Q&A
Bulldogs, Chargers set for rematch




It was just four weeks ago that the Pearl City and Kaimuki faced off on the gridiron.

The Chargers, behind a 148-yard rushing performance by running back Makoa Cooper, held off the pesky Bulldogs by a score of 17-15 in a game played at Farrington's Edward ‘Skippa' Diaz.

But that was the regular season. Friday night, the teams cross paths once again — this time in a win-or-go-home situation.

Pearl City, the No. 7 team in the ScoringLive/Hawaiian Electric Division II Power Rankings, will play host to eighth-ranked Kaimuki in a semifinal game of the Oahu Interscholastic Association D2 tournament.

The winner between the second-seeded Chargers (6-2) and third-seeded Bulldogs (5-3) will move on to the league final at Aloha Stadium on Oct. 26 against the winner of the Roosevelt-Waipahu semifinal. The loser's season is over.

Only the OIA champion will earn the right to participate in next month's four-team state tournament.

We caught up with the coaches of both squads a few days before their playoff clash.


ScoringLive: Describe your team's current situation in one word.

David Tautofi, Kaimuki coach: "Fortunate. The boys definitely understand the magnitude of this game and even more so because of the whole layout and format of the playoffs with another team being taken out of from states. It puts a different kind of pressure on the teams now. The boys have been practicing with determination and a high level of energy this week and they are mentally focused given the big stage of the season and the opportunity that brings."

Robin Kami, Pearl City coach: "I think it's believing. Believing because right now our team believes in each other on and off the field and we're together as a team. Everybody is helping each other out at practices. That game — the first time we played Kaimuki — it was a big momentum boost for us and got us believing that we can play in those big games."


ScoringLive: How near or far is your team from playing to its potential?

Tautofi: "That's always a hard question to answer because, especially when you've grown to know a program that you've put together the last couple of years to now, you kind of have expectations that are beyond what is reality. As far as where I thought we would be at this time of the year, I actually feel like we're right where we should be and this opportunity will give us a clear picture of where we're at. I feel like we're getting closer to reaching our potential, but we won't ever reach that potential until we actually reach our goal. I definitely do think that we're right where we're supposed to be."

Kami: "We've got a lot of work to do still yet to get to our full potential. I'm happy with how we're playing, but we still have a lot of work to do."


ScoringLive: Which game this season, win or loss, proved to be most beneficial for your team?

Tautofi: "All three of our losses were most beneficial, specifically the Pearl City and Waipahu games. It's really helped us to learn a lot more. In my book they weren't losses, but more so just learning opportunities for us and this is where we get to put it all together and see if we learned from those mistakes or not, and if we haven't learned from those mistakes this week then we can take it into next season and learn from that, but specifically Pearl City and Waipahu were great learning experiences for us."

Kami: "I think the Waipahu game. The loss was a big one for us. That told us we've got to play good for four quarters. We played good for three quarters and didn't finish so good, so again, it taught us that we have to play hard for four quarters and finish the game."


ScoringLive: What did the first meeting against this week's opponent provide?

Tautofi: "It gave us a good picture of where we were at the time. It also gave us a good understanding of what we were needing to improve upon, basically everything that we needed to tighten up and prepare going into the postseason. It gave us a clear indication that we could compete. Against Pearl City, that was a good game. It was a fun game now when I think about it, but during the game it was stressful, but it gave us confidence, too, that we can mix it up with the top teams in our division."

Kami: "Well, we know that Kaimuki is big, physical and aggressive. They overpowered us as far as the trenches, on the o-line and d-line, so we know that we've just got to compete and play hard."


ScoringLive: Do you expect the game Friday's game to play out in a similar fashion?

Tautofi: "Yeah. I expect it to be a dog fight with the kind of power that both teams have, respectively in both their offense and also their defense, with some of the players they have there. It could be a dog fight like it was the first time, but it could also easily get away. Pearl City can run away with the game if we're not careful with our mistakes, and I think it can go the other way as well. I think it comes down to game planning and the team that makes the least mistakes and the team that makes the most of those opportunities will come out successful in the end."

Kami: "Yeah. I think it's going to be the same situation; whoever makes the least amount of mistakes in the fourth quarter, or the last drive, will determine a lot. I think we matchup well on both offense and defense as a whole."


ScoringLive: Where has your team made it's largest strides this season?

Tautofi: "It's always been bits and pieces with our team, but I think where we've made our largest strides is in our mindsets and our attitudes toward those games that we lost. It was definitely a disappointment, but in the past they could hang their heads or hang their cleats for the rest of the season. I think it fueled their fire since then and I think it's been their attitudes and the mental state that we've improved upon the most."

Kami: "I don't think any position has made a lot of strides. I think as a team we've made great strides as far as academics. I think we're only missing one player these next couple of weeks, so this whole season I think we only missed one player per week on average. They did a good job taking care of business off the field and it's translated to on the field."


Kickoff between the Bulldogs and Chargers is slated for approximately 7:30 p.m. Friday at Edwin ‘Bino' Neves Stadium.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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