Football

OKIYAMA MAKING STRIDES AT PINER HIGH

Former FD Friar quarterback Tyler Okiyama, or “Guam” as known by his peers, is making big strides in Piner High School in Santa Rose, California.

by
Patrick Lujan
October 1, 2014

By Robert Balajadia

Former FD Friar quarterback Tyler Okiyama, or “Guam” as known by his stateside peers, is making big strides in Piner High School in Santa Rose, California. Tyler’s father Frank got a job in California which prompted the Okiyama’s to move.

Okiyama has developed into a versatile offensive threat also taking snaps at wide receiver, which has personally helped Piner win games. Okiyama had a game against Elsie Allen where he hauled in seven catches for 120 yards with one of the teams many touchdowns to beat them 53-9.

He has also been great at quarterback for Piner completing 72% his passes to go along with five touchdowns and no interceptions through five games as Piner stands 5-3.

“I caught on to it pretty quick. We don’t have that many plays, but we no-huddle so it’s a lot faster. O just met these guys this simmer, so I still don’t really know them. Playing on Guam, you know who you’re playing against. Here, we play against teams out of town,” commented Okiyama on his new offense.

A bolstering coaching staff at every single position has also helped Okiyama adjust to the fast paced Piner offense.

“It makes it easier in practice to break stuff down with the one-on-one coaching,” said Tyler.

“[Tyler] is a way better passer than he was last year. His pocket presence and everything is better with all the training we’ve had since the summer,” stated Tyler’s father Frank.

Okiyama’s success has made his father believe that other talents from Guam can also standout in the national high school scene using a former Guam High Panther as a talent for scale.

“Some of the Guam boys are better than the boys out here. Tegan Brown is better than the guys out here. These guys are big and long, but most don’t have the ball skill,” commented Frank.