Moanalua lines up in a full house formation, but whether they intend to actually run the ball on the play is anyone's guess. Spencer Honda | SL

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Spencer Honda | SL

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It's no secret that the boys in blue will be doing a lot of passing on offense this year. In their 39-9 loss to Mililani last Friday night, Na Menehune senior quarterback Micah Kaneshiro passed the ball for 34 attempts versus six total rushing attempts from non-quarterbacks.

"My coach likes to pass more than running (offensively)," explains Kaneshiro.

While Moanalua were without last season's leading rusher Ishmil Scott (101 carries, 494 yards, 3 TDs), last week's game provided a sneak peek of some new plays and formations that coach Arnold Martinez has in store for opposing defenses.

"We have new plays, I like it better than last year," says Kaneshiro. "I feel more confident (with the new plays), that it can work better (for us offensively)."

In in the first clip of the above video, Kaneshiro and company are lined up in a full-house formation out of the gun. The full-house formation, also known as the "T" formation, is mostly used for power run games. With the added blockers, RB Rodson Kealohi is able to rip off his biggest run of the night behind the huge alley created by the left guard Hunter Flores.

Any time defenses see the full-house formation, they're going to have to account for the power run game. This often leads to defenses leaving their corners on an "island" on the outside receivers meaning more one-on-one opportunities for the Na Menehune wideouts. In the fourth clip, Kaneshiro and WR Donald Lambert makes Mililani pay as they hook up for an easy reception in the end zone.

I was particular fond of one of Na Menehune's plays out of the split back formation. In the second clip of the above video, Kaneshiro issues two fakes before pitching the ball back to WR Chad Aragon: one on the handoff to Kealohi, another in a pump fake on a screen pass to Lambert. In basic football terminology, this play can be classified as a "play-action, pump fake screen, toss sweep reversal, draw play."
 
Now that's a lot of things going on in a single play!

While Lambert will spend most of his time catching passes from Kaneshiro, don't be surprised to see him behind center at times, Marauder Nation can attest to that. In last year's opening round of the OIA playoffs, Waipahu was on the verge of a fourth quarter comeback before Lambert took a direct, "wildcat" snap for 53 yards and a score to ice the game.

In clip three, Lambert initiates a pseudo-triple-option run out of the full house formation. Although it didn't have much success against Mililani, teams that are not prepared for it could be susceptible to some big runs against them.

To top it all off, Lambert is also and able placekicker on PAT's with fellow receiver Aragon as the holder. Having two receivers back there on a PAT attempt could mean trouble for special teams not expecting a fake, which is akin to what Iolani has done in recent years with Max Look in on PAT's.

Since this was only a preseason game, I fully expect to see more "tricks" throughout the season from Kaneshiro and the rest of the offense. Football fans that get to witness them live will most definitely be treated to a good show.