Kalani forfeits game to Waialua

By Dennis Anderson
Advertiser Staff Writer

Kalani High yesterday forfeited its varsity football game scheduled at Waialua High tomorrow because of a mutiny by players protesting the demotion of a popular coach.

Kalani administrators attempted to hide the reason for the forfeit, telling Waialua's principal that injuries and academic ineligibility had decimated its team and ordering school personnel not to comment.

Kalani told Waialua that 13 players were at practice Wednesday. Several players told The Advertiser that as few as five or seven showed up for practice Monday and Tuesday and that it had nothing to do with injuries or bad grades.

What happened, according to accounts of several seniors on the team, was this:

Defensive coordinator David Rita, popular with the players, was demoted to the junior varsity several days after the opening game Aug. 30 because of a confrontation between Rita and the father of an injured player.

Days before the next game, against Kaimuki last Friday, new defensive coaches put in new plays.

"Everything got screwed up," said senior defensive lineman Ricky Wallace. "We ran the same two defensive plays over and over. They don't work."

Kalani lost to Kaimuki 48-7.

"We saw our season being the same as past years," said senior quarterback Matt Runnels.

Kalani has lost 15 straight games, since the middle of the 2000 season, and last year was outscored 400-43 in nine games.

About 20 of the team's 24 players met at a teammate's house after Friday's game and decided to petition to get Rita back as their defensive coach.

Monday at lunch, players signed the petition and presented it to head coach Ron Dement.

The forfeit was announced yesterday by the O'ahu Interscholastic Association

Most of the Kalani players met with coach Dement after school yesterday and apparently decided to return to the team next week.

"We're probably all going back on Monday," said Iljae Hwang, a senior defensive end.