By J.R. DEGROOTE
By J.R. DEGROOTE
West Hawaii Today
KAILUA-KONA — With a new team, new surroundings and a new position, there was not a whole lot of familiarity for Mikey Rabara this season.
The one thing that did stay the same was the high-level of play from the Konawaena grad on the gridiron — albeit from a different spot on the field.
After spending two years a Butte College in California, the former Wildcat made the move to McPherson College in Kansas — a nearly 1,650-mile trip even further east from Hawaii. Rabara made another move, switching from strong safety to outside linebacker three games into the season.
In his inaugural year as a Bulldog, Rabara racked up 101 tackles — good for second on the team — and two interceptions. He had double digit tackles in seven games and was an obvious bright spot on a team that finished 0-10.
With the stellar performance, the former BIIF Defensive Player of the Year added a few more accolades to his resume, landing on the USA College Football NAIA All-American second team and earning a nod as an All-Conference honorable mention in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.
“Personally, it was one of the best seasons I have had. I was very humbled to receive those honors,” Rabara said. “But as a team, going 0-10 was rough. It was something no one on our team had ever experienced.”
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound former Wildcat played a big role on the field and from a leadership standpoint during a season of adversity. Rabara was named a team captain, a rare feat for a first-year transfer, and his position change was a testament of doing what was best for the team.
“The coaches told me they wanted the best 11 players on the field,” Rabara said. “I was really feeling it at safety, but when they asked me to move to linebacker I just had to do what was best for the team.”
Rabara said it took a little time to adjust to playing closer to the line and dealing with pulling lineman. However, it wasn’t an entirely new experience. Rabara played linebacker back when he was repping Konawaena green, and his physicality on the field is what impressed coaches while he was at Butte.
“Having that experience from high school helped with the transition. It wasn’t too bad,” Rabara said. “But taking on a pulling guard — that’s not a lot of fun. I don’t know if they will keep me there this next season. I think they want to get me back to my natural position on that back half of the defense.”
As for the move to Kansas, Rabara admitted it was a lot different than the Big Island, or even California, but he never found himself clicking his heels, hoping he could head back to Hawaii. He embraced living on campus and earned a 3.4 GPA.
“I was never too worried about being in the middle of America in a totally new place,” Rabara said. “I’m just a Hawaiian kid out here playing football, trying to earn a business degree. I’m very thankful for the opportunities football has provided for me.”
As for his team improving, Rabara wasn’t too worried.
“We are going to ride it out,” he said. “We have a lot of youth, and that is valuable moving forward. What we showed this year, especially defensively, is that the sky is the limit. We just have to keep working.”