By Paul Honda
paul@hondareport.com
Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2007

Here's how I looked at it after crunching the numbers, weighing every detail I could think of.

QUARTERBACKS
Rank Name School
1. Micah Mamiya, Saint Louis.

On paper: Threw for 1,532 yards, 11 TDs and only 5 INT on 115-for-215 passing. He also ran for 439 yards (unofficial, I'm missing rushing stats for the SL/Pac-Five game) and five touchdowns.

The skinny: His decision-making was unsurpassed. Great ability to convert on key third-down plays in key games by ground or air.

X factor: Saint Louis was 11-0 in games he started and finished.
Question mark: Only possible deterrent to his place on my ballot is the fact that he got hurt in the state semifinals and missed roughly 1 1/2 games.

2. Bryant Moniz, Leilehua

On paper: Almost no peer when it came to on-field maturity and decision-making, reflected in his numbers: 1,951 passing yards, 20 TDs and only 7 INT. Completed 140-for-243 attempts.

The skinny: The Mules did not play a single weak team all season. The OIA Red West was brutally tough, and Leilehua's nonconference slate was comprised of Kailua, Saint Louis and Radford.

X factor: He did not take a lot of sacks, and ran when necessary. Tough runner, difficult to bring down.

Question mark: Leilehua lost to Kahuku 13-7 in the OIA semifinals and wound up not qualifying for the state tourney. He was 17-for-32, 156 yards, one TD and no INT against Kahuku. In the season-ending loss to Mililani: 23-for-30, 289 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT.

3. Brett Kan, Punahou

On paper: This was a VERY close choice between Kan and Baldwin's Jordan Helle. Both had impressive numbers on the surface, and some debateable stats underneath. Kan threw for 2,566 yards in 10 games (256.6 per game) to lead the entire state. Helle threw for 2,292 yards in 11 games (208 per game). Kan completed 61.5 percent of his passes (176 for 286), while Helle completed 55.9 percent (152 for 272).

The skinny: Kan threw for 17 touchdowns and 16 picks while Helle had 30 TDs and only 11 picks. But look below the surface. Kan faced far superior competition throughout the season:

Kan
opponent, passing stats, rushing stats, win/loss
vs. Kahuku 25-44-4-274 (3 TD) 3-(-19) win
at Waianae 22-31-3-335 (TD) 3-3 win
at Eastlake (Wash.) 19-29-2-224 (TD) 4-(-15) win
vs. Kamehameha 10-21-0-112 6-(-12) win
vs. Saint Louis 33-53-2-385 (3 TD) 3-(-33) loss
vs. Iolani 22-32-1-301 (2 TD) 2-(-2) win
vs. Saint Louis 29-51-1-294 (2 TD) loss
vs. Pac-Five 18-21-1-306 (3 TD) win
vs. Kamehameha 22-43-2-335 (2 TD) 2-0 loss

Helle
opponent, passing stats, rushing stats, win/loss
vs. Maui 22-35-0-297 (3 TD) rush TD win
vs. Kamehameha-Maui 07-11-0-153 (2 TD) win
vs. Lahainaluna 09-19-0-056 win
vs. King Kekaulike 16-25-0-293 (5 TD) win
vs. Pac-3 10-16-0-189 (3 TD) win
vs. Maui 13-25-1-222 (4 TD) win
vs. Kamehameha-Maui 16-34-2-177 (1 TD) tie
vs. Lahainaluna 11-23-0-150 (TD) 2-(-12) win
vs. King Kekaulike 09-21-3-121 (2 TD) 0-0 win
vs. Pac-3 17-21-1-302 (6 TD) 1-(-2) win
vs. Mililani 19-32-2-290 (3 TD) 0-0 win
vs. Kahuku 10-23-2-104 (TD) 0-0 loss

The skinny: Of Helle's 30 TD passes, nine came against Pac-Three, one of the weaker teams in the state. Their lone common opponent was Kahuku.
Kan threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns, including a last-second touchdown for the win. Helle threw for 104 yards and one score.

Against other top teams, Kan gets the edge. He threw for 335 yards at Waianae in a win. He threw for 224 yards in another win over Washington state's No. 1 team, Eastlake. He threw for 385 yards and three TDs against Saint Louis. Then he threw for 294 yards in the rematch. He threw for 335 yards against Kamehameha. That's a seriously tough schedule against the state's best defensive units.

Helle struggled against Lahainaluna, throwing for 56 and 150 yards in the two matchups with only one touchdown, though Baldwin did win those games. Unlike Kan, who continued to throw well in rematches against Saint Louis and Kamehameha, Helle didn't fare well in rematches against MIL contenders. King Kekaulike limited him to 9-for-21 passing for 121 yards. Kamehameha-Maui limited him to 177 yards on 16-for-34 passing.

X factor: It's a very tough call between these two similar-styled passers. Helle threw well against Mililani (290 yards, 3 TDs), but struggled against Kahuku, as do most quarterbacks ... except Kan, who did fairly well (3 TDs).

Question mark: There's no way to deny that Helle had one of the best passing seasons in Hawaii HS history, but looking at the numbers close up, Kan gets the nod from me for All-State third team.

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