Kulele or Kupale?

That's been the long-anticipated question — offense or defense? — for students at Anuenue, the Hawaiian language immersion school in Palolo Valley. Na Koa are the newest entry in O'ahu Interscholastic Association junior varsity football, expanding the league to 23 teams. They make their preseason debut Aug. 19 at Waialua.

At Anuenue, courses are taught in Hawaiian. And so is coaching.

But there are no language barriers when it comes to school pride. Sophomore Makaio Liua could have returned to Roosevelt High School to play for a program that is already established, has its own locker rooms and has a home field. But he and classmate 'Olu'olu Naone, who also wore the Rough Riders' red and gold last year, prefer wearing the teal-colored helmets and black "home" jerseys, even if all their games will be at their opponents' field.

"I was happy, I was proud," Liua said of his own school starting up football. "I'd rather play here."

Through the years, the Department of Education determined that high school students at Anuenue, which has an enrollment of about 350 from kindergarten through 12th grade — had to participate in athletics at Roosevelt. But last year's freshmen asked the school to start football, Anuenue counselor and football coach Tim Kealoha Wengler said.

"They brought it up to us," Wengler said. "They kept pushing and pushing."

Wengler said he wanted to coach another season at the Palolo Pop Warner program, which, ironically, dissolved. Wengler had to get the students' assurances that they would stick through the program before having the school commit to the OIA to be put on the schedule.

"At least I have some leverage," Wengler said. "If they're slacking, I can always say, 'This is what you wanted.' "

Moreover, Wengler sees football as a way of motivating students in the classroom. As with all public schools, Anuenue students must abide by the DOE's 2.0 grade-point eligibility rule to participate in OIA-sponsored sports.

"So the teachers are supportive of the program," Wengler said.

NUMBERS GAME

Unlike traditional schools that opened in recent years, Anuenue faces different challenges. Schools like Kapolei, Kea'au on the Big Island and King Kekaulike on Maui had larger enrollments of freshmen and sophomores so they could easily incorporate three-year plans to ease their way to varsity competition.

Anuenue has about 100 students in grades 9 to 12, but only freshmen and sophomores can play JV, limiting the number of eligible players for this season. So when Na Koa call for a student body sweep, they will be more than metaphoric. The 26 Na Koa players represent about 90 percent of the eligible boys in ninth and 10th grades, Wengler said. There is one girl on the team, freshman offensive guard Kamakana Keola.

"She can pound," sophomore quarterback Keli'i Kon said.

As Na Koa work the kinks out in their first season, they still face a dilemma when it's over. The school must decide whether to enter varsity competition next year or remain at JV. Because of the school's limited enrollment, it's unlikely to field both levels next year.

If Anuenue remains at JV next year, this year's sophomores won't be eligible because JV is restricted to freshmen and sophomores. Anuenue's petition for one junior to play on the JV this season has already been denied, Wengler said. If the program goes to varsity next year, there will not be enough players to field a JV team. With no JV to serve as a transition to the varsity, freshmen and sophomores might be reluctant to come out for football. In either scenario, players would be lost.

FEWER PERKS

There are other challenges the players face that they might not at other OIA schools. There are no locker rooms and just two showers on the campus, which is walking distance from Palolo District Park, where the team practices. As an OIA member, it gets state funding for transportation — Na Koa will travel for all games — and equipment. An Office of Hawaiian Affairs grant of $24,999 aided in the school's purchase of 30 sets of football equipment (jersey, pants, helmets and padding), Wengler said.

Unlike other public schools, Anuenue does not have a certified athletic trainer because its number of athletes does not justify having one. Wengler said two of his assistants are firefighters who are trained in first aid.

Wengler said the team has been somewhat of an attraction to Palolo youth. He said there were some high school students in the area who wanted to come out for the team, but being a Hawaiian language immersion school, Anuenue admits students after the fifth grade on a case-by-case basis, Wengler said. Students must be fluent in Hawaiian because classes are taught in the language, except, of course, English class. Most of the players have attended Anuenue since they were elementary age or transferred from Hawaiian language immersion schools from other areas, such as Nanakuli, Wai'anae, Pearl City and Kane'ohe.

As expected, Anuenue games will feature a lot of Hawaiian language, from the coaching to the quarterback's cadences to the defense's play-calling. Wengler said it is a challenge to find Hawaiian terms for the non-native sport. But Anuenue's biggest hurdle won't be a language barrier. It might be attrition. As with most programs, players are trained at positions on offense and defense. Some will have to play both.

"We're not expected to do well, this being our first year," Wengler said. "We want to have this program set by (the current sophomores') senior year."