honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 1:49 p.m., Friday, September 12, 2008

Kapolei alum Kaheaku-Enhada returns as Navy QB after injury

By Camille Powell
Washington Post

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada

Naval Academy Photo

spacer spacer

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada had been easy to spot at Navy's practices over the past month. The senior quarterback, who was nursing a partially torn left hamstring, lurked around the edges of the field, watching his teammates while wearing either a red or green jersey.

But Monday afternoon, Kaheaku-Enhada blended in with the rest of his teammates as they lined up for a series of post-practice sprints. He was back in a blue jersey like the rest of the offensive players, and he looked smooth — if a little slow — as he ran between the hash marks.

Kaheaku-Enhada, a Kapolei High alum, worked with the first-team offense throughout the week, and Coach Ken Niumatalolo plans to start him tomorrow against Duke and play him as much as he can.

"Mentally, he's sharp," said Niumatalolo, a Radford High and University of Hawai'i alum. "He threw the ball well, he ran OK (in practice). But he's still working and trying to get in game shape, and that's the biggest concern. We've conditioned him hard this week and he withstood everything. ... But it's a stamina issue. We're not a drop-back team, where the quarterback can sit back and not practice for a while and step into the game. Obviously he has to run the football."

Navy's triple-option offense is averaging 452 rushing yards per game. Senior quarterback Jarod Bryant, who started the past two games, leads the Midshipmen (1-1) in carries (48) and is second in rushing yards (169). Last year, Kaheaku-Enhada averaged 15 carries per game.

But Kaheaku-Enhada has done very little sprinting since he injured his hamstring in the team's first scrimmage Aug. 9. During the ensuing week, he practically lived in the training room as he spent hours getting treatment designed to speed the healing process: ice, whirlpool, massage, electro-stimulation.

His cardio workouts were limited to riding a stationary bike, climbing steps and running in the sand pit. The trainers were hesitant to push Kaheaku-Enhada to do things at full speed, because they didn't want him to aggravate the injury. Only during this past week did he return to full participation in all portions of practice.

"The first few snaps felt like the beginning of camp," Kaheaku-Enhada said. "Once I got into the full swing, it felt good. But I got tired. ... I've been working out, but game shape is a whole lot different."

Kaheaku-Enhada is known for his easygoing nature — "He's got a little bit of that Hawaiian laid-back attitude," said Niumatalolo, himself a Hawai'i native — and a self-deprecating sense of humor. Those didn't disappear during the past weeks; when asked how the injury might affect his plant leg, for instance, he cracked: "I don't throw. I'm still learning the footwork and stuff."

But being confined to the sideline wasn't easy. He tried to stay engaged, offering advice and encouragement during games. But he was frustrated, and even felt a little guilty — especially during that first week, when he was in the training room and his teammates were sweating through two-a-days on the practice field.

Said Niumatalolo: "He wants to be the leader of the offense. He's been the leader for the last two years."

Part of his responsibility as a leader is knowing when he can and cannot go. Kaheaku-Enhada, who missed all or part of five games last season because of an assortment of ailments, feels comfortable telling the coaches when he's not at full strength and yielding to Bryant. He'll do that against the Blue Devils, if necessary.

"Me trying to play at 95 percent is worse. It's a better situation to have the second-string quarterback come in and be 100 percent," he said. "There's not much of a falloff between the starting quarterbacks; we get the same amount of reps in practice."