WAILUA — The field was shorter, the rules were different and the football only moved through the air, but Saturday morning evoked feelings of late October as green and navy clashed once again. For the first time since the Kapa‘a
WAILUA — The field was shorter, the rules were different and the football only moved through the air, but Saturday morning evoked feelings of late October as green and navy clashed once again.
For the first time since the Kapa‘a Warriors edged the Waimea Menehune in the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation championship game last fall, the two teams saw each other on the other side of the line of scrimmage.
Only there wasn’t any clashing of helmets and crunching of pads, just quick feet and soft hands.
In the third week of the KIF’s new seven-on-seven football passing league, the two rival schools aired it out against each other to the joy of several dozen onlookers at Lydgate Park. The league, which Waimea head coach Keali‘i Aguiar said was the brainchild of Warrior coach Keli‘i Morgado, offers fans and coaches a preview of what might take place on the gridiron this fall. Only slightly different.
In this summer experiment, the game is played on a 50-yard field and only passing plays are allowed. Teams get three downs to notch 15 yards for a first down — unless the ball is within the 10-yard line, then they get four downs — and no tackling is allowed.
Aguiar said the league is a fun way for players to get practice in the summer and it’s also a way for him to evaluate players heading into the fall.
The Menehune graduated 15 seniors in June and will roll out a roster filled with fresh faces for the KIF season. Aguiar said the summer league is good for breaking in some younger players who may see some playing time once the regular season begins.
“It’s a way for guys to get practice against good quality opponents,” he said.
While Aguiar said one of his rules for the game is he doesn’t keep score, the fact that the Menehune were lining up against the defending KIF champions wasn’t lost. Even though the pass league won’t feature highlight reel hits and in-the-trench battles, Aguiar said it’s still a rivalry.
“It’s always competitive when you’re going against different colors,” he said. “Of course we want to win and compete and put out a good product, but it’s practice. It’s fun.”
Saturday showed a side of the Menehune that is often reserved during the regular season. The Menehune are notorious for their ground and pound style of offense, routinely keeping the ball on the ground while occasionally striking through the air. The passing-only rule is a fun way to see how the Menehune can react to airing it out, Aguiar said.
“It forces us as coaches to expand,” he said. “This is fun. Passing the ball is fun. It offers quick rewards. It’s something we want to implement in our system. But if it doesn’t look good in practice we won’t put it in come night time.”
Week four of the passing league will feature the Menehune taking on the Kaua‘i Red Raiders Saturday at 10 a.m. at Lydgate Park.
• Tyson Alger, sports writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 237) or by emailing talger@ thegardenisland.com. Follow him on twitter.com/tysonalger.
