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Change is never easy, just ask the Kaiser and Radford football teams.

Both the Cougars and the Rams have had their share of success in the past few years, but the 2016 season is proving to be a trying one under new leadership at both programs.

After a season-opening win over Roosevelt, Kaiser has been outscored 70-14 in its past two games — losses to Mililani and Campbell.

Radford, which is coming off a Division II state title last year, had a bye last week after losses to Iolani (42-6) and Castle (47-6).

Both coaches — Kaiser's Arnold Martinez and Radford's Lon Passos — have a long affiliation with prep football. Martinez, a former head coach at Solano Community College in California, spent 11 seasons as Moanalua's coach from 2003 to 2013. Passos, meanwhile, was the offensive line coach at Radford since 1997 until taking over the reins this season.

We caught up with both coaches a few days before their Oahu Interscholastic Association D1 Blue tilt Friday night.

ScoringLive: What has your first season as head coach at your school been like so far?
Arnold Martinez, Kaiser coach: "Exciting and interesting, a little bit of both. Exciting because we get to try to build from the ground up and implement an infrastructure, a system, a philosophy, so that's always exciting and then to see the kids and how excited they are and the energy they bring is great, too. Interesting in the fact that with that comes challenges and speed bumps. Everything is not always smooth when there is transition and new systems being put in."
Lon Passos, Radford coach: "It's been tough. It's a learning process. Having been an assistant all these years, now being the guy in charge, it's a lot different."

ScoringLive: Describe your team's current situation in one word.
Martinez: "I'd say transitioning or learning. We're all learning together — the coaches, the players, the families, the administration — we're getting everybody to learn and buy in and that doesn't happen overnight. It's a growth process. We're planting the seeds and laying the foundation and we'll see what the building looks like later. I think it's good though. We're getting a lot done in a  short amount of time. The Kids are working hard and I give them credit because from the time I got hired — one month before the season — to now, they've continued to work and learn and grow and transition. They want to build something good that's going to last a long time, so I'm very happy that we have a lot of those players here."
Passos: "Committed. Numbers-wise we're low this year, so our biggest thing is we're letting them know they've got to be at practice, so they've got to be committed to be here every day."

ScoringLive: Who has been an unsung hero on your team?
Martinez: "We ended up losing one of our best players, Andrew Kaufusi, for the first couple of games, so we were trying to find a punter, because Andrew can punt it 60 yards. We end up with a kid that plays all over the field — on offense he's the running back, on defense he's a cornerback, he is on kickoff return — and then we throw him at punter, and that's Noah Cambra. It's amazing just to see his heart. He never complains, always says, ‘yes, coach,' and is just one of those kids that gives everything he has for his teammates. Then again, it's hard to single out one guy, because we're low on numbers, so many guys are stepping into positions and contributing in all kinds of ways, just trying to help each other and the team collectively, because they care about each other and they're putting selfish things aside for the team, so they're all unsung heroes to us."
Passos: "I think right now it's Kyle Sudog, our middle linebacker. He's a tough kid, coming up from the JV last year, and he's not real big, but he's our main guy on the defense calling the plays."

ScoringLive: What have the first three weeks of the season taught you about your team?
Martinez: "Even though we are short in numbers, we have tough kids that love to compete, that they're not going to shy away from competition even though they're shy — and I love them for that. We've been outnumbered in every game so far. Our second game was against Mililani, which is a powerhouse with huge numbers, but our guys battled to the very end and battled every play and it was the same thing against Campbell, when we suited up 27 or 28 players, and that just shows how tough they are. At the same time, there's no victims here. No one is feeling sorry for themselves and we know that no one is feeling sorry for us either. We know that when adversity happens — and every team has some — we just need to smile at it and keep moving and teach them mental toughness and keep it rolling and we're very proud of the effort."
Passos: "We have to have more mental toughness. Basically in the past we never really had guys going both ways, (but) this year we have guys going both ways, so it's something new."

ScoringLive: What's your take on this week's opponent?
Martinez: "Radford is very gritty. They get after it pretty good. They've got some good athletes and I know they've got guys going both ways, too. I think their line is physical in the front, so I can see they're putting a lot of work, too, and they have purpose. We've got to be ready to play."
Passos: "Kaiser, their numbers are low, just like us. They have guys going both ways, just like us, but they're a tough team. They're scrappy and you can't take them lightly. They've been in (Division I) before, this is our first year, so they know what to expect."

ScoringLive: How does your team win the game Friday night?
Martinez: "We win by controlling what we can control. It's not who we play — and we'll preach this forever — that it's how we play and if we can control our execution, our alignment, our technique, our effort and play smart and limit our mistakes, then we can win. It just comes down to us doing what we do better than what they do and also continue to play for each other and play in unselfish ways and be great teammates and if we do that, the win takes care of itself at that point."
Passos: "If we don't make mistakes."

ScoringLive: What are your thoughts on the new state tournament formats?
Martinez: "I think it's a good thing overall for Hawaii football because there just isn't enough games sometimes. This gives the coaches more games and more exposure for the kids. If you don't make it all the way, you can really have a short season. I think most coaches will say, on average, a 10-game season is better. It offers more opportunities to play and get better. I think income-wise it will generate some gate revenue, as well. At some point, we have to look at a three-tier system for the regular season. I think there's a lot of logic to that. I've seen teams grow from smaller programs over the years to the point where you can compete at the higher level with larger numbers, but for teams that don't get a chance to do that, they shouldn't be playing those huge teams. I think there's a lot of evidence that a middle tier would be good. I think it'll make for even more competitive balance."
Passos: "I was very surprised that it happened this year. I figured if anything, they would do it next year but to have it going this year already is going to be interesting. I'm sure they're going to be trying to work out all the kinks."

Kickoff between the Cougars (1-2 overall, 0-2 league) and Rams (0-2, 0-2) is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. It will be the first game played at John Velasco Stadium since Oct. 12, 2013.