It’s a perfect location. Right on Kamehameha Highway, next to a bus stop. Most importantly for owner/operator Junior Ah You, Tita’s Grill sits directly across the street from Kahuku High School. “Everything’s the same as when I went there,” says Ah You, of the school from which he graduated in 1968. “Only the gym is new.”
On this day, the geography is convenient for another reason. I stand next to Ah You, waiting for the light to change so we can cross the highway and walk the 20 remaining feet to the school’s administration building — for the second time on this sunny Wednesday afternoon. And, for the second time, Kahuku principal Donna Lindsey is unavailable; staff members tell us she is in a meeting again.
That’s reasonable, school principals have plenty of meetings and we have no appointment. But neither of us hears from Lindsey by 6 p.m., and another day goes by with only a wall of silence from Kahuku about the future of its football coach Reggie Torres. Maybe there will be an announcement by Friday’s game against Waianae, but no one’s counting on it.
Torres was suspended indefinitely because of what appears to be miscommunication regarding discipline administered to players at camp three weeks ago. This comes after a 2010 season when Kahuku forfeited games and championship opportunities because of an ineligible player. Two suicides, one by a player and one by a team manager, occurred shortly after last year’s ruling.
NOW, TORRES is in limbo and so is the program. It’s one of those stories where it becomes bigger each day there is no news. Ah You tries to be diplomatic. “It’s unfortunate. To say anything else is speculating. It’s easy to assume things and point fingers.”
I’ve been told by someone in the know this will end with Torres back as coach. Why’s it taking so long to announce it if that’s the case?
“You know, it’s to the point where it might be better to just make the interim coach (Walter Santiago) the coach for this season,” said Delsa Moe.
Moe and Ah You are North Shore community leaders with special interest in the football team. Moe is the mother of a current player, and another son started at quarterback on last year’s team. Ah You is one of the school’s greatest football legends from a program full of them. His son, Kingsley, also played at Kahuku and is now a counselor at the school.
Players who stop by Tita’s Grill for huge “pounder” burgers after school and before practice say they are concerned for Coach Reggie. But they also say things are going well with Coach Walt.
“As unfortunate as this is, it’s not as bad as what happened last year,” Moe said. “They still have an option to play. Our team is so resilient. They pull together quickly.”
Still, Ah You wants resolution. So does everyone with an interest in one of the most talented and successful high school football programs in the state, sometimes the nation. “You have two choices,” said Ah You when asked how he keeps his smile. “The other way’s not going to do you any good.”
But now and then you catch him looking with concern, at the school across the highway from his perfectly located diner.
