Kaleo Gets Big Break With Move

At the beginning of the Arena Football League season, John Kaleo signed a multiyear contract with the San Jose Sabercats. Kaleo, drafted by San Jose after his previous team--St. Louis--folded, figured he’d finish his career in the Bay Area.

Two months later, Kaleo is sitting in a hotel room in Orange waiting to become the fourth player to start at quarterback this season for the Piranhas.

“To be honest, it’s weird being down here,” Kaleo said. “It just wasn’t a good fit up there. I’m happy to be out of there and down here with familiar faces.”

These days, it’s hard to believe anybody would be happy playing for the Piranhas, who at 1-7, are one of the AFL’s most disappointing teams. But Kaleo said he’s simply going from one disappointing situation to another.

“Myself going to San Jose was supposed to be the missing piece,” Kaleo said. “They had everything in place but a quarterback, but it just didn’t work out. [Anaheim Coach] Mike Hohensee, with his offensive mind, was supposed to be the missing link for the Piranhas and their strong defense. But it just hasn’t worked out for one reason or another.”

Kaleo got a taste of what the Piranhas have been going through last Friday night in Orlando, where he came off the bench to replace the injured Mark Grieb. Kaleo completed 13 of 21 passes for three touchdowns and 186 yards and ran for another score, but the Piranhas lost, 41-40. The Piranhas were driving for the go-ahead touchdown when a Kaleo pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by Barry Wagner.

“I’ve noticed a lot of frustration with the team,” Kaleo said. “It’s just kind of built up. This is not a bad team. The chemistry is there. We’re just not finding a way to win. One way to look at it is this is building character.”

Kaleo entered the game Friday night at the start of the second quarter with no practice time and only a few days of reading Hohensee’s playbook. Kaleo said the playbook looked familiar. He played for Hohensee in the AFL with Albany and at Montgomery Community College in Maryland.

“Coach Hohensee’s system is a system,” Kaleo said. “If you follow it, you’re going to be pretty successful. No matter who’s throwing the ball, it’s going to work.”

Ron Lopez, Lee Williamson and Grieb all have thrown the ball as starting quarterbacks this season. Friday night against Portland at the Pond, Kaleo becomes the fourth starter; Grieb is still down with a knee injury that could keep him out the rest of the season.

“It would be a lot easier for everybody if there was more continuity,” Kaleo said.

Kaleo said he has been told by Hohensee that he will be the last of the Piranhas’ starting quarterbacks this season. Kaleo, 26, said his multiyear contract was voided with the trade, so he will be a free agent after the season.

“They want me here for the future,” Kaleo said. “I’m going to play out the season and then we can talk about next season. All I know is I’m the guy for the rest of the season, unless I get hurt.”

*

Kaleo’s new roommate will be Ryan Murray, one of the Piranhas’ few bright spots. Murray, acquired in a trade with Iowa in the fourth week of the season, caught eight passes for 121 yards and a touchdown last week against Orlando. In five games, Murray has caught 30 passes for 389 yards and four touchdowns.

“A lot of guys have been playing hard,” Murray said. “I just had my number called a lot. I’ve been lucky.”

Murray, like Kaleo, was so unhappy with his surroundings that he requested a trade. Who was Murray traded for?

“Leaving Des Moines, Iowa, for Anaheim, California, was a blessing in itself,” Murray said. “I didn’t ask who they got for me and I didn’t look back. I got out of there as soon as I could.”

Murray, 25, is one of the few Piranhas who has not missed a game because of injury. Murray said the injury bug sweeping through Anaheim can be partly attributed to the way Arena Football is played.

“You’ve got guys 180 pounds, like me, playing linebacker,” Murray said. “In Arena Football, it’s not a matter of if you’re going to get injured, but it’s when.”

Although he hadn’t played defense since high school, Murray is in his third season of playing receiver and linebacker.

“I’m going against fullbacks who are 250, 270 pounds,” he said. “I’m just trying to get in the way to start a pile so somebody else can bring them down.”

*

The Piranhas have a decent shot at picking up a victory this week. Their opponent, the Portland Forest Dragons, are 1-7. “We think if we can win our last six games that a 7-7 record gives us a slim chance at the playoffs,” Murray said.

*

With Grieb and Williamson on injured reserve, the backup quarterback is James Guidry, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound rookie from Texas A & I. In limited action, Guidry has completed four of seven passes for 32 yards and one interception.

The Piranhas Notebook appears during the summer. Suggestions are welcome. Call (714) 966-5846, fax 966-5663 or e-mail David.McKibben@latimes.com