No matter what ultimately transpires on the scoreboard, everything is looking good for the Westlake High football team this week.

How could it not? Coach Jim Benkert espied his surroundings during one team practice this week and saw, well, paradise.

"I look up and there's Diamond Head above me," said Benkert, entering his 19th season. "I look down in one direction and it's Waikiki Beach and all the hotels. There's the Pacific Ocean in front of me.

"It's a perfect 85 degrees. I can't imagine a better place to hold a football practice."

This is certainly one way to open a high school football season.

Far from the drudgery of two-a-day practices and 98-degree heat, the Westlake High football team has jet-setted to Hawaii this week to kick off the 2007 season.

The Warriors, 134 football players strong, arrived on Oahu on Monday, bused to their tropical-setting hotel and began a week of fun and games in preparation for tonight's contest against Waipahu High.

Kickoff at Waipahu High, located a short distance from Pearl Harbor, is set for 7 p.m. (10 p.m. PDT).

All football teams hope for a glorious ending to their seasons. The Warriors are starting theirs with a glorious view.

Benkert said the road to Hawaii actually began a year ago after Westlake played host to Basic of Nevada in the 2006 season opener.

In search of an opponent to begin the 2007 season, Benkert pondered: Why not take on a team in Hawaii?

Westlake's coach contacted the Hawaii High School Athletic Association, who discovered that local power Waipahu had an opening on Aug. 31.

A matchup was born.

The only obstacle came in fundraising, where each football player was responsible for coming up for his share of cost — a relative bargain at $1,125.

Some players raised money in old-fashioned methods. Some were ingenious.

Twelve players earned money by working Westlake's summer football camp. Others worked Matt Leinart's quarterback camp in Santa Barbara.

By summer's end, 134 players — or the full contingent of varsity, sophomore and freshman teams — were ready to go.

On Monday, three flights representing Westlake High left Los Angeles International Airport for Honolulu. Along with the players, approximately 50 parents and booster-club members made the trek.

In such an exotic setting, football isn't the only objective, Benkert said.

"It's really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a group of kids," he said. "How often does a high school team have the chance to travel to Hawaii to practice in this environment and play a football game? I think this is something these kids will always remember."

Along with daily football practices, players and parents were afforded a wide range of activities that included trips to Pearl Harbor, snorkling at Hanauma Bay and a luau on Thursday night at Waipahu High.

Oh yes, there's also a football game to play.

A year ago, Westlake won the Marmonte League championship, finished 13-1 and didn't drop a game until losing to Canyon in the semifinals of the CIF-SS Northern Division championships.

The Warriors have high expectations this year, but must begin with a strong Hawaiian team on its home turf.

Waipahu, which finished 8-3-2 a year ago, opened the season last week with a 28-0 victory over Waialua High.

Quarterback Troy Matautia, at 5-5, 184 pounds, rushed for 134 yards and one score, and threw for touchowns of 31 and 15 yards in the season opening.

Of concern to Benkert is an opponent's offense that operates out of the Wing-T set.

"We don't see it at all in our league and that's a problem," he said. "If you're not familiar with it, it's very difficult to contain.

"We've tried to simulate it in practices, and our defense couldn't stop it at all."

Westlake's coaches, of course, had until gametime to to solve that problem.

Now, how about that sunset?