, we can always get better,” admitted Mapepeai, “There’s a lot of stuff that I need to work on, I missed a lot of blocks. Although I ran the ball, it was credit to the O-line and everyone else blocking: the up field, the wide outs, and the slots.”
The switch from JV to Varsity was a change for the new players, who are now up against much larger, seasoned players. “The game’s a little faster; the guys are a bit bigger. It’s the same game, but different speed,” remarked Milton.
Being an interleague game, it does not count for the team’s standing this season. The Varsity team is currently improving on its weakness to prepare for future games this season.
