Hawaiian Electric Game of the Week
Cougars to host Bulldogs in key OIA D2 showdown




A share of first place will be at stake when Kaiser plays host to Kaimuki in a Division II football game Friday night.

The Cougars (5-0 overall) and Bulldogs (4-1) enter the weekend tied for second place in the nine-team Oahu Interscholastic Association standings with identical 3-0 league records. The winner will pull even with first-place Roosevelt (4-0), which takes on PAC-5 in a non-league contest at Aloha Stadium that same afternoon.

Kaiser coach Tim Seaman has been pleased with the results from his bunch so far.

"I like how we have grown as a team," Seaman said. "These guys come out and compete, they give great effort, our practice habits have improved and those are the types of things you need to do to move forward as a program."

The Cougars went 4-4-1 a season ago, including a 3-3 mark in league play. They finished fourth in the final regular season standings and qualified for the OIA tournament. However, they went one-and-out in the playoffs. The team that ended their season?

That would be Kaimuki.

However, that experience has served the Cougars well in 2019. They have won by an average of more than 26 points per game and held opposing teams to a mere 6.2 points per game.

"Maturity is a good word to use. These guys got the experience of playing the game last year and you talk about situational football, but when guys are unfamiliar with certain situations the first time around it's a challenge," Seaman said. "I'd like to think that our guys have been in a variety of situations that gives them that experience, which allows them to play faster, so that experience factor is  big deal."

Since a 21-7 non-league win over Aiea to open the season, Kaiser has scored at least 33 points in each of its next four games. Its 34-10 victory over Kalani last Saturday marked the most points it has surrendered this year.

"We had high expectations for this group. We've got good senior leadership, we've got young guys who are hungry to get better and we've got kids that seem to enjoy playing the game," Seaman said.

Opponents are averaging a meager 109 yards of total offense against the Cougars, including a minuscule 9.8 rushing yards per game. Seaman credited defensive coordinator George Lumpkin — a former longtime University of Hawaii assistant — and the rest of the defensive staff for properly preparing the players.

"Schematically we're not super sophisticated, but our guys are in the right spots and the fact that not just coach Lumpkin, but all the defensive coaches have done a great job teaching fundamentals, that has helped us be at the level that we've been at," Seaman said.

Part of the team's success can be traced to its multitude of playmakers, rather than a few superstars here and there.

"We've got a lot of guys that contribute and one week it might be one guy and another week it might be another guy and just the fact that we've got people that are capable has helped us along this path," Seaman said.

Still, Seaman feels that there is much work to be done as the team crosses the midpoint of the eight-game regular season.

"Right now we've still got a ways to go. Every week presents a challenge for us," Seaman explained. "Our program isn't at a stage where we can just show up. We need to practice well every week and we need to come out and put forth great effort every week."

A great effort is what Seaman believes it will take to hang with the Bulldogs Friday night. After all, they beat the Cougars twice last season by scores of 46-21 in the regular season and 30-14 in the league semifinals.

Kaimuki's lone loss this season was a 34-24 defeat at Iolani in a non-league game on Aug. 24. Since then, it has posted a 61-7 rout of Waialua and a 27-7 win over Nanakuli last Saturday.

Like Seaman, Tautofi is cautious about his team's next opponent.

"This Kaiser team is a team on a mission and you can tell that by the way they play and the confidence they play with," Tautofi said. "These guys can fly around and they're quick. They're well coached and they're 5-0 for a reason. These guys pose several problems for the teams they face and we're no exception. They've got speed and are very talented in their skilled positions. What they do well that works for them is a problem for us, so hopefully we're prepared."

Tautofi said his players‘ ability to come together has helped them overcome a small roster and consequently, depth issues. 

"I think one thing has been evident for the team as a whole is these guys are the closest to each other this season than any of the past teams," Tautofi said. "There's still a lot of work to get to where we'd like to be. If there is an identity that we've established, then it's one that doesn't have anything to do with a game plan, it's family."

Kaimuki faces another stern test next week when it plays Roosevelt, but Tautofi said he's not concerned one bit about his players looking past the Cougars.

"I think our coaches have done a great job week in and week out preparing the team and helping to keep them as focused as they can possibly be. I think our players know that Kaiser is a good team and they understand that this is another opportunity, but also a big game," Tautofi said.

The game will serve as homecoming for the Cougars. However, due to a forfeit by the Kaimuki JV, the varsity game will kickoff at 6 p.m. at Kaiser Stadium.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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