Son also rises at Kamehameha

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

A generation later, the Gaison name will resurface in the biggest high school football game of the season.

Kepa Gaison is an offensive lineman at Kamehameha, where his father, Blane, is co-athletic director and a former Warrior quarterback. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

It was Thanksgiving Day in 1974 when quarterback Blane Gaison rushed for two touchdowns, the last with 3 minutes, 30 seconds left, to rally the Warriors past the Mules, 20-19, in the second O'ahu Prep Bowl at Honolulu Stadium. The Prep Bowl was regarded as the mythical state championship since it only paired the O'ahu Interscholastic Association and Interscholastic League of Honolulu champions.

That his father scored the winning touchdown and that he would lead the Warriors to another Prep Bowl title the following year at Aloha Stadium might be news to the younger Gaison, a senior tackle who also is the team's place kicker and punter.

"I've heard stories about him playing quarterback and that their team did really good," Kepa said. "But I don't know details about it."

Also sketchy to Kepa might be his father's career at the University of Hawai'i, where he was a quarterback and all-Western Athletic Conference defensive back, and in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons.

"I have to focus on what they're doing and continue to support them in whatever they choose to do. The funny thing is they don't ask. And I don't know if they were told not to ask, but they don't ask and I don't tell."

Kepa is appreciated of his father's approach.

"He never pushed me (into playing football)," Kepa said. "He said whatever I want to play, he's going to support me."

Blane has done just that. Even though he works in the athletic department, co-athletic director Erv Kau oversees football. That allows Blane to watch Kepa just as a proud parent.

"I'm excited for him and his teammates," Blane said. "This is something they've worked very hard for this year."

Blane knows this is a big moment for his son. As it is a dream of today's youths to play at Aloha Stadium, Blane said it was a dream for players of his generation to play at Honolulu Stadium. Before the Prep Bowl, the ILH had the Thanksgiving Day doubleheaders. Back then, the postseason game pitted the top two teams in the feature game and the third- and fourth-place teams in the preliminary contest.

The only time the feature game determined the championship was when the top two teams finished the regular season with identical records. Blane recalled attending games to watch his uncle, Punahou's Charley Wedemeyer, dazzle the crowd with his prolific runs. He also recalled attending the first Prep Bowl between Wai'anae and Saint Louis when he was a sophomore.

"I remember sitting in the stands at that game thinking I'd love to play in the Prep Bowl next year," Blane said. "For every high school player, that was the goal, to play in the Prep Bowl."

While the '74 Prep Bowl was Blane's day to shine, the spotlight now belongs to his son. Although he has been involved in football for much of his life — he coached Kamehameha from 1989 to 1995 — Blane let Kepa decide his own path.

When he's not blocking, Kepa Gaison is kicking. Here, he works out with holder Kenny Pai and kicking coach Buddy Pai. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

"After I got that feeling of playing that first game, there was something about it that I enjoyed," Kepa said. "I just like to hit people and it was such a fun sport for me. You couldn't even compare it to soccer or basketball or any other sports I played."

Since the ILH doesn't have JV football, Kepa spent his freshman year on the intermediate "A" team before moving up to the varsity as a sophomore. Although he was a scout team linebacker, he got into games because of his kicking and punting ability.

The next season, he made the transition to the offensive line, which he continues to play. All along, he has developed into a consistently good kicker and punter. He has booted 29 of 35 PATs and one field goal. In last week's semifinal win against Lahainaluna, he punted four times, averaging 47.5 yards per kick.

Kepa admits he really wasn't aware of the fundamentals of the kicking game. He says the credit for helping him refine his skills goes to former Saint Louis assistant Buddy Pai, whose son, Kenny, is the holder on PATs and field goals for Kepa.

Blaine Gaison

"He has good leg power," Pai said. "Kepa's got natural ability. It was just a matter of working on keeping his head down, planting his foot on PATs and working with the snappers and holders. He's easy to coach because he's a good athlete."

At Saint Louis, Pai said the kickers were solely kickers because of the concentration needed to be successful. But Kepa has a different situation. He is an offensive lineman who has to switch into the kicking mode after touchdowns. It is not an easy transition, Pai said, because a kicker has to get into a rhythm and concentrate on his technique.

"I told him to use that 25-second clock to your advantage," Pai said. "You dictate to the holder when you want to kick. It's hard, you're dead tired (from playing offensive line), but you have to suck it up and then you can rest."

Meanwhile, the focus in the Gaison household is solely on tomorrow's championship game.

"He talks to me about how it's going to be really tough," Kepa said of his dad. "It's going to be the hardest game of the season playing against Leilehua."

Just as it was for Blane Gaison and the Warriors in 1974.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8042.