The Anuenue football squad is small in terms of number of team members. In addition, every game the Palolo Valley school competes against teams that are much deeper and physically bigger. But on the plus side, Anuenue has tons of spirit and dedication. And over the years the team has steadily improved on its overall team performance primarily by way of pride in its Hawaiian culture foundation.

This season the Anuenue team is looking forward to continuing its rise in the rough Oahu Interscholastic Association White Division and in its non-conference game on August 14th against defending state Division I champion Kamehameha in a battle of Hawaiian culture schools. The contest will be played at Leilehua.
 “This is the most prepared we have ever been to open the season “said coach Wengler. “I think our strength this year is going to be the fact that we are a strong unified team. We have a lot of returnees, mostly senior who have worked together over the past couple of years to jell collectively into a solid team unit.”  The players on this team commute from all over the island of Oahu for the opportunity to showcase their talents on the football field for Anuenue. “Despite our low enrollment numbers, the students at this school regularly make great sacrifices in order to form this football team,” Wengler said.

Anuenue will operate a double wing offense featuring a power running game. “This type of offense helps us utilize our players’ strong points,” Wengler said. “Quite a few of our players will play both offense and defense. A couple of guys won’t even come out of the game.”

Leading the way for Anuenue is defensive end ‘Imaikalani Keama, running back Ikaika Gante, all-purpose player Kamea Kahiapo, offensive lineman Wili’oho Ka’awa and linebacker Makamea Otani-Wengler, son of coach Wengler.
All five players are seniors and feel positive about the upcoming season.

Ka’awa - “I’m really looking forward to playing this season. Competing in high school sports is fun, but most of all I’m playing to help form a bond of friendship with the players on this team. Most of us have been together on this team since our sophomore days so we ready to compete at a higher level for our senior year.”

Gante - “It’s going to be fun this year. Our goal this year is to win as many as games as possible. … All of the teams in the OIA look good so I know winning will be challenging. Hopefully we can win enough games to make it to the playoffs and qualify to move up to the Red Division.”

Keama  - “My experience in playing for this team is unbelievable. I love this team. I play lineman, I play kicker, tight end. So I get a chance to contribute in many ways. I also try to help my teammates get better not only on the field but in the classroom. I try to push everybody to do their best in everything that they do. Just be one family.”

Kahiapo - “Our team has looked the crispest we have ever been. We have a lot of confident in our abilities and I’m sure this season we will surprise a lot of people. I’m ready to play some football and win some games.

Otani-Wengler – “Nothing’s just going to be given to us,”

The statement by Otani-Wengler is a theme shared by his teammates. The players all agreed that they will have to battle for victories. Anuenue faces a demanding schedule with games against Pearl City, Kaiser, McKinley, Kalaheo, Nanakuli, Waialua and Waipahu.

Gante rushed for over 900 yards last season and has impressed coaches around the league with his ability to pick up yardage. “He a tremendous talent and capable of producing big plays,” Wengler said. “Kahiapo also plays fullback for us and we are planning for him to get major ground yards for us this season.”

Sharing quarterback duties will be Mahuka Cullen and Laakea Mano’i-Hide. “We got two quality quarterbacks who can help direct this team to victory,” Wengler said.

In speaking about the Kamehameha game, Wengler said, “We figure we’ll start off our season against the defending state champs first because if we can handle ourselves well against them then we will have gained valuable experience to help us compete in league games.”

Wengler noted that during games only Hawaiian language is spoken to honor the tradition of the school. “The factor that makes our team a lot different from the other teams is that we coach with a cultural focus. We call all of our plays in Hawaiian. That we do all of our coaching in Hawaiian. All of our players can understand and speak. That brings a little bit more of the culture into the game.”