Waimea offense taking flight in 2019

Waimea UT Kawelo Huddy breaks up a pass in a 7-on-7 workout during the summer. Michael Lasquero | SL

The Waimea Menehunes are adapting to the times.

After years of running a run-first offense out of the Wing-T formation, Waimea is implementing a spread offense for the upcoming 2019 season.

Sixth-year Waimea coach Jason Caldeira is hoping that the change will help his team pick up more wins in a league that uses a triple round-robin format between three teams.

"We've been very predictable offensively, that's what we're trying to get away from this year," said Caldeira, whose team went winless in the KIF a year ago. "We want to have a better balance on offense and try to get everybody out of the box. Everybody that plays us, they see the tight end, the two backs and they got nine to 10 guys right there."

Putting in a passing game instead of relying on grinding out yards in the trenches should also help the Menehunes' depth with many players playing on both sides of the ball.

"The boys are super excited about it, getting away from the old tradition with two backs, running the ball every play. It works, but being undersized and all this other stuff, not having the numbers, it hurts you more than it helps," said Caldeira.

"It's my job to put them in better positions to be successful. Although I love the (Wing-T) offense and it's what I grew up on, I question myself ‘am I really setting them up to be successful?' I feel like going in this direction, with spreading it more and hopefully getting a passing game going puts us in a position to be successful."

If a pass-league scrimmage during the summer against the other league teams is any indication, the Menehunes look primed for success in 2019.

Sophomore quarterback Maka Shigematsu was patient with his reads and made good decisions in the pocket. Kash Akita — a 6-foot-1, 190-pound junior — showed big-play ability and made a handful of grabs in traffic and Kawelo Huddy was a reliable option out of the backfield. Isahn Ulanday is also expected to be a big contributor in the passing game.

"I'm confident in every guy. We have a lot of talent at Waimea, we just have to put it together," said Caldeira. "I think we'll be competitive. I definitely feel like we're going to be better than how we were before."

The Menehunes will make their season debut Saturday when they host Honokaa at 7 p.m.

Reach Michael Lasquero at [email protected].