Back in the day, Waimea was the powerhouse of small schools, a giant killer that knocked off football programs around the state with bigger rosters and players.
Back in the day, Waimea was the powerhouse of small schools, a giant killer that knocked off football programs around the state with bigger rosters and players.
The Menehune captured 11 straight Kauai Interscholastic Federation championships from 1999 to 2002. They produced upset wins at the HHSAA state tournament over three OIA runners-up: Kailua in 1999, Castle in 2001, and Kailua again in 2002.
That was before statewide classifications started in 2003, the last time Waimea reached states at the Division II level. Longtime coach Jon Kobayashi stepped down after the season, and the school hasn’t been back to states since.
Last year under second-year coach Jason Caldeira Jr. the Menehune won one game. This season, there are just seven seniors on the 41-player roster.
When Kobayashi was getting his feet wet, Waimea had an enrollment of 900 students. At the end of his tenure, Kobayashi, the school’s athletic director, saw the numbers drop to 750. Now, Waimea has about 560 students and doesn’t have the depth to field a junior varsity football team.
In the three-team KIF football league, Kauai High has about 1,200 students and Kapaa a little more than 1,000 students.
Kauai High qualified for the Division II state tourney every year except for 2011 and last year when Kapaa advanced. The Kauai Red Raiders were state runner-up in 2006, ’09 and ’13.
The Garden Isle also has an open district between Waimea and Kauai High, where students living on the border can choose which school to attend. Kobayashi noted that if there are 100 kids about 90 will choose to become Red Raiders.
“Lihue is the hub of the city. That’s where the county government is, the shopping malls,” Kobayashi said. “The parents can pick up their kids from work. Our community is older and Kapaa is a growing community, and that’s costing us numbers.
“Last year our senior class was 130. This year our freshmen class is fewer than 120. Our student body has been going down every year.”
Kobayashi can still close his eyes and remember the glory days when the Menehune were the tough, little giants who put a good scare into big schools from around the state.
“What made it special and the greatest part was that great kids make great coaches. They believed in the coaches and we believed in them,” he said. “We kept having good years because the great kids kept cycling through.”
Caldeira knows he’s got a tough task, especially with so much youth. Still, he likes the team’s attitude, reminiscent of Kobayashi’s reign.
“The players have been working hard, and I like their attitude toward practice and toward the coaches,” he said. “Win or lose, we’ll be a lot more competitive.
“It’s really hard to replace someone like coach Kobayashi. Those are hard footsteps to follow.”