The following is an entry from Wes Nakama's blog, posted at www.honoluluadvertiser.com on August 18 at 5:51 a.m.

I went to the Mililani-Castle game and was pleasantly surprised to see that Darnell Arceneaux had his team in almost mid-season form. Actually, I should not have been too surprised, given his success in his only other year as a head football coach. In 2003, he guided Saint Louis to an ILH championship and state runner-up finish only after a wild finish that ended with Kahuku in the winner's circle.

Last night, Arceneaux showed me he might be as talented as a coach as he was as a player, and that's saying a lot.

As Castle coach Nelson Maeda, himself a well-respected veteran, said, Mililani was impressive, sharp, dominant, you name it. And it's not by accident.

I watched Darnell during the pre-game warmups, and he was scouting the Knights as they went through their drills, making written and mental notes.

He not only is head coach, but also offensive coordinator, and as expected, he did a marvelous job of mixing run and pass plays specifically suited for down-and-distance. He had a first-and-goal unit ready when the Trojans entered that area, and they scored on the first play both times.

He showed clock management at the end of the second quarter, timing it perfectly for the half to end on Collin Lund's field goal.

Arceneaux also wisely called a timeout to dispute a call that gave Castle first down after a holding penalty and then offsetting personal fouls. He lost the argument (still don't know why), but just the fact he was alert enough to call the timeout before the next snap showed savvy.

He also ran the special teams unit, placing the return squad in appropriate areas and moving them back or forward when needed. Sophomore Taz Stevenson returned the second-half kickoff 87 yards for a score.

Arceneaux did all the little things, too, like making sure the players had water during timeouts, recognizing teachable moments on the sidelines with one-on-one instruction. I noticed the Trojans seemed very organized in the huddle, in their alignments and on the sideline.

He installed the trendy Utah/Urban Meyer offense, but has added countless variations and revealed only a fraction of those last night.

"We only showed 15 percent of it," Arceneaux said.

Scary.

Darnell also showed class with his play-calling when the score was 43-6 in the fourth quarter and also by running down Maeda to shake hands after the game. He said all the right things in post-game interviews, showing appropriate respect for his players and his predecessors as head of the Mililani program.

"I know I have big shoes to fill," Arceneaux said.

In a nutshell, this guy may be young (28), but he's proved to me he really knows what he's doing. He can flat-out coach.

So far, it looks like a great hire by Trojans AD Glenn Nitta. Good to see.

LIKE THE LOOK

Caught a little of the Damien-Kapolei game on delayed TV, and two things quickly jumped out at me.

First, Kama Bailey is the real deal at running back. It doesn't take long to realize that.

And second, I really like the Monarchs' new uniform look, especially the gold helmets. Reminds me very much of the Washington Huskies.

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Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.