CJ Caraang | SL

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Things were rough for the McKinley Tigers football team in 2015.

With low numbers and a tough Division I schedule, McKinley went winless (0-8) and quickly became a team that everyone looked down at. The Tigers were shutout four times — including a 78-0 loss to Kahuku and a 90-0 loss to Waianae — forfeited their final two games of the season and was casted down to Division II when the Oahu Interscholastic Association realigned its divisions in the offseason.

As stormy as things have been for McKinley, second-year coach Sam Cantiberos has high hopes for his squad this year. The numbers have increased in the offseason and things are coming together for the Tigers' football team. 

"It's been great so far," said Cantiberos, whose team is ranked ninth in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Division II Power Rankings. "The main thing we have this year is consistency and the players coming out. Last year it was really inconsistent. One day we would have 10, the next 30. This year, since we started from February, we probably have 60 plus everyday. It's really nice because we don't have to keep back tracking and reviewing stuff."

Cantiberos added that some of the returning players have taken upon themselves to right the ship.

"A lot of our varsity players from last year, it was obviously disappointing for them. They've held couple of meetings on their own with the sophomores and juniors coming up from JV, and they've started regulating themselves to take one step forward."

Playing various pass league game against different teams during the summer was another positive for the Tigers.

"Pass league was a complete blessing for us," said Cantiberos. "Those are invaluable experiences for the boys out there. They're being competitive, something that we didn't have much of last year."

Even though the team has yet to win a game under his command, Cantiberos believes his team has the capabilities to make it to the postseason.

"That's the goal, we're taking it one game at a time. We don't want to limit ourselves. We're just going to go out there and play our best and hopefully things fall in our favor and we're in the hunt come playoff time."

The Tigers will not try to run anything too exotic in 2016, but instead focus on perfecting what they are capable of doing. 

"Offensively we're going to run multiple sets," said Cantiberos. "We don't have too much plays, but we have a lot of different things that we want to do. We'd rather be the best at 15 to 20 plays than have a 100 plays in the playbook."

Key players on the offense include quarterback Elyjah-Dane Badua, wide receiver Braxton Lane and offensive lineman Raden Jones. Cantiberos said Badua is someone who understands the importance of gaining first downs and that Lane is a dynamic weapon in the passing game. 

Defensively the Tigers will depend on a pair of juniors to lead the charge. Frank Steffany will lead the linebacker corps while Ezekiel Samuelu will rotate throughout the front seven.

McKinley begins its 2016 season with a non-league matchup against Pac-Five at Aiea on Aug. 6.