New Coach, Players Form Early Bond

The Warriors have raised some eyebrows coming into the 2016 season under the guidance of new head coach Abu Maʻafala.

“[The] transition has been good, still getting used to the traffic, but I love coming to work every day,” said Maʻafala.

Some of his most memorable moments with the team so far include the senior retreat, where Maʻafala, the coaching staff and a majority of the senior football players traveled to Maui to bond and become a family. Although, nothing says family like friendly completion as Coach Maʻafala claimed to be the “Trumps King”. All joking aside Maʻafala has prepared a rigors work schedule for the warriors preparing them for the gauntlet that is the Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH) season.

“I couldn’t have scripted a better first two games. Our guys learned what it meant to play to the end and I am very proud of their effort even when it didn’t go our way,” said Ma’afala as he recapped the gutwrenching defeat on their first preseason game against Waianae.

Following a heartbreaking loss, the Warriors headed to the War Memorial Stadium to face reigning Maui Interscholastic League (MIL) champions the Baldwin Bears. The Warriors won in an outstanding performance which led them to a 34-14 victory. Sweetening the victory was a wager in which Coach Maʻafala raced sophomore offensive linemen Cody Bollig for Krispy Kreme doughnuts, which became another victory for the football players.

“Baldwin was a great experience for us to see how good we can be when we play together and also how bad we can be when we don’t. I am looking forward to the beginning of the ILH Season on September 1 against Punahou. The Future is bright for this program, we have a great upside we just have to turn it into a reality,” stated Ma’afala and with the ILH season approaching, you can spot the ‘Happy Go Lucky’ coach all around campus from Koaia Athletic Facilities to Konia Hallways.