Monday, August 16, 1999

‘Fu’ fooled Bears on
blocked punt

Star-Bulletin staff

Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala said that in the excitement of blocking a Chicago Bears' punt in the first quarter Friday night, he forgot to do what he should've done next.

"I just remember the ball hitting my arm," he said in a phone interview last night from the Steelers' training camp at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Penn.

"I got so excited I forgot to go for the ball. I blocked the punt and started jumping up and down. I should've just went after the ball."

Hines Ward finally fell on the blocked punt in the end zone. After an instant replay review, the officials changed their ruling that it was a safety and awarded the Steelers a touchdown that gave them a 14-7 lead.

They went on to win, 30-23.

Being a quick study paid off for Fuamatu-Ma'afala, one of 18 players with Hawaii ties now under NFL contract.

"It was like the third punt of the game so I kind of knew when he (the center) was going to snap the ball," said the former St. Louis School and Utah running back.

"I had his timing down. Right when I saw his hands start to twitch I took off and shot the gap. I gambled. I got through quick, swam the up-back, and swam the guy who was standing in front of the punter (Todd Sauerbrun), jumped up and blocked it."

Fuamatu-Ma'afala, who is competing with fellow running backs Richard Huntley and Amos Zereoue to replace Jerome Bettis while the Pro Bowler recovers from knee surgery, said he wasn't happy with his running game: one yard on four carries.

"I was getting hit in the backfield," said Fuamatu-Ma'afala, who started the second quarter.

Before the game, he had a chance to reunite with his former St. Louis Schol teammate Olin Kreutz, who started for the Bears.

"I saw the clock and I knew I had an hour before the special teams went out, so I started heading for the Bears' locker room," said Fuamatu-Ma'afala.

"And here comes this big boy walking down the rampway, and it's Olin. We started cracking up because it was such perfect timing. We stood there and talked like 45 minutes before the game. We had only 15 minutes to get ready."

Other local performers

In a 24-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Saturday, Seattle Seahawks tight end Itula Mili had two receptions for 20 yards.

For Mili, a former Kahuku High and BYU star, they were his first catches in exhibition play. He had his first regular-season reception late last year.

In a 38-7 loss to the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos on Saturday, former Leilehua High running back Adrian Murrell gained nine yards on three carries for the Arizona Cardinals.

Former Hawaii kicker Jason Elam kicked a 28-yard field goal that gave the Broncos a 3-0 lead in the first quarter and then kicked five extra points.

In the Indianapolis Colts' 20-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, former St. Louis receiver Kaipo McGuire had one reception for six yards for the Colts.