Aloha to football season
After surviving Hell Week, what better way to reward yourself than by
heading for paradise?
That’s exactly what the Edison High School football team has done,
as the team landed in Oahu on Sunday to begin preparations for its
2005 season opener.
Friday, the Chargers will begin their season by taking on
defending Hawaii state champion Kamehameha at Kamehameha High.
The game starts at 7 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time. The Edison junior
varsity takes on the Kamehameha junior varsity team today.
In addition to game preparation throughout the week, the team will
do some sightseeing and, on Saturday, take in the USC-Hawaii game at
Aloha Stadium.
“It’s just a great trip to take, one where a lot of parents come
along,” Edison Coach Dave White said. “It also serves as a great
bonding experience. I hope that the team jells and comes together.
“We’re all really excited about the trip. It’ll be a great
experience.”
Despite potential distractions during the week, the Chargers
haven’t lost sight of Friday’s season opener against the defending
Interscholastic League of Honolulu football champions.
The trip marks the seventh time in the last 23 years that the
Edison football program has played in Hawaii, the first coming in
1982, when the Chargers pinned a 44-13 rout on host Punahou. In six
previous trips to the Islands, Edison has posted a 5-1 record.
“We’re really anxious to get the season started,” said Romney
Fuga, a 6-foot-2, 270-pound senior offensive and defensive tackle.
“We have a feeling we’re going to have a great season, and this is
the first step.”
Fuga said he has lots of family living in Oahu, many of whom will
be able to watch him play.
“I’m excited to be playing in front of them,” Fuga said. “We want
to prove ourselves. We ended last season on a sour note, so this year
we’re hungry.”
Edison finished the 2004 season with a 6-5 record.
The season ended with three close losses to rival Fountain Valley,
Esperanza and Loyola, the latter in the first round of the
CIF-Southern Section playoffs.
Much is expected of the Chargers in 2005. Eleven starters are
returning, including all-league players in Fuga, quarterback Brian
Shrock, linebacker and running back Davey Baldwin, running back Gabe
Moreno, and wide receiver and defensive back Jimmy Flanagan.
Edison will battle a Kamehameha-Oahu team that won its first
Interscholastic League of Honolulu football championship in 25 years.
By winning the title for the first time since 1979, Kamehameha ended Saint Louis High School’s string of 18 straight league football
championships.
Yet Kamehameha will be without William Souza, its head coach the
past nine years, for the 2005 season. Souza stepped down from his
post to attend Oregon State University this fall as a graduate
assistant coach.
In nine years at the school, Souza compiled a 79-25-2 career
record. In 2004, he led the Warriors to a 10-1-1 record en route to
winning the league title and the school’s first Hawaii High School
Athletic Assn. championship.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.