Q&A
Saints hoping to ride momentum against Monarchs




Saint Francis made history last week, notching its first win in Interscholastic League of Honolulu in school history.

This week brings another test for the Saints in the form of fourth-ranked and undefeated Damien.

The Monarchs (5-0 overall, 2-0 league) are one of just three unbeatens in D2 statewide and beat Saint Francis back just three weeks ago, 21-6, en route to a first-round title in the three-team division.

The Saints (3-4, 1-2) were winless in their first two-plus seasons, dropping 14 straight league games, before knocking off Pac-Five, 12-9, last week.

We caught up with the head coaches of both teams a few days before their second-round meeting Friday afternoon at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium.


ScoringLive: Describe your team's current situation in one word?

Eddie Klaneski, Damien coach: "I'd say fortunate. I just think that basically we're fortunate to be in the situation that we're in right now because of hard work over the spring and summer time and just being in the position with Pac-Five and Saint Francis splitting their two games, we're kind of fortunate to be in this situation we are in this week. We're treating this game as a championship game and if we win, we're in a pretty good position for the (ILH D2) championship, so we're kind of fortunate that (Pac-Five and Saint Francis) beat each other."

Kip Akana, Saint Francis coach: "We're hungry. We're excited for the opportunity to play Damien again. We believe that as a team we've grown together throughout the season and we're finally jelling. We were able to play two complete halves the last game and the result was positive for us."


ScoringLive: How near or far is your team from playing to its potential?

Klaneski: "We're pretty far away, I think. We talk about that and after every game we breakdown the film and talk about the mistakes and things that we did. We're doing pretty well special teams-wise, the defense is still making a lot of mistakes, but we're still making enough plays to get by. Offensively we're still struggling, but each games it seems like we're a few plays away from big gains, but we've still got a lot of ways to go. The potential is there, we have a high ceiling, but we're still quite a bit away from playing a perfect game."

Akana: "As a coach looking at our team, I always believe that we have endless potential and you never think that you're close enough. We're not near what we're capable of, but I feel we're moving in the right direction."


ScoringLive: Who has been an under-the-radar contributor for your team this season?

Klaneski: "I would say our offensive line as a group and our defensive line, so the linemen in general. People always say they don't get their recognition. On both sides of the ball we're kind of undersized compared to everyone else. Those two groups have been working hard and are definitely underrated. They need to be recognized for what they do. While everyone else is making plays, those guys don't get their names called unless they have sacks on the defensive side."

Akana: "I would have to go with Wembley Mailei, just because he never played the (quarterback) position. He loves to play defense. On defense he's our tone-setter, he's a hard hitter, he's probably our best corner, so as far as under the radar it would have to be Wembley Mailei for the sacrifice of his own personal feeling about playing defense and focusing on playing quarterback, which was something we were kind of scrambling to do."


ScoringLive: In what area has your team made the biggest strides over the course of the year?

Klaneski: "I think for us just the overall belief as far as being able to win football games. I think as the season started and we started to move through it, the boys started to gain confidence in their actual ability to win and be a successful football team. They're starting to believe that they can compete and win each week. Even when games are tough, like the Pac-Five game we had a couple of weeks ago, they bit down and played hard on defense and executed on offense knowing that the game could have changed on one play the other way. Our guys never gave up, believed in each other and continued to play."

Akana: "I would have to say neither the offense or defense, (but) just the camaraderie of the team. They're playing unselfish ball, playing for one another and just coming together as a team. That's really what has been happening and finally it showed on last Friday. Our defense was playing inspired ball, they were getting the tops, getting us the ball back, we had some mishaps on offense with 11 muffed snaps, a couple of fumbles, but the offense didn't hang their heads and the defense just kept coming, so just the camaraderie and the bond that we were hoping the kids would have earlier is finally coming around."


ScoringLive: How similar or different do you expect this meeting to be than the first time your teams played?

Klaneski: "First of all they won a game — that's going to be the biggest difference because they got that ‘W' out of the way and got that monkey off their back — and will probably have a lot of confidence in what they accomplished there. I think we opened the door in the second half the last time we played because we didn't play a great second half. They're going to have confidence in that, but for us we've looked at film and seen what we did wrong and we're going to make those corrections for sure. The biggest difference is they won and have some confidence coming into the game, so that's going to be interesting to see."

Akana: "The gam they started (Bransen) Apao as opposed to (Marcus) Faufata-Pedrina and we expect that to be the case this week. I expect it to be a hard-hitting struggle to control the line of scrimmage. I don't think it'll change in that regard, but they're the most balanced team in the ILH Division II. Of course, Saint Francis is run-oriented, Pac-Five is pass-oriented, and although Damien likes to run the ball, they have the ability with their quarterbacks and receivers to make plays. I don't think it'll be much different. Hopefully the scores and big plays will be different, but it's going to be a battle for that line of scrimmage."


ScoringLive: What's your take on your opponent this week?

Klaneski: "I think they bring a lot of size and athleticism. They're a big, physical team, they have a bunch of skill guys that can run with the ball and I think their confidence is going to be high coming off the victory. Their coaching staff has gotten better making adjustments for them as they move forward. It's the same thing for us, we have to be play our game and not worry about what they have and what they're doing and I think we'll be OK.

Akana: "I would say again that they have a pretty balanced attack offensively and then defensively they played inspired, hard-nosed ball. They're able to, as they showed last week, they're able to, as a team, grind out a victory and they're just a well-coached, well-disciplined team."


Kickoff between the Monarchs and Saints Friday is set for 5:15 p.m.



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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