When Arnold Martinez took over as Moanalua High School's football coach in 2003, he quickly identified sophomores Stanford Leti and Quinton Tang as cornerstones upon which to build the program.

Na Menehune had gone 1-7 the season before, but Martinez's instincts proved correct as two short years later, Leti and Tang led Moanalua to a 9-3 record and an appearance in the Division II state semifinals.

To cap it all off, Leti was named Offensive Player of the Year and Tang earned Defensive Player of the Year honors in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association's White Conference after a vote of division coaches.

Leti, a 6-foot, 190-pound quarterback, finished third in the state in rushing with 1,261 yards on 140 carries (9.0 ypc) and was second in rushing touchdowns with 20.

He also threw for 772 yards and five touchdowns and smoothly ran Na Menehune's triple-option offense to the tune of 27.3 points per game in league play.

On occasion, Leti also would line up at slotback and even caught eight passes for 58 yards and one touchdown.

In the regular-season opener, he completed 7 of 12 passes for 117 yards and rushed for 64 yards and one touchdown on 12 carries to help Moanalua defeat Campbell, 20-7. Leti rushed for 191 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries and also completed 4 of 7 passes for 57 yards in a 30-13 win over Kaiser. And in a 27-6 victory over Waialua, he rushed for 115 yards and three touchdowns and also caught a TD pass.

Tang also showed versatility, sometimes lining up at fullback. He rushed for 188 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries (5.5 ypc).

But his dominant position was linebacker, where he repeated as Player of the Year by making all kinds of plays against the run and pass. Tang, 5-11 and 215 pounds, led a defense that allowed only one touchdown in four of six regular-season games.

Leti and Tang each made a verbal commitment earlier this week to play for the University of Hawai'i next season.

Moanalua senior defensive back JD Baba also was named to the OIA White all-star first team.

Conference champion Radford led the way with five first-team selections on defense, all seniors: linemen Vasa Kuresa and Russell Wantowski, linebacker Bronson Leafa, defensive back Trevor Maldon and kicker Jamie Whitworth, who was picked as a utility player.

In four of the Rams' seven regular-season games, they allowed only one touchdown or less, including three shutouts. Against Kaiser, the only points the Cougars scored came on a safety.

Whitworth, who played football for the first time this season, contributed to the defense by booming many of his kickoffs into the end zone — automatically forcing opponents to start drives from their own 20-yard line.

Kaiser and Waialua each placed two players on the first-team defense. Kaiser was represented by junior defensive lineman Tukia Aholelei and senior defensive back Pa'a Kamauoha. Waialua placed defensive lineman Lanakila Vierra and linebacker Walter Fore, both seniors.

Campbell junior defensive back Mike Guesso rounds out the first-team defense.

Radford also led the way on the all-star offense with four first-team selections: running back Alex Daniels, wide receiver Kyle Blair and offensive linemen Ramsey Feagai and Ian Scheuring.

Daniels, a senior, rushed for 1,064 yards — good for fourth in the state — on 169 carries (6.3 ypc) in 12 games overall. His 15 touchdowns rushing ranked him third in the state, and he also caught 10 passes for 154 yards and two TDs.

Blair, a junior, caught 19 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns. Feagai and Scheuring, both seniors, helped the Rams average 37.6 points per game, including six games of 33 points or more.

Kaiser and Waialua each was represented by two players on the first-team offense. Kaiser's selections are two-way standout Kamauoha, who made it as a wide receiver, and junior offensive lineman Brice Kahalewai.

Kamauoha caught 14 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns.

Waialua placed senior wide receiver Jacob Valmoja and senior utility player Alvin Foster, who caught 21 passes for 214 yards and also rushed for 205 yards and one touchdown.

Kalaheo running back Matt Soueira, Campbell center Chadrice Cruz and Waipahu offensive lineman Shannon Saili — all seniors — round out the first-team offense.

Soueira was ninth in the state with 797 yards and seven touchdowns on 105 carries (7.6 ypc).

Leti, Tang, Wantowski and Feagai are the only repeat first-team selections from last year's White all-star first team.

Waialua's Lincoln Barit was named Coach of the Year. The Bulldogs finished in a three-way tie for fourth place, but were eliminated from playoff consideration after a coin toss to break the tie.

Reach Wes Nakama at wnakama@honoluluadvertiser.com.