Pac-Five thrives after HUMM-ble beginning
By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer
When the Pac-Five football team opens its season against McKinley tomorrow afternoon at Aloha Stadium, the game will mark 30 years of the Wolfpack's unique program and also represent the reason it was started in the first place.
Pac-Five is a conglomeration of private schools too small to field their own teams — like Maryknoll, Hawai'i Baptist, Lutheran and University. High school enrollments at those four schools range from 200 to 400, compared to McKinley's 2,000-plus member student body.
Benham
But thanks to the late Clay Benham's vision in 1970, small-school athletes have played teams from big schools on a regular basis here for three decades.
"The beauty of Pac-Five is that it creates opportunities for kids to compete in athletics, which is one of the main reasons we're in this business," said Keith Amemiya, executive director of the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association.
Pac-Five plays McKinley at 4:45 p.m. in the first game of the 41st Annual Father Bray Classic, followed by Iolani versus Farrington in the 7:30 p.m. nightcap. The doubleheader is part of this weekend's 22-game slate of season openers.
Pac-Five now is a fixture on high school schedules, but it wasn't always that way. Consider that in the 1960s a future NFL player, Mel Tom, did not play high school football because he attended Maryknoll — which has never had its own team.
Botelho
After five public schools (Farrington, Kaimuki, Kalani, McKinley and Roosevelt) broke away from the Interscholastic League of Honolulu in 1970, the ILH was left with only five teams (Damien, Iolani, Kamehameha, Punahou and Saint Louis).
Benham, then the ILH's executive secretary, was concerned about the shrunken league and proposed the smaller private schools' joining forces in football to add a sixth team.
Pac-Five's predecessor in 1973 was known as the "HUMMERS" or "HUMM," an acronym for Hawai'i Baptist, University, Maryknoll and Mid-Pacific.
Our Redeemer Lutheran joined the group in 1974, and "Pac-Five" was born.
Gabriel
"I remember when I started, people told me they don't see how it's gonna work," said Don "Spud" Botelho, Pac-Five's coach from 1974-2002. "There's a lot of problems with logistics — getting the kids to the practice site, dealing with the schools' different schedules and academic policies, building cohesiveness. There's a lot of stuff (bigger schools) might take for granted."
In its first two seasons, the HUMMERS/Pac-Five went a combined 0-21. Pac-Five's first victory came in 1975, a 31-0 nonleague win over Mililani, which was making its varsity debut.
The Wolfpack's first victory in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu came in the 1975 finale against Damien, a 35-9 triumph. Along the way, Pac-Five lost 26 straight league games, some by scores like 64-6, 49-7, 42-6.
• 1970: ILH football membership is cut in half after five public schools (Farrington, Kalani, Kaimuki, McKinley and Roosevelt) secede; ILH executive secretary Clay Benham proposes small private schools joining forces to form a sixth football team. • 1973: Pac-Five's predecessor, the "HUMMERS," is formed with players from Hawai'i Baptist, University, Maryknoll and Mid-Pacific. The HUMMERS go 0-10. • 1974: Our Redeemer Lutheran joins the HUMMERS, and the team name is changed to "Pac-Five," with "Wolfpack" chosen as their nickname. Pac-Five goes 0-11. • 1975: Pac-Five records its first victory, a 31-0 nonleague win over Mililani. In the season finale, the Wolfpack defeat Damien 35-9 for their first ILH victory after 26 straight league losses. Defensive lineman Ben Sialega is named to The Advertiser's All-State team. • 1976: Pac-Five coach Don "Spud" Botelho is named ILH Coach of the Year after guiding the Wolfpack to a fourth-place finish. • 1979: Pac-Five quarterback Eric Morales is named ILH Back of the Year; tight end Leroy Lutu signs letter of intent with Washington. • 1981: Pac-Five wins the ILH second-round title but loses to Saint Louis in the overall championship game. • 1982: Pac-Five wins its first ILH championship and then defeats Wai'anae for the Prep Bowl title. • 1985: Pac-Five wins ILH and Prep Bowl championships; quarterback Garrett Gabriel is named Offensive Player of the Year and tackle Wade Thoemmes is named Defensive Player of the Year on The Advertiser's All-State team.
"We lost pretty much 90 percent of our games," said Nuu Lolotai, who was a Pac-Five quarterback/slotback in 1976-77. "But with Coach Bo, practice wasn't a chore and we still had fun. I remember me and (teammate) Lia Moevao used to always sing that Kalapana song 'Lost Again' after games. We'd be walking into the locker room and start singing, 'Fun-ny days ...'
Pac-Five milestones
"We lost every week, but we tried to make light of it."
Pac-Five, after all, was about more than wins and losses. The unique blend of students from different schools gave each player an opportunity to mingle with new friends on a daily basis.
"I really enjoyed getting to know kids from other schools," said Lolotai, who graduated from Mid-Pacific. "I'm thankful for the friendships I made back then."
Several hundred Pac-Five alumni got together at a fund-raiser/reunion on July 25 at Ocean Club to celebrate 30 years of Wolfpack football. The group included people from the early humbling years — like Lolotai — and alumni who played on Pac-Five's Prep Bowl championship teams of 1982 and 1985.
"We were playing for the whole program, for all the players before us who weren't able to accomplish what we did," said Donny Maa, a running back on the 1982 title squad. "Coach Bo is a great coach, to put together a team of maybe 15 guys from one school, plus 10 kids from another school, plus two or three kids from other schools ... He was always a great coach, and (in the 1980s) he finally got the players he needed to make a great team."
Pio Sagapolutele, who played on Pac-Five's 1985 Prep Bowl championship squad, said his experience with the Wolfpack was "the building block" for his success at San Diego State and an 11-year NFL career that included a Super Bowl appearance in 1997.
"That (Prep Bowl) championship is something I'll always hold dear to my heart," said Sagapolutele, now retired from the NFL and living in San Bernardino, Calif. "The bonding we had on that team was awesome. It didn't matter what background you had or what school you went to. Coach Bo always talked about the past (teams) — the blueprint was there and the work ethic was there, and we had a small collection of talent.
"But the most important thing was the bond we had."
Botelho, who noted that Pac-Five eventually developed teams for other sports like soccer and baseball, said the venture has been more than worth the effort required.
"It's been extremely rewarding and really beneficial," said Botelho, now the ILH's executive director. "The whole concept is to give kids opportunities, and we're fortunate to have it. People said it wouldn't work, but it did work and is still working."
Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2456.
