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Warriors' Apelu back to form after knee injury in 2013




Kaulana Apelu is more than ready to hit the gridiron.

After missing nearly his entire junior season with a knee injury, the Kamehameha running back has worked his way back on the field and will play a pivotal part of the Warriors' offense this year.

Apelu, who stands 5-foot-11 and weights 200 pounds, tore the ACL in his left knee in the first game of the 2013 season after rushing for for 637 yards (6.4 yards per carry) and eight touchdowns as a sophomore.

"It's awesome being back, I can't describe it," Apelu said. "Being out here again is a dream come true. I just love to play football and it sucked sitting out."

The road to recovery was a long and arduous one, according to Apelu.

"It was really tough, especially watching everyone play last year while I had to go through therapy, (but) I'd like to give thanks to the trainers, who just pushed me everyday and I had to just take one step at a time," Apelu said. "It was brutal, but I had my teammates and my parents and my coaches keeping me up and telling me that I had one more year to go. It feels really good to be at this point now."

Nearly a full calendar year gone since the injury, Apelu is back to form and his coach expects big things from him in 2014.

"I'm really excited for him," second-year Warriors' coach Doug Cosbie said. "I think he's one of the most skilled running backs in high school football in any state. He brings a really unique skill set and he's 100 percent. Hopefully he can stay 100 percent and make it through the season without any injuries and we're looking forward to him doing some great things."

Kamehameha led all of Division I with a state-best 2,569 rushing yards (233.5 per game). In Apelu's absence, Kainoa Simao and Brandon Kahookele combined for 1,998 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. However, both backs have graduated, leading Apelu and Kaysan Nakatsu (171 rush yards, 2 TDs in 2013) to shoulder the load.

The continued development of junior quarterback Fatu Sua-Godinet and a defense that Cosbie said has improved from last year should ease Apelu's return.

"I think having a strong running game is the base of an offense," said senior offensive lineman Radson Jang, "Our offense, if we can run the ball just as well as last year, we'll be a lot more effective, because our passing game is a lot better than last year. Fatu's been working hard this offseason and made up for whatever inexperience he had last year and with Kaulana coming back we're going to shock the state."

The hiring of former Iolani School and University of Montana quarterback Brian Ah Yat as offensive coordinator has done wonders for Sua-Godinet, who took over the starting job as a sophomore last year.

"Brian's been really good with Fatu and he's taught him a lot and Fatu has worked hard and really developed," Cosbie said. "He's a great athlete and he's really starting to understand what being a quarterback is and he got a lot of valuable experience last year."

For Apelu, the season-ending injury provided a different perspective as well as a renewed appreciation for the game.

"Not only in football, but in life the little things aren't always given to you," Apelu said. "Sometimes you have a little setback and you get pushed back and it brings you down, but it also makes you stronger."

Kamehameha visits Raymond Torii Field to open the season against Waianae on Aug. 8.

2014 Kamehameha football schedule
Aug. 8 — at Waianae
Aug. 29 — at Del Oro (Loomis, Calif.)
Sept. 5 — vs. Saint Francis
Sept. 11 — vs. Damien
Sept. 20 — vs. Saint Louis (at Aloha Stadium)
Sept. 27 — vs. Pac-Five (at Aloha Stadium)
Oct. 3 — vs. Iolani
Oct. 10 — vs. Punahou (at Aloha Stadium)



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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