Call it a Waialua revival.

For many years football at Waialua High School was an afterthought. The Bulldogs have endured 13 consecutive losing seasons, including five in which they went winless. It was not uncommon for the team to suit up about 20 players. In fact, Waialua forfeited a game because of lack of players in 2000.

The school had become the team that opponents liked to schedule homecoming against, sensing an easy win.

No more.

Thanks to a taste of victory from the previous year, a commitment from players and the play of quarterback Caleb Fore, football is thriving again. And the talk is about winning championships, not dropping the program.

Fore, a 6-foot, 180-pound senior, leads the state in passing yards (1,473) and touchdowns (18). He has thrown only three interceptions. Against Kalani two weeks ago, Fore passed for a career-high six touchdowns.

"That feels pretty good," said Fore, a two-year starter. "I couldn't have done it without my o-line, receivers and especially the defense."

Fore hasn't had to shoulder the load. A group of skill position players returned on offense, including junior running back Donovan Matas and senior receivers Adam Foster, Joshua Whittaker, Cody Labra and Edwin Rubio.

"I've been playing with most of those guys since we were in Pop Warner," Fore said. "We're real close, we bond together well."

"A bunch of them play basketball," said Waialua head coach Lincoln Barit. "Half of them are on the soccer team and the other half play baseball."

Behind this camaraderie, Waialua is 4-2 overall and 3-2 in league play this season.

It is the most overall victories since Waialua went 6-3 overall and 6-0 in league play in 1992, the last time the Bulldogs made the playoffs.

Waialua nearly advanced that far last season and that provided the impetus for this season.

The Bulldogs finished 3-4 in 2005 and the offense, at times, showed signs of brilliance. However, despite beating Kaiser in the regular-season finale of the O'ahu Interscholastic Association White Division, Waialua's hopes rested on a coin toss because of a three-way tie in the standings with Waialua, Kaiser and Kalaheo.

Ironically, the winner of the coin toss was Kaiser, the team that Waialua had just beaten, 21-7.

"Last year we won more games (than in the past) and I think that was a turning point," Barit said. "Their attitudes changed for the positive, they knew they could win now."

With victories came commitment.

"They got the taste of winning and they wanted to go further," Barit said. "They ran, did weight training, participated in 7-on-7 pass games; some of them went to camps. The off-season is when you build champions."

With the Bulldogs' success, the community has once again rallied around the team.

"We have more support, more fans coming to watch our school play," said Fore, who began playing the game when he was 5. "The Pop Warner kids come up to me and my teammates and tell us we played good and that makes us feel really good."

Barit, except for a five-year break, has been at Waialua since 1981. He says he's felt the effects of winning as well.

"All the years I've been at Waialua, we start with 30 (players), then down to 27, then 24 with some injuries and sometimes we went into games with 22 players," he said. Barit has 43 players on the varsity this year.

"A couple years back the program was threatened (because of a lack of players)," said Barit. Lately, there hasn't been much talk of taking away football, but there has been talk about bringing home their first OIA title since 1955.

"Every day before practice and after practice we tell them that they can be the next championship team," Barit said. "That they can bring that pride back to Waialua and that banner is lonely up there (in the gym), it needs a partner."

Fore agreed, "We want a championship to bring back to Waialua. Our community would be real happy."

It won't be easy for the Bulldogs, who suffered their second conference loss last week to Kaiser and must now battle for a playoff spot.

"We have a bye this week, so we can work real hard these next two weeks, win our next three games and make the playoffs," Fore said. "Hopefully, this year we don't need a coin flip."