Kapolei's Anthony Martinez is tackled after a pass reception against Kahuku. The Hurricanes look to get back into the win column against the sixth-ranked Governors Saturday. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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On a weekly basis, ScoringLive's "Da Five" will pose five questions revelant to the prep sports world, and get responses from five different individuals. What results will hopefully provide multiple angles of insight and analysis for fans to take in.

This week's edition of "Da Five" has members of SL giving their thoughts on the first week of prep football. They also offer insight on  teams that could get back in the win column this weekend.

1. Which team’s performance were you most surprised by?

Kalani Takase, SL reporter: Kaiser. I'll admit, I didn't think the Cougars were going to be capable of putting up 52 points — albeit against a depleted Aiea team — but it was impressive nonetheless. It certainly isn't fair to compare Jensen McDaniel to Thomas Butenbah-Leong yet, but he definitely put the rest of the OIA on alert after his four-TD game against Na Alii Friday. Manase Palu and Zeno Choi seem to be thriving in new defensive coordinator Richard Torres' 3-4 scheme.

Brien Ing, SL founder: Na Menehune’s performance in a win over the Seariders at Raymond Torii Field was the most surprising. Employing a balanced offensive attack that was actually more run heavy (26 passes, 40 rushes) was definitely a different look from Moanalua than we’ve seen in recent memory, and its that balance that will ultimately make a fairly potent passing game even more effective. Defensive, Moanalua allowed under 200 yards of total offense and forced four turnovers, and while the box score indicates just a seven-point margin, Menes were in control of the game for basically 3 /12 quarters.

Brandon Ching, SL reporter: Mililani's thrashing of Saint Louis. This was their first game of the season and they put up 729 yards of net offense and I got the impression that the Trojans are playing in mid-season form. It's scary to think that after reading Coach York's comments that there is always room for improvement for his team. 

Shawn Sueoka, SL contributor: Moanalua's performance against Waianae really took me by surprise. Not so much the result, but the defensive play from Na Menehune was an eye opener not just for the Seariders, but the whole OIA. Forcing four turnovers againts a team expected to be near the top of the Red this year. First year head coach Jason Cauley couldn't have hoped for a better start to the season for his team.

Michael Lasquero, SL reporter: I’m going to give some love to a pair of Division II teams and say Waimea and Saint Francis. The Menehunes comeback win over Hawaii Prep serves notice that the KIF will be a three-team race for the league crown. The Saints picked up their first win over a Hawaii team in school history last weekend. Saint Francis will play Alberta (Canada) this week and could possibly be 2-0 heading into league play.

2. What did you think about the OIA’s Division I crossover week to start the season?

Takase: It provided some interesting, out of the ordinary matchups, but also some lopsided scores. The D1 Blue, which seems to be widely considered the stronger of the two divisions, took four of the seven games (including Mililani win over McKinley by forfeit). With so many teams playing "new" opponents — and the loss of week 1 due to Iselle — it almost had a preseason/non-league feel with teams learning about and adjusting to their opponents on the fly.

Ing: I didn’t really see it as anything more than the regular season opener for teams playing the Oahu Interscholastic Association, with the accompanying importance of the game in the win-loss column.

Ching: It was ugly considering you had scores like 52-7, 35-0, 35-13, 50-7 and so on. I hope next season they can bring back rivalry games as crossover match ups such as Kahuku/Farrington, Waipahu/Campbell, Leilehua/Mililani since these rivalries have significance and would be more intriguing to watch than those awful blowouts in the first week.  

Sueoka: It was something different and I enjoyed it. It was a great change of pace and brought a new intriguing factor to the season with new matchups. The best is still yet to come from the new layout of the OIA.

Lasquero: It turned out the way it was supposed to on paper. When the OIA created these new divisions they ranked all fourteen teams top to bottom, putting the odds in the Red, and the evens in the Blue. The crossover week had the top ranked team from each division playing the fifth ranked team from the other, the second ranked team from each division playing the sixth ranked team from the other, and the third ranked team from each division playing the seventh ranked team from the other. The other matchup was the fourth ranked team from both divisions playing each other.

A solution to these blowouts is to pit the top ranked team from each division against each other, the second ranked teams from each division from each other, and so forth and so forth. This should create more balanced matchups during the crossover week. The matchup between the fourth ranked teams (Waianae and Moanalua) proved to be the closest contest out of the weekend.

3. Out of the 0-1 teams in the state, which one will have the biggest bounce back performance this weekend?

Takase: Hawaii Prep. It's not that I'm particularly high on Ka Makani, but I think they'll matchup well against Waiakea Saturday. HPA is coming off a tight loss to Waimea, while Waiakea took one on the chin from cross-town rival Hilo last week.

Ing: A team that must have a bounce back performance this week is Kapolei. No one will question the difficulty in playing perennial powerhouses Kahuku and Farrington on the road to open a campaign, but the Hurricanes certainly don’t want to end up in on 0-2 hole out of the gate with second-ranked Mililani in the on-deck circle.

Ching: Waianae, I think this week they get some starters back from sitting out last week against Moanalua and that should help the Seariders. I think from an emotional standpoint, I could see Kapolei bouncing back. It's tough losing a loved one that meant a lot to the team and I think Hurricanes could rally around this to play in the memory of the player's parent. 

Sueoka: I think Waianae has the best chance to bounce back and notch a “W” this week. They'll play a very tough Kaiser team that will not match up well with the Seariders size. Look for Waianae to rebound from the setback last week against Moanalua and come out victorious in Hawaii Kai.

Lasquero: Waianae. The Seariders were without numerous starters, which include quarterback Ioane Kaluhiokalani Jr., in their opening loss to Moanalua last weekend. They should have a full roster this weekend when they travel to face Kaiser. This will be the Cougars’ test against a strong Division I running team. Kaiser’s defense excelled against a pass-happy offense in Aiea last week, this week should be a different story.

4. Name a player that will have an impressive performance this weekend and explain why.

Takase: How about two? I think Mililani receiver Bronson Ramos might be due for a big game. With SB Kainoa Wilson and WR Kalakaua Timoteo — not to mention RB Vavae Malepeai and QB McKenzie Milton — expected to draw lots of attention from the Kailua defense, Ramos could be the beneficiary of a lot of single coverage. The other guy I like is Pearl City QB Jordan Taamu, a second-year starter who looks the part of a pure pocket passer. Add to that the fact that the Waialua defense allowed four pass TDs by Kalani QB Tyler Ching last week and I think Taamu is good for at least three aerial scores.

Ing: I’ll go with Kaiser quarterback Kalawaia Judd. While running back Jensen McDaniel stole the show in Kaiser’s blowout win over Aiea, the play of Judd factored significantly in the Cougars’ season opener. His stat line was solid (16-of-30, 162 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT) and he added another 82 yards on the ground on just 10 carries in an offense he’s just getting acclimated to. If Kaiser aspires to move to 2-0 on the year, a big game from Judd will go a long way to making that happen.

Ching: Kesi Ah Hoy: I got to watch this kid in a scrimmage against Moanalua and I was really impressed with his speed and his vision in the open field. Farrington had a lot of success running the ball against Waipahu, so I expect the Red Raiders to do the same.

Sueoka: It will be hard to top Mililani’s McKenzie Milton’s performance last week against St. Louis. Kailua will focus on keeping Milton in the pocket and getting the ball out of his hands on the read options thus giving running back Vavae Malepeai an opportunity to have great week.

Lasquero: Kalani’s Blaise Manabe. The junior slotback exploded for three catches for 157 yards and three touchdowns against Waialua in the OIA Division II season-opener. This week the Falcons take on Kalaheo, a team that gave up 169 yards and a touchdown on five catches to the Golden Hawks’ slotback Isian Wong last week.

5. My favorite moment from the first week of prep football was ______.

Takase: Just before kickoff of Saturday's Saint Louis-Mililani game at beautiful John Kauinana Stadium. The sun had just set behind the Waianae mountain range just before kickoff, the Trojan band was rockin' and the crowd was pumped, making for a near-perfect setting to open the season.

Ing: Watching Mililani quarterback McKenzie Milton’s video game performance against Saint Louis, particularly what he did on the ground. We saw what kind of speed his legs were capable of producing over the summer in the combines, and he showed that ‘next gear’ on more than a few occasions last Saturday, particularly on the two long TD runs, as he accelerated past defenders that seemed to have the angle. Oh and yeah, he’s pretty good at throwing the pigskin, too.

Ching: I got to watch Mino Jiyu Gakuen play 'Iolani this past weekend and there were several moments that stood out to me: I liked how both teams came together at midfield prior to the game to observe a moment of silence for a Mino Jiyu player from last year's team who passed away and also after the game, both teams and their coaching staffs took a group picture.

Sueoka: Just getting the season underway. It was so great to have football back in the Islands especially after the canceling of games the week before.  Oh and of course 100-plus points being scored in the St. Louis vs. Mililani game.

Lasquero: With some new rule changes in the OIA, officials are now allowed to call out the player who a penalty was on in an effort to help coaches correct the individual who commits said penalty. On a particular Leilehua PAT attempt this past weekend, the Mules were not on the same page and the clock was winding down. Leilehua hurried to get the play off (and maybe did), but the officials throw a couple of flags and blew the play dead. On the announcement of the penalty, the head official said with a smile “false start, everybody on the offense.” Gave me a good laugh. Funny part after was that there was no penalty and that Leilehua did call timeout before the clock winded down.