You can see why there should be a petition circulated about Kahuku High football coach Reggie Torres.

Not to fire him, but to thank him.

A season and a half into perhaps the most demanding high school athletic job in Hawai'i all he has done is win a state championship, keep his No. 3-ranked team in the state undefeated in the O'ahu Interscholastic Association, demand academic accountability, enforce discipline, spread around playing time and run a clean program.

That sounds like a coach of the year candidate, not somebody who should be looking over his shoulder at a posse coming for his job. The Red Raider nation should be trying to work with this guy, not give him the bum's rush.

When Kahuku went looking for a replacement for the highly successful Siuaki Livai, we thought the man who should have gotten the job was Byron Beatty, another ex-Red Raider. But in the interim we've come to respect both the job that Torres has done and the man he is.

He is one of their own, North Shore bred, who has coached football, judo and wrestling teams to state titles and for a decade preceding the head football job run the junior varsity. As someone who worked multiple jobs to go back and get his degree and is putting three of his own kids through college, Torres prizes an education and has passed that urgency on to waves of students as a counselor.

His martial arts training has given him a respect for both competition and discipline and he has set about trying to instill both. Qualities sadly lacking in too many places this day and age. He understands that a team can demonstrate its ability and supremacy without piling on points and adversaries can be respected. He works hard to reward players who meet their responsibilities as students, athletes and teammates with playing time.

And while a vocal minority might have missed the significance, many others recognize and applaud what Torres is attempting to bring to the program. "Myself, my brothers and my friends all learned how to play hard, be aggressive, get dirty and play with pain (at Kahuku), but what we didn't learn was discipline," said Doug Violetti, an All-Western Athletic Conference offensive lineman for the University of Hawai'i and successful businessman. "That's why I love what he's trying to teach the kids. That's what they are going to need in college and life."

Is Torres perfect? No, of course not. He can be rigid and slow to change. He probably wears too many hats and needs to narrow the focus. Even at age 42 there is a lot of old school in him. But, as his opening up of the offense and acquiescence on the haka have illustrated, he is coming around. He's growing into the job, the realities and compromises that come with it.

Through it all, be assured Torres' heart is in the right place. His priorities are mostly in order, he genuinely cares about his players as people and wants to elevate the proud program's future. All that and he has put one championship in the trophy case and has the 4-2 Red Raiders solidly in the running to add another.

If that isn't enough in a season and a half, then something is seriously out of whack. And it isn't with Torres.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.