Sidelines
THE rain fell and the coach told stories. Siuaki Livai's troops were all around him in the shelter of the locker room, rapt, intent, attentive, as their Kahuku football coach weaved winding tales about glories past. Livai told them about Kahuku games he'd seen as a kid, games he'd played in, games he'd coached. He had them laughing at all the right times, serious in others, while dropping names, describing touchdowns, pacing his narrative perfectly for full effect. Mapu’s chance to be a
story has arrivedThere was a greatness, a richness to the history of Red Raider football, the stories said. But of course that's easy to ignore if you're living in the moment, like any 17-year-old kid. So Livai filled in the blanks for them, using phrases like, "Correct me if I'm wrong," and, "This is how I remember it." And the message was clear even if the details were fuzzy.
This is August, the time of year when every player and every team can dream of eternal greatness, of finding a place in history, of being remembered for years to come. As Livai spoke and the rain fell, the seeds were planted.
"Motivation," said quarterback Inoke Funaki.
"Motivation," said running back Mulivai Pula.
"Motivation," said defensive lineman Jonathan Mapu.
Kahuku is entering this season as state champs, but this is a new chapter, new team, a new chance. A chance to join the stories.
The Kahuku players are getting ready for football practice. They do this by blasting music out of a speaker the size of a refrigerator. This is a young team, Mapu said, and it looks like a loose one, at least on Wednesday, when the hardest work for the week is behind it, and the game with Kaimuki is finally in sight. Ah, to be young and in half-pads and running through the mud.
With or without the stories, few are more motivated than Mapu, the 260-pound end, this year's big name. He is THE prospect coming out of Hawaii this season, his name found in chat rooms, on web sites, on recruiting boards, in magazines and in many of those publications with names that consist of some variation or combination of Blue Prep Chip Star Super Gold USA Illustrated Elite. He has been hailed nearly universally as one of the top players and prospects in the country. He is the Goliath who everyone wants.
This has been happening lately for Kahuku, at first gradually, then suddenly. The media, the web sites, the college recruiters have all found the Red Raiders. Anxious eyes turn to the North Shore.
"Our film goes a lot of places," Livai said.
During last year's rush to land eventual Utah signee Chris Kemoe'atu, a junior jumped off the screen in film rooms across the country. Mapu was being discovered. There was no longer any concern on the level of competition, no hesitation in mining a country school in Hawaii. Kahuku products were a proven commodity. And so Mapu became the big name for 2001. Along came the letters and the pitches and the phone calls. Washington, Nebraska, Tennessee, Southern California and Penn State are among the big schools showing big interest.
How much mail does Jonathan Mapu get?
"Choke," he said.
This is what scouts see when they watch Mapu on film: He was where he was supposed to be. Always. He has the skill to catch passes and back into pass coverage and score touchdowns, sprinting for home with stolen fumbles. He has good size and excellent quickness, and every number the Internet geeks look for. But better than that, most telling of all, what the coaches are looking for, he's in the right place at the right time.
The ultimate compliment for a defensive player is that he does his job, that his teammates can trust him. That you can take a chance because you know the guy next to you will back you up.
"You can't help but recognize it," Livai said. "Wherever he plays, he takes care of his responsibility."
But it's more than that, Funaki said, and the team knows it. Mapu isn't on his own out there. He's not just thinking of his responsibility. Mapu is playing with his brain, seeing the entire picture, understanding not just where he's going but why. He knows what everyone is doing on every play in every defense. He knows what reads to make. He knows to back you up or set you straight. He knows how to be in the right place at the right time.
Always.
You'd think that a player like Jonathan Mapu would be a guy who would have a chance to become one of those stories, to be someone who Coach Livai will tell future teams about. He's a leader, they say, he pushes, he motivates, he drives them, despite the fact that he's a quiet kid who would rather have you interview the running back. He's one of the best players in the country -- all the lists say so. All the big boys want him. He's leading the defense of the defending state champs.
But there are no coattails, Livai said. No free rides into history. Things are proven week by week. This group of players has its chance. Mapu has his chance.
"Right now it's just talk," said Livai. "He needs yet to live up to it."
The music stopped, and the Red Raiders marched through the mud and ran onto the field. Their chapter had begun. Jonathan Mapu and company are working on another story to tell.
Kalani Simpson's column runs Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
He can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com