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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Punahou's next generation seeks title

By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

Punahou defensive end Scott Steiner, right, will face Kahuku on Friday for the state title. Father Jim lost to Wai'anae in the 1977 Prep Bowl.

DEBORAH BOOKER | Honolulu Advertiser

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Jim Steiner did not imagine having to wait a generation to see Punahou School win another Interscholastic League of Honolulu football championship. But it could not have come at a better time, as his son prepares for Friday's First Hawaiian Bank Division I state football championship against Kahuku at Aloha Stadium.

"This is deja vu for me," said Jim Steiner, whose son Scott is a junior defensive lineman for the ILH champion Buffanblu.

Jim Steiner was an ILH all-star offensive lineman for the 1977 Buffanblu team that won the league title. Twenty-eight years later, he watched Scott enjoy the same feeling. Incredibly, the night the Buffanblu beat Saint Louis, 14-0, in the Nov. 14 championship was Jim's 46th birthday.

"The timing couldn't have been better," Jim Steiner said. "It's been a long, frustrating 28 years. It's so exciting that my son was involved in bucking that trend."

The Buffanblu have since knocked off 'Aiea, 35-14, in the first round and defeated Baldwin, 30-7, in the semifinals of the tournament. In the Baldwin game, Scott was credited with a sack when he forced Bears' quarterback Kalehua Moniz into committing an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone that resulted in a safety for Punahou.

The magic that connects the two generations of Steiner football players started last Christmas. Scott, while working at the school's video production department, learned the school kept film of Punahou games. He found that the first year happened to be the 1977 season. Scott had the film transferred to a DVD and gave it to his father as a Christmas present.

"He surprised me with this," Jim Steiner said. "It was a thrill."

The second-ranked Buffanblu (11-2), in their first state tournament, are considered the underdog against the top-ranked Red Raiders (10-1), who have won three of the previous six tournaments.

"Most of the stands will be cheering for Kahuku," Scott said.

In 1977, there was no state tournament. But the O'ahu Prep Bowl, which matched the ILH's champion against the O'ahu Interscholastic Association champion, was considered the unofficial state championship. Back then, Wai'anae was the perennial power of the OIA, much the way Kahuku is today. The Seariders powered their way to a 27-6 win against the Buffanblu.

"We went in expecting to win," Jim Steiner recalled. "But they dominated us during the game."

Scott's Buffanblu are physically bigger than the 1977 team, which featured Darryl Gabriel at quarterback, the late Mark Tuinei on the defensive line, flanker John Kamana and running back Francis Sequeira. (Jim Steiner said he still stays in touch with former teammates. He sits with Clayton Searle, a tight end on the '77 team, at games.) But this year's Punahou team is considered more of a finesse team compared to Kahuku. So, much like the 1977 team, these Buffanblu are smaller than their OIA counterparts.

Father and son have watched the DVD together. Scott said he noticed one thing different in the styles of play then and now.

"They were more technical back then," Scott said.

But there are similarities between father and son. Both wear the same jersey number (77). Scott's wavy blond hair is similar to his father's 1977 all-star picture that appeared in The Advertiser. Jim was a 6-foot-2, 195-pound offensive lineman, who converted from defensive line after a knee injury his junior year. Scott is listed at 6-0, 205, undersized by today's standards for a defensive lineman.

Another similarity between father and son is that each Punahou team dethroned Kamehameha. The '77 Buffanblu went 8-1 after going 1-8 the previous season to end Kamehameha's three-year reign as ILH champions. This year's Buffanblu denied the Warriors of repeating. Ironically, the Warriors handed the Buffanblu their only two losses.

There's a buzz around the campus about Friday's game, much like there was the Thanksgiving week of the 1977 Prep Bowl.

"It's insane to think that we're playing Kahuku," Scott said. "It's finally here."

It's also been the same for the parents, who have one more game to sweat out during a season that saw the ILH finish in a three-way tie in Division I after the regular season, and playoffs to determine the champion.

"It's been remarkable for Punahou," Jim Steiner said. "It's been a roller-coaster ride. Very exhausting. I think my voice is good for one more game."

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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