Blog
Sabers hope to improve upon 2013 finish




A year after qualifying for its first Division I state tournament, the Campbell football team need not look far for a blueprint to a follow-up season.

Behind Second Team All-Hawaii quarterback Isaac Hurd's record-setting 2013 campaign, the Sabers finished tied for second in the Red West conference of the Oahu Interscholastic Association and reached the final four of the state tourney before a 34-point loss to Mililani in the penultimate week of the prep season.

Now, with the 2014 season on the horizon, Campbell must adjust to life without the athletic Hurd at the helm of the offense — a task easier said than done. However, coach Amosa Amosa can point to the success of the very team that ended the Sabers' season last year as a reason to be optimistic.

The similarities between the 2013 Mililani Trojans and Amosa's squad this year are ironic, if not eerie. Consider the following: both teams graduated a decorated signal caller and turned to a sophomore to replace him (McKenzie Milton replaced Jarin Morikawa at Mililani last year and Ezra Savea looks to fill the shoes of Hurd at Campbell this year) and defense is the strong point of both teams (the Sabers have seven returning starters on that side of the ball this year, as did Mililani last year).

Like the Trojans last year, the Sabers are loaded on defense this season. A pair of Division-I college commits will lead the way from the secondary. Strong safety Solomon Matautia, a First Team All-Hawaii pick as a junior last year, will play at Oregon State next year and free safety Abiel Taito verbally committed to Nevada for 2015. Other top returnees include senior linebacker Kea Cambra and senior defensive lineman Tristan Ludiazo.

"I think every year our defense has always been the backbone of our team," said Amosa, who is in his seventh season as coach at Campbell. "I think for this defense the sky is the limit for them. Hopefully with their impact on defense, it will help the offense get things going and let Ezra pick up the offense a little bit."

Perhaps no player will be as important to the Sabers' hopes this season as Savea, a transfer from Kapolei. After playing a season as a reserve wide receiver for the Hurricanes last year, he opted to return to his "home school."

"I feel a lot better here," said Savea, who is 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighs 195 pounds. "I feel more welcome here."

Amosa is high on Savea, but knows that there will be growing pains along the way with his young quarterback.

"The greatest thing about Ezra is when he does make a mistake, he will correct it really fast," Amosa said. "The only thing that I think we need to work with him on is making his reads a little quicker in our offense — not holding onto the ball and getting rid it as quick as he can — but I think, in terms of accuracy, at this point through pass league, he's been the most accurate sophomore quarterback I've ever had here."

Savea won't have to shoulder the load on offense alone. He will have several returning starters to turn to, including senior wide receiver Jayce Bantolina — a third-year starter — and senior running back Austin May.

"Everybody looks at our defense and overlooks our offense — maybe because Isaac Hurd is gone — but this year, I think that our (skill positions) are pretty good, especially with Ezra coming in — he hits everybody — so we hope to have a pretty good season," said Bantolina, who is 6-1 and 200 pounds.

Bantolina will likely be a security blanket for Savea in the Sabers' wide-open spread offense.

"It's got to be really good," Bantolina said of the connection between he and Savea. "We just met each other, but it's starting to (grow) more and more and our connection is getting better and better, so I think it'll be just like me and Isaac were before."

Amosa said he hopes to utilize the weapons around Ezra to help ease him into the speed of play at the varsity level.

"I think Ezra is surrounded by some good players, so hopefully they can take some pressure away from him by getting them involved more in the offense," Amosa said.

Savea understands he must be a quick learn, but has a quiet confidence about him.

"I want to improve my footwork and doing what I can do for this team to be better," Savea said. "I have to learn how to be a leader knowing that I'll probably be one of the youngest quarterbacks in the OIA ... I just want to lead this team."

Campbell opens the season at Kahuku at Carleton E. Weimer Field on Aug. 8 in a non-league game.

2014 Campbell football schedule
Aug. 8 — at Kahuku
Aug. 15 — vs. Castle
Aug. 22 — vs. Moanalua
Sept. 5 — vs. Kailua
Sept. 12 — at Kapolei
Sept. 19 — vs. Mililani (homecoming)
Sept. 27 — at Aiea
Oct. 4 — vs. Farrington at Aloha Stadium



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




Show your support

Every contribution, no matter the size, will help ScoringLive continue its mission to provide the best and most comprehensive coverage of high school sports in the state of Hawaii and beyond.

Please consider making a contribution today.

ADVERTISEMENT


MORE STORIES

Radford wins on walk-off wild pitch to turn back Kalaheo

Mataio Tauanuu batted 4-for-4 and scored the game-winning run in back-and-forth game for the Rams.

Punahou continues unbeaten streak, hands Kamehameha second straight loss

Third-ranked Warriors suffered consecutive losses in the regular season for the first time since 2017.

No. 4 Iolani rallies to hand No. 1 Kamehameha first ILH loss

Ethan Akagi and CJ Taira scored the winning runs for the Raiders off a wild pitch to hand the top-ranked...

Punahou pulls away from PAC-5 to notch first ILH win

The Buffanblu ended a five-game skid and broke into the win column to keep the Wolfpack winless in the...

Kalani's Nishigaya headlines All-OIA East selections

Forward/midfielder Kaiulani Nishigaya helped lift Falcons to first-ever league title; Kaiser's Noelani...

Trojans' Fuamatu-Maafala leads All-OIA West picks

Mililani's Iai Fuamatu-Maafala named Player of the Year; Campbell's James Curran named coach of the year.