Austin Green is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism graduate student assigned to cover Chandler for AZPreps365.com

On the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii, across the island from Honolulu, sits a small town called Laie, home to the Laie Park Raiders youth club football team. The Raiders are an elite, year-round, no-weight-limit club team that helps players between 8- and 15-years-old hone their football skills. 

Six years ago, it provided two local middle schoolers, Blaine Hipa and Nason Coleman, the chance to develop a bond on and off the field. This season, nearly 3,000 miles away at Chandler High School, that bond is a crucial part of the Wolves’ bid for a sixth consecutive state championship, which would further cement the program as the best in the state of Arizona.

Hipa, Chandler’s senior quarterback, has instantly rediscovered his connection with Coleman, the Wolves’ senior tight end. In the eight games they have played together this year -- including last Friday’s victory in the AIA Open Division quarterfinals over Queen Creek -- the two have connected for 40 receptions, 640 yards and a team-high nine touchdowns, including a 62-yarder to put Chandler up for good against Queen Creek. Those numbers are even more impressive when considering that Coleman did not play the first two weeks of the season.

“From day one, like from the first day of practice, we didn't really have any timing problems or anything like that. It was kind of good from the get-go,” Coleman said.

Hipa’s and Coleman’s paths to being reunited at Chandler were very different, yet bear striking similarities. Both had prior connections to the school -- Coleman had family friends who came to Chandler to play under then-coach and fellow Hawaii native Shawn Aguano, and Hipa’s uncle Ben Hipa is a Chandler alum and former assistant under Aguano. 

But while Hipa stayed in Hawaii and enrolled at nearby Campbell High School in Oahu, Coleman and his family decided to move to Arizona and give Chandler a try for a year.

“If we didn't like it, then we were gonna move back,” Coleman said. “But we ended up liking it and staying. It's different here at Chandler because of how strict they are on education and football, and the discipline they have for their players. It's different from any other school. And that's what I like most about it.”

Blaine and his family never seriously considered rejoining his former Laie Park teammate at Chandler, according to Blaine’s father Hekili. Ben, who had to step down from his coaching post with the Wolves due to his day job, would occasionally bring it up to Hekili, making sure that he and Blaine were aware as Chandler became a nationally ranked program. 

But Blaine had a dominant sophomore season at Campbell, throwing for over 2,600 yards and 31 touchdowns. Hekili says “all kinds” of top football schools were in contact with Blaine, and he did eventually land offers from Tennessee and Hawaii.

“And then the pandemic hit,” Hekili said. “And unfortunately, it kind of all went away.”

Blaine was unable to play his junior season, as Hawaii did not allow high school sports in the fall of 2020 due to coronavirus restrictions.

“It was tough,” Blaine said. “It really affected me internally because I knew I had something going for myself. I just wanted to test my abilities for my junior year because I put in a lot of work over the offseason that year, and I really just wanted to get on the field and see what I could do.”

Even while he could not play competitive football, Blaine stayed dedicated, working out at least three to four times per week and staying in contact with his personal throwing and speed coaches as well as his high school coach at Campbell. 

“He's a trooper, man,” Hekili said of his son. “As far as the pandemic, it affected him, but he stayed positive. He had a lot of good coaches surrounding him… He had a really good support system, basically.”

Though Arizona did allow high school sports to resume last fall, Coleman also missed his entire junior season after tearing his ACL on the second day of practice.

“That was a huge hit for our offense last year,” said Chandler coach Rick Garretson, who took over in 2019 when Aguano was hired as the Arizona State running backs coach.

It was a huge hit for Coleman as well. He was forced to watch from the sidelines as the Wolves completed their second undefeated state championship season in a row and the seniors he had become close with played their final high school games without him.

“It was more of a mental struggle than a physical struggle,” Coleman said.

In the spring of 2021, with the outlook on high school sports in Hawaii still uncertain, the Hipa family made a choice. Hekili changed his residence to Arizona, and he, his wife, and their son whose once-bright future now looked as uncertain as ever moved in with Ben.

The timing worked in their favor. Chandler entered the offseason with no clear successor to graduating senior Mikey Keene at quarterback. The Wolves eventually accepted three out-of-state transfers to contend for the job -- Blaine, Ethan Moore from California and K.J. Cooper from Texas. 

Blaine was no stranger to a quarterback competition, as he also had to battle for the starting job back on the Laie Park Raiders. Just like he did then, cementing his friendship with Coleman, Blaine would eventually win the starting role at Chandler as well.

“He's got that ‘it’ factor,” Garretson said. “He just is able to do things and make things happen that are unique.”

Blaine also credits Coleman for helping ease his transition into Chandler. Coleman, for his part, was glad to reunite with an old teammate from his homeland.

“It's good to know that I had someone else from Hawaii on the team,” Coleman said. “I don't know, it's just different with the connection.”

That special connection became obvious almost immediately once Coleman completed his ACL rehab and was cleared to play in Chandler’s week three game against O’Connor High School. With Hipa under center, Coleman caught six passes for 62 yards and two touchdowns. 

“[Having Coleman back is] gigantic… when he came back in the third game, it just was a settling feeling in that receiving corps,” Garretson said. “He's a total matchup problem for the high school level because he's 6’3, 230 [pounds]. He can run… he can go vertical, he can do the little things, he can block.”

Blaine, meanwhile, speaks openly now about how hard his transition to Chandler was at first as he adjusted to an entirely new school and community on relatively short notice. Ten games, 27 touchdowns and over 2,400 passing yards later, however, Blaine has won over his new home and made his parents proud in the process.

“It's just unbelievable,” Hekili said. “His work ethic is just, words can't explain. I mean, the kid is just, mentally, nothing fazes him. You know, I'm nervous, so nervous in the stands. I'm not even in the game. And I can only just imagine what he goes through. But I watch his body language... and the kid is just, you can't rattle him.”

Blaine will need to stay unfazed this coming week, as the Wolves face off against Peoria Liberty on Saturday with a spot in the Open Division state championship on the line. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Chandler’s Austin Field.