KEAAU — Last season wasn’t a bad one for the Kea‘au HS football team, but it left much to be desired.
The Cougars went 5-4 overall and broke even at 4-4 in BIIF DI play, suffering a narrow loss of 27-24 during their final home game to Hilo HS.
This year, the team’s goal is to rise to the top of the division and make a state run. It all starts this weekend, as KHS will have the honor of hosting the East side of the isle’s first football game — kicking off at 1 p.m. tomorrow against Saint Louis II.
Despite graduating some high-profile seniors during the spring, the Cougars have retained a fairly seasoned offense — and gained a large contingent of young, hungry and determined underclassmen.
“It’s been a pretty good summer so far, a lot of the kids got committed,” first-year head coach David Murray said. “A lot of kids are buying in, and they love it out here.”
Though new to the position, Murray is no stranger to his players. He joined the Cougars as an offensive coordinator two years ago, and decided to apply for the head coach position after his predecessor departed.
He’s brought a newfound level of intensity and focus that the team has welcomed. Murray’s determination combined with that of his eager rookies and coaching staff has refreshed the team’s culture.
“We’ve got a lot of kids this year who have a desire to play,” he said. “They have a desire to give back to their team and community. It’s a big culture change for them, and I think they’re gonna make their community proud.”
The biggest difference between this year and last has been the frequency and intensity of the team’s physical training, as well as its turnout.
“Last year we didn’t have a great offseason, not too much in the weight room” Murray said. “Injuries can take a great toll on a team, and we had a lot last year. It was kind of a plumber style team that we had, trying to plug-and-play guys. This year there’s more commitment from the kids in the offseason, they should be in shape and they should be able to take a bit of a beating.”
Murray said that the team’s competitive edge it is linemen.
“In the trenches we’ve got some pretty decent sized guys,” he said. “We have a lot who committed in the offseason. More of that unity, and being able to lay it down on the field for everyone.”
Kea‘au’s quarterback is Diego Pettypool, a junior who was thrown into the fire last season — playing starting QB on varsity for his first time as a sophomore.
Considering the circumstances, he did alright.
He was great on his feet, rushing for 668 yards to average 12.8 yards per carry — but his passing game needed work, as he completed 55% of his passes for 1,563 yards and 14 touchdowns, surrendering 12 interceptions.
Pettypool is looking to refine his game this year, and has been putting in the necessary work in order to do so.
“I’m looking to improve my reads,” he said, “improve my form. My first year as a high school quarterback was last year, so it was big learning curve. In the offseason, I’ve been working on form, technique all that stuff — getting my feet faster.”
To Pettypool, his team seems to be working together much better this year than last year.
“Last year, we were individuals,” he said. “This year, I feel like I’ve bonded stronger with these boys. We’ve been training hard together.”
As an upperclassman, he’s becoming more comfortable in his role as a team leader, and working with his new younger and less experienced teammates.
“It’s fun,” he said. “As a captain, you’ve gotta guide them the right way sometimes — because they’re so young-minded. They sometimes goof around.”
“They caught on really fast, we taught them really well,” added senior Dane Bannister. “They’re gonna be strong this year, I already know it. This is just the beginning, you know. It’s not gonna change. Everyone from now on is gonna be the best of the best.”
One of Pettypool’s key comrades on offense will be senior receiver Sean Randall, who led the Cougars in receiving yards last year, totalling 663 yards and averaging 15.8 per reception — also earning an All-BIIF First Team selection.
This year, he wants to pump his numbers up.
“I wanna break my record from last year, have at least 1,000 receiving yards,” Randall said.
He also believes that his team is capable of achieving its goal of rising to the top.
“We can definitely take over the island,” he said. “Watch out for us.”
Bannister is another varsity veteran and a two-way starter, playing runningback as well as linebacker — for which he earned an All-BIIF honorable mention last season.
“I’m really confident in our boys, I feel like we have a really good team,” he said. “We have a strong running game this year, I know that for a fact. We’ve put in work every day since summer started, we’ve come out and grinded left and right, and we’ve never given up yet. I feel like we’re gonna have a really good season where we can go far.”
On Saturday, the Cougars will put themselves to the test against Saint Louis II — Saint Louis School’s DI team. SLII serves as a lower-level varsity team for SLS, which fields its main team in the open division.
“When you look at a program like that,” Murray said, “high-end standards — very disciplined, very focused team, regardless of age. They’re quality, and it’s great for us because we can see where we’re at as an outer-island team. I’m all about competition. Despite whatever happens, if it comes out great or doesn’t, all we can do is go back into the film and see what corrections we can make.”
