Former Saint Louis and Weber State standout Cameron Higgins was promoted to head coach at Kaiser after Rich Miano resigned earlier this year. Evan Asato | SL

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Evan Asato | SL

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Change is in the air yet again in Hawaii Kai.

The Rich Miano chapter has come and gone in the book of Kaiser football, while the Cameron Higgins' era is just getting underway.

The 26-year old Higgins was promoted to head coach after Miano resigned abruptly earlier this year. He served the past two years at offensive coordinator under Miano.

His first head-coaching gig will be a stern test for sure, with the Cougars having graduated 25 seniors from last year's Division II state-title winning team and facing a step up to D1. The offense was depleted after a senior-heavy class departed, which included All-Hawaii Division II Offensive Player of the Year Thomas Butenbah-Leong and two-way standout Fitou Fisiiahi.

Still, there is optimism heading into 2014 from the new coach.

"I think we're trying to just pick up where we left off last year and we're seeing it a lot with the guys that are coming out," said Higgins, who was a star quarterback at both Saint Louis and Weber State University before returning home. "Even though we had the coaching change, we still have pretty solid numbers coming out, a dedicated group of guys that buy into the program and that have kind of gotten used to the tradition that Rich implemented here."

According to the players, not much has changed.

"Coach Cam has been with us and we're used to him, so nothing much changed. We have the same goal: to win the state championship," said senior defensive end Zeno Choi. "I feel like there's a lot of pressure on us, because we're the team that everybody wants to beat and play because last year we took the (D2) state championship and this year we're with the (D1) and I feel every other (D1) team wants to play against us because they want to test how good we really are."  

Senior nose guard Manase Palu focused his off-season efforts on improving his speed in the midst of all the change surrounding the football program.

"It's kind of the same, because sophomore year our coach Will (Lobendahn) wasn't here — he had to leave — and then coach Rich came in and it's the same thing now," Palu said. "You know, football still goes on."

Choi, Palu and junior middle linebacker Parker Higgins (Cameron's youngest brother) will be counted upon to lead a small, but speedy defense under first-year coordinator Richard Torres.

"He's been in the football game for quite some time," Cameron Higgins said of Torres. "He brings a great deal of knowledge to our secondary and helping our defensive backs know where their eyes go and their feet, technique, everything, so we're really looking forward to seeing what our defense can do this year."

Sophomore Justin Uahinui has been tabbed to succeed Lii Karratti at the quarterback position. He attended the seventh and eighth grades at Saint Louis before guiding Kaiser to a OIA White JV championship as a freshman last year.

Higgins and Uahinui share the common bond of being former Crusader quarterbacks.

"I think terminology and how you can communicate with the quarterback is key," Higgins said. "If you understand it, but the quarterback doesn't understand it, it doesn't mean anything because he's the one on the field with the ball, so (we're) just trying to find that common language where we can both see the same thing and talk the same talk. I think that's huge."

An abundance of youth is apparent with this Kaiser team, as well as their coaches. At a recent practice Higgins showed his receivers how to run a route first-hand on one end of the field, while Torres demonstrated coverage techniques to his secondary on the other.

"Cameron and I haven't been out of the game that long so we know how it is to be a player and I think that helps us communicate better with our guys," said Torres, who starred at Kahuku under his father, Reggie, before eventually earning a starting safety spot at the University of Hawaii.

Higgins knows that the rigors of D1 will be tough, but just don't go using that "rebuilding" word around him.

"Coaching really comes into play when you're undersized and you don't have a lot of guys on the team, so we're going to have to really help coach up these guys technique-wise so we can gain an advantage somewhere," Higgins said. "I try to win at everything I do. I'm a huge competitor — just like Rich Miano was — and the kind of culture that he laid upon the guys to not just be content with being mediocre, to not be satisfied with just being .500 — we want to take the championship — and that's kind of the mentality that I'm trying to give these kids going into (D1)."

The Cougars will play five of their eight games at home this season, including their first four. They open the season on Aug. 15 against Aiea.

2014 Kaiser Football schedule
Aug. 15 — vs. Aiea
Aug. 22 — vs. Waianae
Sept. 5 — vs. Waipahu (homecoming)
Sept. 12 — vs. McKinley (at Roosevelt)
Sept. 19 — vs. Kahuku
Sept. 26 — at Castle
Oct. 3 — at Leilehua