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Head coachDefensive coordinator: Nate Kia (1st season) Offensive coordinator: Keola Cheng
Players to watch: LB/DE Tevarua Tafiti (6-3, 235, Sr.), QB John-Keawe Sagapolutele (6-2, 210, Jr.), DB Will Straton (5-11, 200, Sr.), RB Alai Williams (6-0, 215, So.), OL Tui Muti (6-3, 320, So.)
Coach's words: "We have a very young team this year - a true rebuilding year - with many position battles over the next few weeks. Having not had a previous season, it's very hard to gauge the competition. That said, we have a confident and enthusiastic outlook on our season and look forward to high school football's return." - Nate Kia
SL's take: Sure, the Buffanblu missed out on the state tournament in 2019, but only one ILH team can do so each year and when you play in the same league as Saint Louis, well, you try your best. Punahou certainly had nothing to hand its head over two years ago. After all, its went 10-2 with its only two defeats coming at the hands of the Crusaders (by scores of 25-19 and 21-14) and finished as the No. 2 team in the ScoringLive Power Rankings. There have been a few changes since that fall, starting at the top, as Kia succeeds longtime former coach Kale Ane. Kia, a 1992 Punahou graduate and former Gatorade State Player of the Year as a senior DE, has kept much of the former coaching staff intact. He will handle the defense, which is led by the state's top recruit in Tafiti, who recently gave a verbal commitment to play at Stanford next year. Tafiti, a Second Team All-Hawaii utility pick as a sophomore, chose Stanford over nearly 20 other schools, including Notre Dame, Oregon, Washington and Virginia. DE Kielan Siamani (6-3, 225, Jr.) will be looked to contributed as an edge rusher on Punahou's 3-man front. Alika Cavaco-Amoy (6-1, 225, So.) is a young, but promising LB with a knack for making plays. In the secondary, Stratton will fill one of the S spots, while Agenhart Ellis IV (5-11, 160, So.), Travis Ross (5-10, 270, Jr.) and Terahiti Wolfe (5-10, 170, So.) are in the mix for the other DB positions. The offense is led by Sagapolutele, who was thrust into the fire as a freshman in 2019 due to a season-ending injury to the starting QB early in the year. He threw for 2,135 yards and 16 TDs and completed a respectable 60.4 percent of his passes with seven INTs. In addition to Sagapolutele, the Buffanblu also return backup Ian Eveleth (6-1, 185, Sr.), who appeared in seven games in 2019. Sagapolutele has put on some 25 pounds since then and grown a few inches and become a leader by example. He's shown nice touch on his deep ball and good anticipation. Joining him in the backfield is a talented RB in Williams, who has a powerful-yet-shifty, downhill style with the ball in his hands, but can adapt to play SB or even WR, if needed. Akamu Moeava (5-10, 250, Sr.) can play any of the positions on the OL. Other key bodies up front are Muti and Teancum Moeai (6-0, 270, Jr.). Punahou's offense should operate at an elite level, but the question mark is its defense. Despite having a bonafide stud in Tahiti, the Buffanblu lost Division-I college talent to graduation at all three levels of the defense.
league games bold *non-league **HHSAA tournament
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