Friday, January 1, 1999
Iolani's Igber and St. Louis'
By Pat Bigold
Siofele were the class of high
school football this year
Star-BulletinIt's fun to imagine what Iolani running back Joe Igber's season might have been like if he'd had a bigger line to run behind and a passing game that really worried the defense.
If he was Joe Siofele's teammate at St. Louis, would he have scored 40 touchdowns last season? Would the new state career rushing record be over 5,000 yards?
Very likely.
But the 5-foot-7, 190-pound Igber played for undersized, over-achieving Iolani and made maximum use of his elusive talents to set six state rushing and scoring records.
Offensive Player of the Year
JOE IGBER
IolaniThree of his offensive linemen weighed less than he does.
Igber is the Star-Bulletin's All-State Offensive player of the Year for the second year in a row.
Siofele, the 6-2, 235-pound Samoan fire-knife dancer who played outside linebacker for the 13-time Oahu Prep Bowl champion Crusaders, is the Defensive Player of the Year.
Siofele, a two-time all-state selection, put an exclamation mark on a consistently brilliant season by making five tackles for losses in the Prep Bowl and sacking Kahuku's quarterback twice.
Joe Igber's records
State career rushing mark at 4,472 yards.
State record in career touchdowns (56)
State record in career points (336)
State record in single-season touchdowns (27)
State record in single-season points (162)
State record for single-game rushing yardage (352 vs. Pac-Five).
Igber established the state career rushing mark at 4,472 yards and missed the state single-season mark by eight yards. He had 2,017.
His other state records are career touchdowns (56), career points (336), single-season touchdowns (27), single-season points (162) and single-game rushing yardage (352 vs. Pac-Five).
"We're always undersized and undermanned, yet Joe put up remarkable numbers," Iolani head coach Wendell Look said.
"He just embodies everything that you want to see in being a great athlete," Punahou head coach Dan Morrison said. "He has the strength, the speed, the quickness and football intelligence."
Defensive Player of the Year
JOE SIOFELE
St. LouisIgber also is a genuine student-athlete. He shaped a 4.0 grade point average during the fall quarter while he was setting records on the field.
"He epitomizes everything you'd want to have in a young man," said Morrison, who also is a teacher at Punahou. "There are a lot of great athletes in the world, but it's the mature, intelligent ones like Joe Igber who take it to the next couple of levels."
The measure of a running back with Igber's numbers is whether or not he can do it against the teams that really matter.
Igber did it against St. Louis. In two games with the Crusaders, he rushed for 352 yards. He gained 204 yards in a breathtaking 77-42 loss on Oct. 16. His 48 first-quarter yards that night exceeded the average yield by the St. Louis defense in its previous four games.
Siofele had that quality that endears a player to his defensive coordinator: His mere presence on the field could rattle an offensive scheme.
Other players in St. Louis's defensive unit were able to execute at high efficiency because offenses were so preoccupied with Siofele.
Like a jungle cat, he was always there -- lurking, prowling, ready to sprint and capture anything that tried to get past him.
Siofele has exceptional range, strength, and instinct.
"He's big and strong and he can run," Look said.
"He makes plays all over the field, if you watch him. He was a rushing outside linebacker who played the wide side. We ran away from him but he still made a lot of plays."
Coach of the Year
SIUAKI LIVAI
KahukuMorrison said he watched Siofele even when he wasn't coaching against him and found he never let up. The jungle cat never looked domesticated on the field.
"I think Siofele was one of the better (prep) players in the nation this year," Morrison said.
He, too, is a good student and has entertained recruiting offers from Stanford.
Siuaki Livai and his son, Siuaki Livai Jr., are a rare father-son combination on an all-star team.
The elder Livai, who took over the Kahuku program in 1996 after Doug Semones left for Fred vonAppen's staff at the University of Hawaii, led the Red Raiders to the Oahu Interscholastic Association title and a national ranking.
The No. 18 ranking in USA Today's Super 25 marked the first time that a public school football program in Hawaii had achieved such national recognition. The younger Livai is one of the state's top offensive line prospects.
Igber, Siofele and St. Louis's junior slotback Gerald Welch are the only repeaters on the all-state first team.
The First Team
Offense
QB Timmy Chang St. Louis 6-2 180 Jr. RB Joe Igber Iolani 5-7 190 Sr. RB Talamoni Talamoni Kahuku 6-0 204 Sr. SB Gerald Welch St. Louis 5-9 190 Jr. WR Kris Cuaresma-Primm Pac-Five 6-2 160 Sr. TE William Sao Kahuku 6-2 231 Sr. OL Toniu Fonoti Kahuku 6-4 300 Sr. OL Francisco Tipoti McKinley 6-6 310 Sr. OL Siuaki Livai Jr. Kahuku 6-3 310 Sr. OL Vincent Manuwai Farrington 6-4 270 Sr. AP Chad Mahoe Kamehameha 5-7 160 Sr.Defense
DL Tamotu Tagoai St. Louis 6-3 280 Sr. DL Houston Ala Kamehameha 6-1 215 Jr. DL Lance Samuseva Farrington 5-11 265 Sr. DL Puna Vendiola Kahuku 5-7 208 Sr. LB Joe Siofele St. Louis 6-2 235 Sr. LB Winston Keliikipi Waianae 5-10 195 Sr. LB Pati Mailo Kahuku 6-1 240 Sr. LB Watson Hoohuli Kamehameha 5-11 185 Jr. DB Junior Wong St. Louis 5-6 145 Jr. DB Una Latu St. Louis 5-9 170 Jr. DB Tavo Tupola Kahuku 6-3 192 Sr. DB Hyrum Peters Kahuku 5-8 160 Sr.Coach of the Year: Siuaki Livai, Kahuku
Second Team
Offense
QB Wayne Fonoimoana Kahuku 6-0 176 Sr. RB Noah Campbell St. Louis 5-11 210 Sr. RB Duane Miller Waianae 5-8 190 Sr. R Kaui Ho St. Louis 5-5 170 Sr. R Puni Ellis Kamehameha 5-10 165 Jr. R Zachary Lui McKinley 6-0 170 Sr. OL Lyle Castro St. Louis 6-0 260 Sr. OL Tuufuli Masoe Kahuku 5-11 280 Sr. OL Uriah Moenoa Iolani 6-2 300 Jr. OL Brian Tomihama Pac-Five 6-5 317 Sr. OL Shayne Kajioka St. Louis 6-4 340 Sr.Defense
DL David Kapololu Kamehameha 5-11 245 Sr. DL Elai Evaimalo Waianae 6-0 225 Sr. DL Joshua Vigil Maui 6-3 270 Jr. DL Makaha Wolfgram Kailua 6-1 270 Sr. LB Roger Majit-Gorian Kailua 5-9 175 Jr. LB Isaiah Alameda Kamehameha 6-1 190 Jr. LB Keoki Barit Iolani 5-9 200 Jr. DB Enoch McKeague St. Louis 5-8 175 So. DB Blair Suzuki Punahou 5-9 165 Sr. DB Baba Martin Kamehameha 5-7 150 Jr. DB Oscar Marcos Damien 5-11 170 Sr.