A simple change of philosophy made all the difference for the Leilehua Mules football team.

An emphasis on loving instead of winning helped the Mules capture their first Division I state championship. And it all started after a homecoming loss that dropped the Mules to 4-4.

"We changed the foundation," Leilehua coach Nolan Tokuda said. "We love the kids and let them have fun, let them enjoy the moment and at the same time kept things even more simple for them. It actually paid dividends for us. We surrendered 'Me' for 'We' and started thinking about the team instead. We didn't even look at it as a team. We looked at it more as a family. We're family and continue to play for each other. If we enjoy playing for each other so much, let's play for the last day, which is Nov. 30 and we did that."

The Mules rolled off six consecutive wins in postseason, winning their first O'ahu Interscholastic Association crown since 1984 en route to a 10-4 record. For that, Tokuda is The Advertiser's Coach of the Year. It is the second honor for the fourth-year coach.

The coaches witnessed a transformation among the players. There were words of encouragement when a player made a mistake. But it became more than just talking the talk. They began to practice what they preached. One such moment was when a player was late for practice and had to "up-downs" as punishment while his teammates counted.

"But by the time we hit the playoffs, it wasn't just that one person doing it," Tokuda said. "The whole team just decided that, 'You know what? That's our brother that's doing it, so we're all doing it. If he is late, it's all our fault.'

"When this guy was doing his punishment, the whole team would do it. We didn't tell them to do it. They came across that themselves. They said this is our brotherhood. We're going to do it because it's our fault, too. We have to help him. That totally changed the thinking of our team. It didn't come down to who was going to be the star of this game. It was what can we do to help the team win. That was the biggest difference. That's the formula right there."

Tokuda's assistants are Tui Alailima (defensive line), Ed Kama (offensive line), Mark Kurisu (defensive coordinator/defensive backs), Darrin Matsumiya (linebackers), Jon Morikawa (wide receivers), Len Nakasone (defensive backs), Burt Souza (running backs), Richard Townsend (defensive line), Al Viloria (offensive coordinator/quarterbacks), Pat San Nicholas, Jon Acohido and Esmond Kilaulani.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.

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