Leilehua Mules

Head coach/Defensive coordinator: Mark Kurisu (4th season)
Offensive coordinator: Dean Akagi

Players to watch: OL Kanale Coelho (5-9, 300, Jr.), DL Malachi Tupai (6-2, 292, Sr.), DE Gabe Araki (5-11, 220, Sr.), WR Keawe Andres (5-10, 170, Sr.), CB Selau Aiava (5-11, 185, Sr.)

Coach's words: "You can expect to see a group of resilient, hard-working young men and women who play for each other, their school and their community. If we can manage our personnel properly, we will be able to compete at a high level." - Mark Kurisu

SL's take: The Mules posted a 10-win season, came up one point shy of an OIA championship and reached the semifinals of the state tournament in 2019, but all of that was at the Division I level. Their 2020 team had the potential to make a splash in the Open Division with a strong class of seniors, but COVID took that opportunity away from them. Furthermore, at least a half-dozen players from that 2019 squad who would have been juniors or seniors this fall have transferred to mainland schools, including RB Jamil Vereen, who ran for a team-high 921 yards and five TDs as a sophomore. Leilehua's JV team won the OIA championship two years ago, but Kurisu estimates that about a quarter of the players from that team have also left the school. Clearly, varsity experience will not be on the side of the Mules - and neither will depth, which, when tasked with a 10-week, no-bye, Open-Division schedule, is going to be an absolute necessity. In the trenches is where the strength lies with this team. Coelho is the anchor of the OL from the center position and will be flanked by a big body in Sonny Tagaloa (6-1, 330, So.) at one of the two guard spots. One of three players will end up taking the snaps from Coelho: Xander Muyot (5-11, 170, Sr.), Pono Arindain (6-1, 175, Jr.) and Rylee Lara (5-7, 170, Sr.) are battling for the starting QB job after having played JV together in 2019. Newcomer Cole Northington (5-9, 170, So.) will handle the RB duties, while Andres, who won co-MVP honors for the receiver group at the Poly Bowl Combine in July, can stretch the field to keep opposing defenses from crowding the box. The defense is led by the line, specifically Araki, who got extensive playing time as a sophomore, and Tupai, who is likely to draw double-team blocks from offensive linemen. The linebacking corps is especially inexperienced and not particularly deep either. If the Mules can generate the threat of a pass rush, it would go a long way toward helping those DBs on the back end. Fortunately, they have one of the state's top cover corners in Aiava, who can also play WR, if the need arises. Given the lack of depth that the Mules are already facing, keeping their starters healthy will be of utmost importance. They can expect, however, that opposing teams will test their physicality by their sturdiness against the run - similar to how teams try to run the ball to wear down a smaller Iolani defense at the D1 level - after all, no one wants to lose to the 'new kids on the block.'

SCHEDULE

Sat Oct 23	@ Waianae	L, 47-6
Sat Oct 30	Kahuku	L, 55-0
Fri Nov 05	Mililani	L, 38-0
Sat Nov 13	Campbell	L, 41-7
Fri Nov 19	@ Farrington	W, 9-6
Fri Nov 26	Kapolei	L, 32-13