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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, June 12, 2002

Hawai'i football pipeline connects with San Diego

By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer

University of San Diego football coach Kevin McGarry has snared his second player off last fall's Advertiser All-State team.

McGarry signed Kainoa Casco of Lahainaluna, who was Maui's Offensive Player of the Year as a quarterback and was second-team all-state on defense. "We'll start him on defense at cornerback and see what happens," McGarry said.

Casco also was a two-time state wrestling champion, but San Diego does not have a team.

Earlier, McGarry signed Chris (CJ) Lumauag, a second-team all-state offensive lineman from Mililani.

He also has signed outside linebacker Kawika Fidler (Punahou) and offensive lineman Ka'ea Simeona (Kamehameha).

They will join five other players from Hawai'i at San Diego. "At times, the local boys are the heart and soul of our team," McGarry said.

Returning next season are:

Sophomore Gavin Ng (Mililani '01), who was a return specialist last season and had 20 tackles at cornerback, where he'll start this year, McGarry said. In the first game of his collegiate career, Ng took a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.

Ng averaged 36.9 yards on seven kickoff returns and 9.4 on 18 punt returns, earning honorable mention in the Northern Division of the Pioneer Football League.

He also is a backup outfielder for San Diego's conference champion baseball team.

Starting nose guard Josh Noga (Farrington '00), who will move to defensive tackle for his junior year. Noga also has excelled academically, with three straight semesters at or over 3.0.

Three players red-shirted last season: Slotback Davin Nakasato (St. Louis '01); cornerback Baba Martin (Kamehameha '00), a sophomore who was recovering from knee surgery, and Kale Kealoha (Punahou '01), who is listed as a tight end but "could play a lot of things," McGarry said.

Finishing their eligibility last fall were:

Starting cornerback Jason DeMello (Kamehameha '98), who had 23 tackles and defended six passes last season, and backup strong safety Jeff Iwashita (Iolani '98), who made a crucial interception in the last game of his career.

Noga, DeMello and Iwashita made the Pioneer Football League's academic honor roll.

San Diego is among a relative handful of Division I-A non-scholarship football programs.

The Toreros' best recent player from Hawai'i, school record-setting pass receiver Dylan Ching (Kamehameha '95, of Lahaina), returned to school and graduated last month. Ching started his third season with the Saskatchewan Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League this month.

VOLLEYBALL

Eastern Arizona (JC)

Malia Kauhi (Kahuku '00) was a setter "my whole life," until the day after the first match last fall. Then the Gila Monster's new coach, Shari Kay, told Kauhi, "We going to try you out in the middle."

Kay explained, "There was no recruiting by the former coach and I pretty much got left with what I had. ... She's so versatile and athletic and quick, it seemed worth a try."

In her first match in the middle, with one day's practice, the 5-foot-8 Kauhi had four blocks in each game.

"She can get out and close a block, she can hit, and she has a pretty good vertical (reached 7-3ý standing and 9-4ý with a two-step approach)," Kay said.

Eastern made the Arizona Community College playoffs and Kauhi was chosen the team's Most Valuable Player and second-team all-conference.

Kauhi will return to setting next season, when she moves on to Western New Mexico in the PacWest Conference.

"I'm glad I did (play middle)," Kauhi says. "My jumping ability got a lot better and I know where to read the ball better because I know where I wanted it."

Said Western New Mexico coach Jim Callender: "She's a dynamite player ... she could play every position."

Kauhi will replace setter Noe Burgess (Sacred Hearts '01), who left school for personal reasons. Kim Tano (St. Francis '01), runner-up for Freshman of the Year in the PacWest, returns to Western New Mexico.

SOCCER

Yuba JC (Calif.)

Goalkeeper Kealii Kuehu (Castle '00) will move on to Division I St. Mary's (Calif.), where, as a junior, he will compete with a freshman who had 41 high-school career saves and a returning senior starter.

At Yuba, in Marysville, first-year coach Jason Spain said Kuehu's leadership "was a big reason for our turnaround from about 2-20 to 10-6-5." He was team captain, a two-year starter and an honor-roll student.

Two other Castle grads started at Yuba. Robert Lee ('01), a very fast freshman, started every game at left back, Spain said, and Avenn Moratin ('01) started half the games at midfielder. Moratin, second-team all-state in 2000, is "very gifted with the ball," Spain said.

York (Nebraska)

Twins Robert and Randy Shinn (Pearl City '01) are transferring from Missouri Valley, where they played on the freshman team last season. The Shinns were both first-team all-state in 2001.

BASEBALL

Treasure Valley (Oregon) JC

Joe Cabansag's normal position is catcher; he started there for St. Louis in 1999. But he made the radical move to shortstop — a new position for him — this year because of another player's injury. "He was our stabilizer," coach Rick Baumann said. "He did quite well defensively."

Cabansag's move to a four-year college for next season will be much less taxing. He is moving 37 miles from Treasure Valley, in Ontario, very eastern Oregon, to Northwest Nazarene in Nampa, Idaho. The position he will play is undetermined.

Cabansag is from Wai'anae.