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Midseason Report
Hawaii finally picked up its second win of the season, defeating Boston in front of the Honolulu faithful 29-22 to improve their record to 2-6 at the midway point of the season. They certainly haven't played up to their potential this year, and a lack of weapons in the passing game has been a big reason why. The defense has been ok, somewhat above the league average, and we are starting to see them gel a little bit, which bodes well for the future. On the flip side of that coin, with Heath Morton out and his future uncertain, backup QB Wendell Oquendo has been... well, not good. He can pull some big plays out of his hat, but he makes costly errors as well. His play needs to be more consistent in order to take some of the weight off of Shawn Middleton's very broad shoulders.
The next step for the offense will be the continued development of their second-round pick, Glenn Wright. Hawaii's top receiver, Karl Willis, draws constant double-teams in every game, and the rest of the receiving corps struggles to generate space against single coverage. The Wayfinders desperately need someone to step up in the receiving game to draw attention away from Willis, and the rookie TE out of Texas Tech is the likeliest candidate for the job. Hawaii native Will Hartman, a third-year WR out of Mississippi State, is also being tasked with an expanded role in the receiving game; he registered his first career touchdown last week at Yuma, and the coaching staff loves his precision route-running.
While the Wayfinders have come short in most of their games this season, it should be pointed out that five of their six losses were by 8 points or fewer. They certainly have what it takes to win games down the stretch, but it won't come easy, as they will soon face a three-game gauntlet of San Francisco, Portland, and St. Paul, all of whom are currently in first place in their respective divisions. Hawaii has its work cut out for them in the second half of the season, and we'll get a good look at what this team is really made of.
Hawaii finally picked up its second win of the season, defeating Boston in front of the Honolulu faithful 29-22 to improve their record to 2-6 at the midway point of the season. They certainly haven't played up to their potential this year, and a lack of weapons in the passing game has been a big reason why. The defense has been ok, somewhat above the league average, and we are starting to see them gel a little bit, which bodes well for the future. On the flip side of that coin, with Heath Morton out and his future uncertain, backup QB Wendell Oquendo has been... well, not good. He can pull some big plays out of his hat, but he makes costly errors as well. His play needs to be more consistent in order to take some of the weight off of Shawn Middleton's very broad shoulders.
The next step for the offense will be the continued development of their second-round pick, Glenn Wright. Hawaii's top receiver, Karl Willis, draws constant double-teams in every game, and the rest of the receiving corps struggles to generate space against single coverage. The Wayfinders desperately need someone to step up in the receiving game to draw attention away from Willis, and the rookie TE out of Texas Tech is the likeliest candidate for the job. Hawaii native Will Hartman, a third-year WR out of Mississippi State, is also being tasked with an expanded role in the receiving game; he registered his first career touchdown last week at Yuma, and the coaching staff loves his precision route-running.
While the Wayfinders have come short in most of their games this season, it should be pointed out that five of their six losses were by 8 points or fewer. They certainly have what it takes to win games down the stretch, but it won't come easy, as they will soon face a three-game gauntlet of San Francisco, Portland, and St. Paul, all of whom are currently in first place in their respective divisions. Hawaii has its work cut out for them in the second half of the season, and we'll get a good look at what this team is really made of.