It is only Week 2 of the prep football season, and even with the opening weekend wiped out by the threat of the hurricanes, the Mililani Trojans are in a midseason mind-set.
Or maybe it’s a postseason mentality. Second-ranked Mililani hosts No. 3 Saint Louis on Saturday, a game originally scheduled for last weekend.
"We’re going to treat it like a championship game," Mililani coach Rod York said.
A year ago, Punahou was one of Mililani’s preseason foes. The Trojans weren’t settled at quarterback at that point.
"We wanted to beat Punahou, but I wanted to rotate our two quarterbacks in a game situation," York said.
It’s different this time.
"We kind of know who our guys are. I don’t give a darn if it’s our ones, twos or threes, I expect us to go out and compete," York said. "This is the first preseason we’ve gone out and scouted."
What they’ve seen is, in many ways, a mirror image. The imprint of Saint Louis Crusaders football has been felt in Central Oahu for some time now.
"The quarterbacks who have influenced our offense, Timmy Chang and Joel Lane. Timmy put in the offense," York said of the former Crusader and UH passing great.
Chang is now the offensive coordinator at Jackson State. Lane was another elite passer at Saint Louis and has coached at ‘Iolani — York’s alma mater — for many years.
"Joel helped me fine-tune the offense," said York, who is also the Trojans’ offensive coordinator.
York’s foray into coaching has been strongly influenced by Cal Lee and Ron Lee, who both returned to Saint Louis this year. With Cal as head coach and brother Ron as offensive coordinator, Saint Louis won 14 Prep Bowl titles and one state championship before joining then-head coach June Jones’ staff at UH.
"A lot of what we do comes from Coach Cal and Coach Ron. We get our stuff from people who have gotten results," York said. "I used to visit them every week when they were at UH. They used to take me on their yearly clinic on the Big Island. That’s the other side of Coach Cal. He shares with a lot of coaches. A lot of our success stems from him."
Cal Lee remembers York as a defensive lineman at ‘Iolani and UH prior to his path into coaching.
"I enjoyed working with Rod. When he got into coaching, he’s so enthusiastic and wanting to help kids," he said.
Last year, the Trojans reached the final of the state tournament before losing to Punahou. Since then, York has been on a mission to eliminate flaws.
"Oh, my gosh, Punahou exposed our weaknesses. Since February 1, we’ve been correcting and improving ourselves," he said.
This weekend’s matchup was almost going to be a scrimmage after last weekend’s cancellation. But with McKinley pulling out of a game with Mililani due to academic issues, the Trojans had a puka in the schedule.
"Right away, (Lee) said we can scrimmage," York said. "I wanted to keep our guys healthy for our first (OIA) game, but that means an early whistle. That’s not real football."
The real football could make for a mesmerizing battle. While Saint Louis features a wide-open passing attack led by quarterback Ryder Kuhns, the new staff has been working overtime.
"The biggest challenge has been getting to know the personnel. You don’t know until you put on the pads and play a game," Lee said. "There’s so many guys to look at and evaluate."
Mililani has the play-making combo of running back Vavae Malepeai and quarterback McKenzie Milton, as well as a talented offensive line that includes Jordan Agasiva, Andru Tovi and Derek Fetui-Suapaia.
Lee has seen enough of Mililani’s offensive assets.
"(Milton) is the kind of kid who makes plays. Tell him not to run. I don’t want him running," Lee said. "He’s a good runner. Your worry about a quarterback who can throw the ball and run the ball. He’s like a Johnny Manziel. That’s spooky. Vae’s another big threat."
