When Saint Louis brought Cal Lee and staff back to campus five years ago, the cupboard wasn’t exactly bare.
What Lee wanted first and foremost was depth on his defensive line.
Two years later, Faatui Tuitele arrived on the varsity, a sophomore with
the tools to impact game plans.
Tuitele’s senior season at Saint Louis completed a string of
three consecutive Open Division state championships. Coaches and media
voted Tuitele the Star-Advertiser All-State defensive player of the
year.
Tuitele outpointed teammate Jordan Botelho, a junior linebacker and
key contributor for one of the best defensive units in state history.
Other top vote-getters were safety Marist Liufau of Punahou,
linebacker Nick Herbig of Saint Louis, defensive lineman Tupu Alualu of
Moanalua, defensive tackle Mykah Tuiolemotu of Mililani, and Waipahu
defensive backs Deacon Kapea and Zeondre Benjamin.
In all, nine Crusaders were voted to the first team: Tuitele, Quinones,
Botelho, Herbig, S Kamo‘i Latu, CB Korvin Feagins, OL Ben Scott, OL
Arasi Mose and WR Roman Wilson.
Tuitele, a scholar-athlete raised in Mayor Wright Housing, committed to
Washington in November. He turned down offers from 38 other
universities. Other island players who have committed to UW are Miki Ah
You of Kahuku, Julius Buelow of Kapolei, Sama Paama of Kaimuki and Tim
Horn of Punahou.
On the other side, Mililani quarterback Dillon Gabriel was a near-unanimous selection as offensive player of the year.
“It’s amazing. The state of Hawaii will forever be the place I’m most
proud of. The football and everything, it is the place that raised me. I
am so proud to be from here,” Gabriel said.
With the senior southpaw at the controls, the Trojans captured the
OIA Open championship behind the most potent offense in the league. He
passed 13 QBs, including Tua Tagovailoa and Timmy Chang of Saint Louis,
to become the all-time leader in passing yardage with 9,848 yards. His
105 TD passes are second only to Chang.
His 2018 season included 3,747 yards and 38 TD passes as Mililani
went 10-3 and reached the state final. For the year, Mililani racked up
456 points, 35.1 per game. The only teams to limit the Trojans to fewer
than 20 points were St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) and Saint Louis,
who are Nos. 3 and 14 in the USA Today Super 25 national rankings.
Gabriel doesn’t say a whole lot, but is concise, much like his
actions on the field. His process is about eliminating bad decisions.
For all the TDs and yards, he’d love to zap the 13 interceptions he
threw this season.
Running a hybrid system crafted by Trojans coach Rod York, Gabriel
has grasped run-and-shoot concepts along with RPO timing and vision. In
early 2017, York hoped Gabriel would get an offer from Hawaii, which
happened.
Gabriel also got an offer from Army, committed to West Point, and
then decommitted. He currently is weighing offers from Georgia, USC and
UCF.
The coach of the year honor went to Bryson Carvalho, who guided
Waipahu to the Division I state championship just one season after the
Marauders were crowned D-II OIA champions. Carvalho edged Cal Lee in the
voting. Other coaches receiving votes were Kui Kahooilihala of
Roosevelt, Garret Tihada of Lahainaluna, Philip Rapozo of Kapaa, Kale
Ane of Punahou and York.
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