Seariders will have new look on offense

Evan Asato | SL

On the west side of Oahu — nearly at the end of Farrington highway — is a town where traditions are long standing and pride runs deep.

Waianae, home to one of the state's most storied prep football programs and most loyal fan bases, has long been synonymous with the "wing-T" offense.

Kiss that good bye. Well, sort of, anyway.

Change doesn't come often around here, but its come in bunches this offseason. The Seariders lost nearly 40 players — including nearly three dozen now-departed graduates and several outgoing transfers — are competing in a new division, but most notably, will use a new offensive formation.

"More of a spread-pistol offense — we're not really going under center — but still with a real tough running game," said senior quarterback Ioane Kaluhiokalani, who steps in to replace his cousin, three-year starter Kekoa Kaluhiokalani. "If we can execute, we'll be pretty good."

Uh, say what now?

Waianae coach Dan Matsumoto clarified.

"It's kind of the same plays actually as the old Wing-T," Matsumoto said. "Same motioning, same thing, but just the snap will look different."

So why the change, you ask?

Matsumoto said first-year offensive coordinator Kana Kawai — a former Searider signal caller in the late '90s — sought the change early in the offseason.

"Anthony Sandobal, our offensive coordinator from last year, can't make it this year, so we have Kana as the new OC," said Matsumoto, who is set to begin his 15th season as head coach. "He wanted to do something else, something different so I let him go with it."

The change to the pistol may be a tough pill to swallow for some of the Searider faithful, but it already has one huge fan.

"I think it's way better," Ioane Kaluhiokalani said. "The tempo is way faster and I can see the field way better."

Despite Matsumoto's acknowledgement that most of the changes are simply a change in pre-snap alignment and not to the core of the Wing-T, he knows it will be received with a variety of opinions.

"We've never done that before as a consistent base offense," Matsumoto said. "I think it's going to be more a blow for the community seeing something different like that, but we'll see how it goes.

"I actually think they're looking forward to that, because people are always saying 'Oh, you guys gotta pass more,' " Matsumoto said. "So it'll look like a passing formation, but we're basically sticking with the run."

Waianae opens the season on Aug. 8 at Raymond Torii Field against Kamehameha.

2014 Waianae football schedule
Aug. 8 — vs. Kamehameha
Aug. 15 — vs. Moanalua
Aug. 22 — at Kaiser
Aug. 29 — vs. Leilehua
Sept. 5 — vs. McKinley
Sept. 19 — vs. Castle (homecoming)
Sept. 26 — at Waipahu
Oct. 4 — vs. Kahuku (at Aloha Stadium)

Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].