Thirteen days before the official start of football practice, perennial power Saint Louis School named one of its former All-State quarterbacks, John Hao, as head coach yesterday.

Hao, 35, takes over for Delbert Tengan, who resigned on June 27 after four seasons in his second stint as head coach. Hao was The Advertiser's State Co-Offensive Player of the Year in 1990 and has been on the Saint Louis coaching staff for 11 seasons, most recently as the receivers coach.

"There's big expectations here, that's always a big challenge," Hao said yesterday, after the team's afternoon conditioning session. "The biggest challenge for me will be filling the shoes of two of Saint Louis' greatest coaches, Cal Lee and Delbert. They built the program, so the question is, 'Can I live up to what they've done?' "

Hao was reportedly offered the Crusaders' head coaching job in June of 2003, when Tengan stepped down one year after succeeding Lee. But Hao turned down that offer, saying the timing was not quite right for him.

This time, he accepted it knowing the first nonleague game is barely one month away.

"We'll have mostly the same staff, so we'll move forward with it and do the best we can," Hao said. "(The 17-day vacancy) wasn't a good thing, especially for the athletes when they don't know what's in store for them."

At the time Tengan resigned, conditioning workouts were suspended while several players attended Mainland camps. And unlike past years, there was no Interscholastic League of Honolulu summer pass league to prepare for and play in.

Tengan said last week that members of his staff would oversee ensuing conditioning workouts until a coach was named.

The Crusaders built much of their record-setting success — 16 Prep Bowl or state championships and 22 ILH titles since 1983 — around a sophisticated run-and-shoot offense. The past two years, Saint Louis adjusted to a hybrid attack incorporating Urban Meyer's "Utah" offense with more of an option look featuring All-State quarterback Micah Mamiya, who graduated last month.

Hao, who set a state record in 1990 by throwing for 2,331 yards with 22 touchdowns, said the Crusaders' offense will include much of the same traditional principles, with some wrinkles.

"The run-and-shoot has been Saint Louis' bread and butter," Hao said. "But we'll be running a 'hybrid of a hybrid.' We'll mix it up a bit and try to deliver. You'll see in our first game."

Hao said longtime quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator Vince Passas and defensive coordinator Jacob Yoro will remain on staff, as will several other assistants. Other staff members will come from the JV program.

Hao said the retention of most of Tengan's staff is critical to the transition and continuity of Saint Louis' success, which includes a 22-2 record and two state runner-up finishes the past two seasons.

"We've been winning, and one of the big reasons is because of the staff," Hao said. "We all work as one."

Hao also said discipline will be a priority in the program.

"We'll do what it takes to instill discipline in the kids and help them become better people," Hao said. "We want to train them to be better men of Saint Louis, on and off the field."

In a school press release issued yesterday afternoon, newly hired Crusaders athletic director Ulima Afoa said, "We are lucky to have had John Hao already on staff and he was willing and able to move into the head coaching spot. He has been around the program for a long time ... going back to the glory years under Cal Lee ... John was quite a player himself and will make a great head football coach."

Hao, a part-time starter at the University of Hawai'i in 1994, said he fully grasps the significance of being Saint Louis' coach.

"Honestly, if I were offered a (coaching) job at Kamehameha, I think I would have a hard time taking it," Hao said. "I live and die red and blue."