Senior running back A.J. Webster is hopeful of capturing the football title that has eluded him his first three seasons of high school ball. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Second in a series of DODEA-Pacific high school football previews.
KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa – Luck and timing have not favored A.J. Webster during his high school football years.
He transferred from Yokota to Kadena following his freshman season, too late to be part of Kadena’s last Far East Division I champion team in 2023. And the two years after he departed Yokota, those Panthers won back-to-back Division II titles.
Talk about fired up. The senior running back says he wants nothing more than to take that final leap to the top of the D-I heap after so many near-misses.
“Extremely motivated,” Webster said during the Panthers’ first day of tryouts last Monday. “I have a chip on my shoulder. This year, I feel like I have to make a difference.”
This is a Kadena team coming off its first season having not played for the D-I title since 2012. The Panthers hold the Pacific record with eight D-I titles, and Webster said the whole team is hungry to get back to the top.
“We’re the underdogs now,” Webster said. “Everybody needs to step up this year. Underdogs have to write their own story.”
These underdogs are more flush in numbers than they were a season ago, said the dean of DODEA-Pacific coaches, Sergio Mendoza, who’s now in his 21st year at the helm.
“We really had a successful summer program,” he said of several weeks of conditioning by the players. “The numbers and the spirit are up. The guys really bonded well over the summer, put in a lot of work.”
They’ll have to overcome the loss of graduated running back Hajime Reed. But 19 players return from the 2025 squad, including several running backs – Webster, Sean Cupp, Kaden Thorne and Noel Dankwa – and receivers Derryck Miller, Cameron Lacey and Farid Goumondokoye.
That will give junior quarterback Hunter Swartz, last year’s starter, quite a few options for a Panthers team that should present a few different looks on offense.
“We have some good size and speed,” Mendoza said, adding that the Panthers appear ready to rebound from last season. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Kadena's numbers have improved from last year, and the Panthers are hopeful of reaching the D-I final they missed for the first time in 14 years. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Junior quarterback Hunter Swartz hopes to have Kadena pointed in the right direction. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kadena Panthers
2025 season record — 2-3 overall and Division I.
Head coach — Sergio Mendoza, 21st season. 92-26 overall, Pacific-record eight D-I titles (2007, ’09-’10, ’14-’15, ’17, ’19, ’23).
Returning players — 19.
Returning starters — 7.
Key performers — A.J. Webster, Sr., RR; Hunter Swartz, Jr., QB; Jayven DeGuzman, Jr., DE; Farid Goumondokoye, Sr., DB-LB; Cameron Lacey, Sr., WR-DB; Adam Santana, Sr., LB-FB; Sean Cupp, Sr., RB; Carson Kenderdine, Sr., RB-CB; Derryck Miller, Sr., WR-DB; Kaden Thorne, So., RB-LB; Noel Dankwa, Jr., RB-LB.
Strengths — Numbers are up compared to past year. Good size, speed, spirit.
Drawbacks — Youth, inexperience.
Overview — Reloading. Upperclassmen hungry after Kadena missed the D-I final for the first time in 14 years. The return of American School In Japan to the D-I mix gives the Panthers another game. Mendoza says he’s looking forward to a fun campaign.
2026 season schedule
Friday, Aug. 21
Kubasaki at Kadena
Saturday, Aug. 29
Humphreys at Kadena
Friday, Sept. 4
Kubasaki at Kadena
Friday, Sept. 25
Kadena at Nile C. Kinnick
Friday, Oct. 2
American School In Japan at Kadena
Saturday, Oct. 10
Kadena at Humphreys
Saturday, Oct. 24
Championship, pairing and site to be determined.
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