One of the biggest upsets of last year's prep football season saw Division-I upstart Kaiser take down perennial powerhouse Kahuku in a regular-season game.

The Cougars, however, will not have the element of surprise on their side in 2015. After finishing third in the Oahu Interscholastic Association's D1 Red a season ago, they are eager to improve upon that mark this year and are once again embracing the role of the underdog.

"We're very hungry, because every year they always underestimate us and every year we're trying to prove them wrong, so if this year is the year that we actually bring back the state title then it's going to be great," senior running back Jensen McDaniel said.

Kaiser put together an admirable 5-4 overall record in 2014, including a 4-3 league mark, which put rookie coach Cameron Higgins in the conversation of All-Hawaii Coach of the Year honors.

The pay off for Higgins has come in several forms.

"Benefits? Job security," joked Higgins, who is a realtor by day. "I think there was a lot of alumni support after we won. You just got a lot of important figures in the community come out and support the team and when people see that, everyone wants to be associated with a winner. Once we (beat Kahuku), you started to see the school get into it more. The administration and the student body (were) coming out to a lot more games."

The growing support has also resulted in a larger number of students coming out for the team this offseason.

"There's a little bit more kids out than last year," said Higgins, who estimated that he has about 50 players right now. "I think everyone was a little hesitant to come out being that we were in D1 last year, so you're seeing a lot more guys that didn't play last year decide to come out this year."

Still, due to the rigors of D1, the Cougars will have to lean a little more on a few standout players, that includes standout left tackle Michael Eletise, one of the state's most highly-touted recruits.

"Our motto has been ‘whatever it takes,' " Higgins said. "We have skills at certain positions, but then at other positions we've got to play guys both ways and whatever we have to do, so you might see Eletise on the (defensive line) this year; that's how bad we've got to have our best players play both ways."

Some of the other players expected to see lots of two-way time are inside linebacker Parker Higgins (running back, tight end, wide receiver) and cornerback Nic Tom (wide receiver).

"Parker is out defensive leader," Cameron Higgins said of his younger brother. "Nic Tom is another one; he's a workhorse in the weight room and has become a much more vocal leader during this summer."

The defense saw the loss of standout defensive linemen Manase Palu (Pima College) and Zeno Choi (Hawaii), but return all four starters in the secondary.

"Our secondary is solid, we've got all four returnees. they're solid players, they're still learning a lot, but they'll be good this year."

"Those guys were beast, but we have guys that can fill that void," Parker Higgins said. "Our secondary is solid. They're still learning a lot, but they'll be good this year."

Along with Eletise, the offense will be headlined by senior running back Jensen McDaniel, who ran for 1,151 yards and 21 touchdowns, which ranked fourth and second, respectively, in all of D1 last year.

"I feel like I'm faster and stronger this year," McDaniel said. "I'm able to read the defenses better, I have more knowledge than last year."

Higgins is hoping to better utilize McDaniel's versatility this year.

"He can catch the ball, he can run the ball, his vision is excellent and he's very durable," Higgins said. "You can spread him out and he's a great mismatch on linebackers and strong safeties that try to come down and guard him and then he can run between the tackles, too, so we're looking to rely heavily on him."

One of the question marks surrounding the program revolves around the quarterback position. Justin Uahinui, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound junior steps into the starting role after a collarbone injury suffered on the final play of Kaiser's final scrimmage ended his sophomore campaign before it even started.

"It kind of broke my heart," Uahinui said. "I really wanted to play that year with all my boys. It was kind of hard not playing. I had to put in a lot of work because everyone wanted to watch me but I couldn't do it, so I had to put in choke work."

Uahinui has put in the work in the weight room during his time away from the game and has packed on about 20 pounds since last year. He has also grown about three inches during that time.

"The Justin you saw last year was really skinny, really raw — could throw the ball — but he's been able to train this offseason and get his collarbone healed up and put some more muscle on his body so that he can take the hit sometimes when he's throwing the ball," Higgins said.

Higgins, a former Saint Louis and Weber State quarterback, said Uahinui's injury fueled his offseason progression.

"I think it made him hungry just seeing the success we had last year and the fans and everyone getting very excited about Kaiser football now in the community," Higgins said. "You can tell that he wanted to get back out there."

The historic win over Kahuku may have come more than 10 months ago, but it provided the Cougars with more than just the a ‘W' in the record books.

"It gave us a lot of confidence, because it proved that no matter how big you are, if we're on the same page and we fight together, we guys can beat anybody, so just going into this season it just gives us a lot of confidence because we think we can beat anybody," McDaniel said.

- Kalani Takase