Farmers Football

Wednesday, October 14th, 2009

The loss drops Molokai’s record to 0-2 on the season after losing to the Kapolei Silver team 7-0 in their season opener two weeks ago.

The Farmers defense looked strong this past weekend, holding Kapolei to only two first downs during the game. Middle linebacker Sione Mauala led the way for the defense with three tackles for loss.

“I’ve seen a lot of improvement so far,” Kiaha said. “The techniques are getting better and we are more aggressive.”

The game’s only touchdown came with less than a minute remaining in the first half. A Farmers’ fumble gave Kapolei the ball inside the 10 yard line with just over a minute to go in the half. Two plays later the Warriors found the end zone and took the lead for good.

A Chance to Play
Kiaha said he expects the team to be winning games soon, but the more important thing is that the keiki are getting a chance to learn the game.  

“It’s a privilege to introduce the kids to football. I hope that we can keep this going and give all kids a chance to play,” he said.

Kiaha first started coaching youth football over 15 years ago when he and his old high school teammates started a team on Oahu. Two championships and almost two decades later, he is still trying to spread the sport.

Kiaha was instrumental in bringing football to Molokai youth three years ago when the program was started. Formerly the Oahu Youth Sports League, the league changed its name this year to the Island Youth Football League, as they plan to add teams from other neighbor islands in the future.
Molokai currently has a peewee team (11-13 year olds) and a termite team (10 and under). The termite Farmers did not play last weekend, but also lost their home opener to Kapolei Silver on Oct. 3.

Molokai will play seven games this season at Duke Maliu Park.The team also hopes to go to Honolulu at the end of the season for a game at Aloha Stadium.

Kiaha said that the league wouldn’t be able to exist without team parents who feed visiting teams from Oahu and spend countless hours preparing for their arrival.

“I give a big ‘hats off’ to all of those parents as well as the coaches who give up a lot of their time to help these young men and women,” he said.

Kiaha is joined by assistant coaches Wayne Puaoi, Andy Diekroft, Kama Kiaha and one other extremely good-looking and talented anonymous coach.

The Farmers next game will be Oct. 24 against the Ewa Beach Cardinals.

Off to the Races

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Sophomore Petrisha Alvarez led the way for the female Farmers crossing the line in 17th place with a time of 24:37. Three runners and thirty seconds later, fellow sophomore Charisse Manley joined Alvarez as the second Molokai runner to finish.

“On Molokai, we don’t have any girls race in the JV. So, Petrisha and Charisse would have been right up there medaling in the JV race, but they’re running varsity. They’re still doing very well,” DeRouin said.

The next pair of Farmers were juniors Sharali Dudoit-Enos and Marissa Sterner, who finished within less than a second of each other in 27th and 28th place. Louisa Torres-Umi and senior Kalani Wainright rounded out the pack for Molokai. Their combined scores totaled 89 points which landed the team third place overall.

DeRouin said the team’s goal for the MIL Championship is to place as many girls as possible in the state tournament on Kauai. The top two teams in the conference send seven girls each and 13 other runners receive at-large bids. Molokai most likely will not finish in the top two, but they do have a chance to nab some of the at-large spots.

DeRouin said Alvarez’s time should be good enough to qualify her, and Sterner and Manley were right on the cusp. The state meet takes place Oct. 30.

Boys Cross Country
On the boys’ side, senior Alvin Ringor missed a top ten finish by less than ten seconds. Ringor finished just behind Lanai’s Jordan Ordonez-Ohashi in 11th place with a time of 18:21.

Junior Kevin Dudoit (18:48) was next to cross for Molokai in 14th place. He was followed by Julien Bumatay and the Adolpho twins. Bumatay placed 17th and freshmen Akona and Israel Adolpho finished in 16th and 19th, all coming in around the 19-minute mark. Sophomore Kailen Inouye rounded out the Molokai pack with a final time of 21:30.

The boys’ team totaled 78 points, putting them behind Maui High, Baldwin and Maui Prep in the conference-wide race.

Air Riflery
The armed Farmers also had their final qualifying meet before the MIL championship last Saturday. The boys Air Riflery team sent three shooters to the tournament to get ready for this Saturday’s championship match.

Guy Brito and brothers Hunter and Landon Kalaikane competed for Molokai and all finished within five points of one another.

“They did a little bit better than I expected. They were about average,” said Head Coach David Kalani.

Hunter Kalaikane’s overall score of 193 put him  in 17th overall. Landon was only two points behind his brother and tied Baldwin’s Tyler Bersamin for 18th place. Guy Brito had the highest score of the day for Molokai with an 88 in the prone competition. Brito ended up with 188 total points and a 20th place finish.

This Saturday, Molokai will send eight boys and five girls to the MIL Championship meet.

Seal Play

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

KP2 has a sleek, new coat after his recent molt. Photo by Val Bloy.

By Catherine Cluett

At the Kaunakakai Wharf, a young boy and a seal swim together. They dive and chase each other in a tumble of arms, flippers and smiles. Kahi is eleven years old, and the Hawaiian monk seal, named KP2, is just over a year. Kahi said the first time he remembers seeing KP2 was this past summer. His friends were scared of swimming with the seal, but Kahi jumped in and told them, “See how friendly he is? He won’t hurt you.”

From then on, Kahi and KP2 were inseparable. Adults who have watched them play say KP2 recognizes Kahi and would leave other kids to play with him.

But KP2, the young seal that has made Kaunakakai Wharf his home and befriended many of the humans in the area, has already reached a weight of 165 pounds. His play, once the gentle frolics of a pup, is becoming rougher as he matures. Kahi’s mother said she has become leery about letting her son swim with the seal.

Kahi knows his days of swimming with his friend are over. But the bond he formed with the seal is still strong.

“Whoever goes to the wharf and thinks it’s theirs, it’s not,” explains Kahi. “The ocean is not ours, it’s God’s. Whoever doesn’t like KP2, fish somewhere else.”

Orphan Seal
Abandoned by his mother on Kauai at 24 hours old, KP2, short for “Kauai pup two,” was found by NOAA specialists. He was raised in captivity for eight months before his release in Kalaupapa last November. A few months later, he appeared at the Kaunakakai Wharf.

In June, NOAA transported him back to Kalaupapa, hoping he would socialize with other young seals and “stay wild.” However, in just two days, KP2 had made his way back to the wharf. Now KP2 is one of the estimated 110 Hawaiian monk seals living today in the Main Hawaiian Islands.

KP2 is the first ever successfully hand-reared Hawaiian monk seal, according to NOAA Marine Mammal Response Coordinator David Schofield. But some are questioning the definition of success, saying NOAA caused the problem of the too-friendly seal by saving the pup.

Many fishermen believe Hawaiian monk seals pose direct competition for already-diminishing food sources, and would just as soon see the species not survive. NOAA specialists and volunteers are worried that KP2’s safety may be in jeopardy.

“If these animals don’t survive, it’s going to be because of the people, not the seals,” said Molokai resident Karen Holt.

To Stay or To Go
Molokai volunteers have logged hundreds of hours monitoring KP2 at the wharf to make sure both he and the humans he associates with are safe. They worry that as KP2 matures, he may unintentionally harm the children or adults he tries to play with. Because of this, NOAA requests that no one swim, approach or interact with KP2.

Hawaiian monk seals are an endangered species, with less than 1200 individuals living today – and only in Hawaii. It is against the law to approach or disturb them.

But KP2 is often the one to approach humans, not vise versa. Incidents of KP2 nipping swimmers or trying to get attention from people launching boats on the ramp have already been recorded.

“We have a choice where to swim,” said Molokai resident and paddler Penny Martin. “We are the visitors to the ocean.”

She explained that when people see a shark in the water, they do not say, “This is our place, the shark needs to move.” Martin said she believes it should be the same for the monk seal.

Martin suggested the solution might be in funding more game wardens to monitor the area.

Molokai resident and activist Walter Ritte advocated letting KP2 stay at the wharf and continuing to use the seal as an educational tool for the community.

“It’s not a problem, it’s an opportunity,” he said.

But as much as some community members might like to see KP2 left undisturbed, NOAA specialists and volunteers realize it is very difficult for people to change their habits for a seal. Because of this, relocation looks like it will be part of KP2’s future. 

The Plan
Schofield said NOAA is currently investigating relocating KP2 to either Niihau, Kaula Rock or Lehua Rock – all remote islands at the end of the Main Hawaiian chain but not as far as the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
While options of “display captivity” like Sea Life Park are still being discussed, Schofield said he thinks it is worth giving KP2 one more shot at living in the wild before confining him to captivity forever. He pointed out that while KP2 has imprinted on humans, he still exhibits “wild” behaviors. He forages extensively on his own, and has been seen with other seals.

Many community members have expressed concern that the proposed areas are known to have an abundance of sharks. They worry that KP2 would not survive long if he were moved.

“Sharks are a part of a monk seal’s world,” explained NOAA specialist Jeff Walters. “They’re a risk, but risks are everywhere. There’s no perfect place to put him.”

Walters stressed that KP2 has undoubtedly encountered sharks in his travels. Walters said he is more concerned about harm to the seal from human interaction than from sharks.

Plans are still under investigation and discussion. If KP2 is relocated to the Niihau area, Schofield said it would likely take place before the beginning of November.