"Cal Lee" and "winning" may now be considered synonymous, but it didn't start out that way in his early experiences with Saint Louis School:

• As a teenager, he was denied admission, shattering a dream to follow his brothers as Crusader football players;

• In 1972, his first season as head coach, Lee went 2-7-1 and was promptly let go;

• In 1982, the first season of his second stint as head coach, Saint Louis went 3-8-1 and finished last in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu.

But ever resilient, Lee knew things would turn around soon.

And boy, did they.

What followed was the most dominant, heralded dynasty in Hawai'i prep football history, elevating Lee into the legendary status he still carries today as linebackers coach at the University of Hawai'i.

Lee's record at Saint Louis of 241-32-5, including 18 ILH championships and 14 Prep Bowl titles, is widely considered to be unreachable. No other team has won more than five Prep Bowl or state titles, and only four other programs have won more than two.

"Amazing," said Siuaki Livai, who coached Kahuku to consecutive state championships in 2000 and 2001 and also won in 2003 and 2005. "What I found out was that it is easier to get there than to maintain it year after year."

Before Lee learned how to win, he learned how to lose and pick himself back up.

After failing to gain admission into Saint Louis, he played football at Kalani and later earned Little All-America honors at Willamette (Ore.) University. In 1971, Lee returned to Hawai'i to join brother Tommy's staff at Saint Louis and was named head coach the following year, only to endure the school's worst season since 1962.

"In the beginning, there were rough times, but it was a learning experience," said Lee, who was 25 years old when he got the head coaching job. "When you're young, sometimes you think you know too much, but I wasn't ready and I needed more experience."

Lee was let go after the season, and then joined brother Ron's staff at fledgling Kaiser High School. With Cal Lee as the defensive coordinator, the Cougars quickly rose to the top of the O'ahu Interscholastic Association and in 1979 defeated Kamehameha in the Prep Bowl, the "mythical" state championship.

In 1982, Lee got his second chance at being Saint Louis' head coach.

"I knew I was more prepared that time," Lee said. "I knew that building the program was about making sure you have a good foundation."

Lee again got off to a rough start, going 2-8-1 in 1982 and finishing in the ILH cellar. But in 1983, the Crusaders went 14-0 and won the ILH and Prep Bowl championships.

Saint Louis won another ILH title in 1984, but lost to Leilehua in the Prep Bowl. In 1985, the Crusaders were league runner-up to Pac-Five, beating Damien in the regular-season finale.

That began a record streak of 55 consecutive victories that included four straight 13-0 seasons from 1986 through 1989. Along the way, Saint Louis defeated highly regarded Morse (San Diego), and in 1990 knocked off two Mainland powers in Springdale (Ark.) and Bakersfield (Calif.).

The Crusaders then opened the 1992 season with victories over California teams Mountain View and Clovis, and again finished 13-0. Their Hawai'i dominance and wins over top Mainland programs started to draw national attention, and at one point Saint Louis reached No. 2 in USA Today's Super 25 rankings.

"Cal helped put Hawai'i high school football — not just Saint Louis — on the national map," said Delbert Tengan, a longtime assistant who succeeded Lee in 2002. "All of the Hawai'i teams reaped the benefits."

The Crusaders were dominating the Prep Bowl by large margins early in the dynasty, but in 1993 they trailed Kahuku at halftime before winning, 37-22. In 1994, they again beat Kahuku in the Prep Bowl, 26-20, and in 1995 they defeated the Red Raiders a third time for the championship, 27-26.

"Cal's teams brought out the best in us and raised the bar for football in Hawai'i," said Livai, who was a Kahuku assistant on those teams. "They forced us to better ourselves to even have a chance at beating them."

In 2000, the Red Raiders finally upset Saint Louis, 26-20, for the state title.

The next summer, Lee announced that 2001 would be his final season, and in 2002 he joined the UH staff.

At age 62, he still enjoys working with young men and teaching them valuable life lessons.

"Throughout life, you're gonna go through good times and the bad," he said. "When you fall, you have to rebound and get back up."

Read his blog on high school sports at http://preptalk.honadvblogs.com.