There’s an old cliche that great sports teams don’t rebuild, they reload.
There’s an old cliche that great sports teams don’t rebuild, they reload.
Hawaii Preparatory Academy hopes that’s the case this year, but coach Jordan Hayslip is also changing how he deploys some of his weapons.
Gone is the I-formation offense that Bobby Lum ran to a Big Island-leading 1,244 yards last season.
Instead, three-year returning starter Koa Ellis will run the offense out of the pistol formation. Rather than playing under center, as Ellis previously did, he’ll be a few yards behind the center, but still closer than in a traditional shotgun formation.
“Koa is an athletic quarterback,” Hayslip said. “We think getting him back a few more yards in the pistol will give him a little more chance to read defenses and make decisions.”
The pistol is traditionally a run-heavy offense, but with an experienced quarterback and a talented receiving corps, Ellis expects Ka Makani to have a fairly even mix between the run and the pass.
Junior wide receiver Justin Perry said the offense should not be one-dimensional.
“We try to put numbers in there to help our run game with the pistol formation,” Perry said. “That opens the play-action pass when you’ve got linebackers biting on that run, so it’s good for the passing game.”
Offense
Quarterback
Ellis is the unquestioned leader of the offense. He gives Hayslip plenty of options — and confidence — in the offense.
“We like him because he can run and throw very well,” Hayslip said. “He’s a senior leader as a three-year starter.”
Ellis is excited about the new offense.
“I like it,” he said. “Last year was all under center, no shotgun or anything. I couldn’t see and didn’t have a lot of time for passing.”
Running backs
With the departure of Lum and the I formation, Hayslip is looking for a more diverse backfield this season. Rather than leaning heavily on a single running back, he plans to give carries to a number of players.
“We have a good crop of backs,” Hayslip said. “Alex Brost is probably going to start for us at the tail and Caleb Kagawa is a scrappy fullback. Kanoa Chobany is another hard-working tailback for us. Between those three, we’re looking to try to come close to replacing Bobby from last year.”
Brost, a 160-pound junior, is smaller, quicker back and has a different running style than Lum, who Hayslip called “a big bruiser.”
Like Brost and Chobany, Kagawa isn’t blessed with size. At 165 pounds, the returning starter’s not as big as some fullbacks on the island, but he has the right mentality for the position.
“He’s a very physical player, loves to hit,” Hayslip said.
Tight end
Nicky Palleschi, a 6-foot, 5-inch, 205-pound tight end and receiver might be the most physically gifted player on the HPA roster. He has drawn interest from Division I colleges such as California and Stanford but said he is hoping to play for an Ivy League school.
Palleschi provides a match-up problem for most defenses, as he’s too big for defensive backs and too fast for linebackers.
“He’s got very good hands, he’s got the size,” Hayslip said. “We’ll work to get the ball into his hands, for sure.”
With the offense’s new focus, Palleschi is being counted on to do more than last season, when he caught 24 passes for 448 yards and five touchdowns.
“It changes things for me,” he said. “I have to be a workhorse on offense, get the ball more, a lot more responsibility.”
Wide receivers
This group has Hayslip — and Ellis — excited.
Perry had just five catches as a sophomore, but averaged 29.2 yards per catch and scored two touchdowns.
“He’s not as tall as Nicky, but he has great speed and good hands,” Hayslip said. “He played a lot last year as a sophomore.”
This year, another sophomore, Chris De Salvo should get plenty of playing time, as he’s expected to start opposite Perry as more of a possession receiver.
“We’ve got a good receiving corps,” Perry said. “The offense is looking sharp this year.”
Offensive line
Hayslip doesn’t like to say that his team has weaknesses — he’s too much of an optimist for that — but he does concede there are question marks surrounding the offensive line, as four starters from last year graduated. Add to that the fact that HPA doesn’t have a lot of size, and there is plenty to be done.
“We definitely need to make sure the O line is working hard,” Hayslip said. “We don’t have a bunch of 200-pounders in our program, so we have to rely on being physical and being smart.”
Junior Kilinahe Grace, the lone returning starter on the line, will shift from guard to center. Seniors Jake Frogley, Isaiah Kamaka and Luke Powers should join junior Adam Kennon as the starters up front.
“That’s going to be an area that we’ve got to make sure we get going,” Hayslip said. “They’re inexperienced. They all were on the varsity team last year, they just didn’t start.”
Defense
Defensive line
Palleschi returns at defensive end after recording six sacks last season. He will be joined on the line by his younger brother, Anthony, a junior with a similar build.
“It will be fun to have both the Palleschis on the front line up there,” Hayslip said.
Kamaka and end Kanai Gaughen are also returning starters, giving the defensive line much more experience than its offensive counterpart.
Linebackers
The trend of playing on both sides of the ball continues at linebacker, as Kagawa, Brost and Chobany are projected to start. While there isn’t great size here, Hayslip likes the speed and aggressiveness they bring. He’s confident that the defense as a whole will be strong, in part because of the linebackers.
“That’s a good front four for us that we feel confident in,” he said. “Then, we have some scrappy linebacker play behind them and a couple good defenders behind them in the secondary.”
Defensive backs
Perry and Ellis are the two most experienced members of the defensive backfield, but Hayslip will try to rest his quarterback when possible. Colin Yates, Bodie Freitas and Pomai Wise also will start in the secondary. Yates is a senior who pushed for playing time over the past two years despite having some very talented players ahead of him on the depth chart.
“We like him so far as a corner in preseason,” Hayslip said. “He’s working hard. He’s finally a senior. It’s his time to step up, even though he doesn’t have a lot of experience.”