The Baldwin High School football team appeared to have history in its grasp. A 20-16 lead on mighty Kahuku — winner of four of the first seven state Division I titles — with five seconds on the clock, and 43 yards to go for a team that came into the game with one pass completion in its last three contests.

Bears coach Jimmy Morimoto called timeout, told his defenders to go into cover 4 mode with three defenders near the goal line, and stressed, "No one gets behind you.''

Then, when quarterback Reggie Torres threw a lateral to flanker Shiloah Te'o, the Bears defenders bit for a split second — some of the deep ones having a hard time telling if it was a forward pass — and receiver Pelefoni Soliai broke open.

Te'o lofted the best pass Kahuku fans saw all season — and hit Soliai in stride as the stunned defenders tried in vain to tackle him. After Soliai busted through the final three Bears — two of whom partially took out each other — a falling Soliai dove for the end zone on the final play.

Kahuku 22, Baldwin 20.

A week later, Kahuku won its fifth state title since the state playoffs began in 1999, 7-6 over a St. Louis team that was without injured state player of the year Micah Mamiya, its quarterback.

In an instant, the Baldwin sidelines went from jubilation to silence. Kahuku's red sea on the other sideline did just the opposite.

The result left Baldwin 0-4 in state semifinals and determined to make 2007 a different story.

"It is on our minds, it is not in the forefront, but in the back of everybody's minds, it is still there,'' quarterback Jordan Helle, who threw a Maui Interscholastic League-record 26 touchdown passes last year, said to The Maui News. "It is definitely a driving factor for us.''

Gone is Morimoto — who moved his family to Las Vegas along with his 21-2-1 record over the last two seasons, both losses coming in the state semifinals. No Neighbor Island team has ever made a D-I state final.

In is A.J. Roloos, the offensive coordinator last season after learning the intricacies of the spread from Pohai Lee, who is now a college coach. Roloos is the Bears' fifth head coach since 1999.

Back are Helle; wide receiver Chase Nakamura, who had 20 touchdown receptions in 12 games last season, including an MIL-record 16 in 10 league games; 1,000-yard rusher Chansi Bolosan; standout offensive lineman Sean Tesoro; and 2006 MIL Defensive Player of the Year Kyle Ka'aihue-Kaimiola, a linebacker.

Nakamura, who fell just short of a pair of other single-season league records last season with 52 receptions for 981 yards in MIL play, and Tesoro, a 6-foot-3, 297-pound force, are both NCAA Division I prospects, and Helle may turn out to be one as well.

Nakamura has sat out both of the Bears' preseason games — a 29-0 win over Kamehameha-Hawai'i and a 37-15 loss to Southern California power San Clemente — to rest a sore knee that saw extra duty during a busy summer of Mainland camps. With just seven MIL games this season, he may have a hard time getting to the single-season records of 55 catches and 1,020 yards that Baldwin's Akamu Aki set in 2002.

Still, there are other areas that the Bears need to tighten up. With the graduation of four offensive line starters from last season, Helle has often struggled to field snaps that range from low, to the side and sometimes nearly over his head.

Without Nakamura, Helle finished 20-for-40 for 178 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions against San Clemente. The absence of Nakamura, who is expected to be ready for the Bears' MIL opener Sept. 15 against Maui High, brought Baldwin's new receivers into the spotlight.

Skyler Cabacungan had nine catches for 55 yards against San Clemente, Brennan Canencia-Black had six for 56 yards and a touchdown, and Kalei Kamahele had four for 58, including a 46-yard touchdown late.

"We are capable of doing some good things, we are not quite there yet, but we are capable,'' Helle said. "We have got some mistakes we need to clean up, but the good thing is they are correctable mistakes.''

On the center-snap issues, Helle said, "They will be corrected.''

Still, the 6-3, 200-pound quarterback who has Idaho, Idaho State and Portland State on his college radar screen, missed the presence of his lifelong friend.

"Anytime Chase is on the field, he is definitely a difference-maker out there no matter who you are playing,'' Helle said. "It has been good for all the guys who have been out there and that is definitely going to be valuable later on in the season.''

Tesoro, the only returning starter on the O-line at left guard, said the new group is starting to gel.

"We are looking pretty good actually, we watched film and we did pretty well (against San Clemente),'' said Tesoro, who has scholarship offers from Hawai'i, UNLV, Portland State and Weber State, and is waiting to hear from Auburn and UCLA. "I am the only returning starter on the line, so I have to help the other guys out. If we can get the blocking down, our skill guys can obviously do the job.''

The Bears defense, coming off a season in which it gave up only 176.2 yards per game, best in the MIL by nearly 60 yards, did well in its shutout of Kamehameha-Hawai'i without an injured Ka'aihue-Kaimiola, who looked good against San Clemente in his return.

Having Ka'aihue-Kaimiola on the field helped the likes of senior defensive end Troy Aoki.

"This defense, we have a lot of good guys – linemen, linebackers, DBs — a lot of talent out there, we just have to work together, come together as one,'' Aoki said. "It was great to have Kyle back. He is a great leader on the field.''

Roloos, who is following Joe Balangitao, Brian Harris, Chad Kauhaahaa, and Morimoto — all coaches who claimed MIL titles since 1999 — knows he has the makings of something big. He still runs the offense that led the league with 340.2 yards per game last season.

"The kids have been awesome,'' Roloos said. "Actually I am shocked, but I did what I have to do to have this team ready. They are good kids, good kids. You have to set the tone, — you know, new coach — so you have to set your things and lay the hammer down, but it hasn't been hard.''