Keaau seniors sign with Utah Islanders, extending football careers

Trustin Gomes and Damien Fronda did more than sign letters of intent at Cougar Field. The Keaau seniors put their names on a path that has become increasingly important for Big Island football players who need another stage to build film, stay in shape and keep their careers moving after high school.

The two Cougar standouts signed with the Utah Islanders on Wednesday in Keaau, surrounded by family, teammates, coaches and BIIF officials. They were two of 11 Hawaii athletes signing or planning to sign with the development program for the 2026 season, a list that also included 2025 Keaau graduate Laa Kekipi-Filoteo.

For Gomes and Fronda, the move was as much about education as football. Both said they will attend classes at Salt Lake Community College while joining the Islanders, who describe themselves as an independent development football program that helps overlooked athletes earn college opportunities while preserving amateur status. The team also pairs football with its Life After Ball program, tied to academics, workforce training and entrepreneurship.

The Islanders’ setup gives a clearer picture of what the Keaau pair are stepping into. The program says it trains at Zions Bank Training Center and plays home games at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah. Its 2026 slate includes matchups with Tyler Junior College, Whitworth University, the Air Force Academy, IMG Academy Prep Academy and Georgia Military Institute, a schedule that signals the level of competition awaiting the Hawaii players.

The signing carried extra weight in Keaau, where football has become one of the Big Island’s most visible programs. BIIF executive director Iris McGuire spoke before the ceremony, underscoring how tightly the school game remains linked to community leadership on the island. McGuire has been Keaau High’s athletic director since 2004, has spent 20 years with the Hawaii Department of Education, earned her CMAA certification in 2011 and also serves as a National Federation of State High School Associations instructor for leadership training.

Keaau also entered the moment with a stronger football profile than in years past. Under coach David Murray, the Cougars had reached the previous two BIIF championship games as of August 2025, even though they had not yet won a league title. Murray attended Wednesday’s signing, alongside a program that has increasingly put Big Island players in position to keep playing.

Gomes, a quarterback who transferred from Leilehua before becoming a Cougar, said he was “very relieved, and thankful to continue a dream that I’ve had since I was a kid.” Fronda, a defensive lineman and 2024 All-BIIF First Team selection who spent the offseason lifting and working camps, said meeting the coaches made the program feel like home.

The Islanders also listed other Hawaii players joining or planning to join them, including Gabriel Chong of Kealakehe, Legacy Leialoha and Apapa Liwis of Hilo, Kainoa Kinney, David-Moses Ka‘aumoana and Jayden Sablan of Waimea, Austin Filoteo of Campbell and Kingston Kennedy of Leilehua. For Keaau, Gomes and Fronda’s move marked another sign that the Big Island’s best programs are becoming a pipeline, not a dead end.