Saturday, January 12, 2002
[ UH WARRIOR FOOTBALL ]
St. Louis' John Siofele turned down an opportunity to play beside his brother to join the University of Hawaii football program. Crusaders’ Siofele
opts for HawaiiBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comSiofele, a 6-foot, 255-pound defensive lineman, verbally committed to become a Warrior next fall after also considering Colorado, Nevada and Arizona. He canceled trips to those schools after informing UH assistant coach Ron Lee of his decision.
"This past week I've been talking to my parents a lot and they felt the best thing for me would be to stay home and I agreed with them," Siofele said.
"The coaches were really friendly and the players showed a lot of interest in me. The camaraderie they have is really good and they have a lot to offer."
Siofele's brother, Joe, was an all-state linebacker at St. Louis and recently completed his sophomore season at Arizona.
John Siofele recorded 44 tackles and 3 -1/2 sacks for St. Louis this past season and was an Interscholastic League of Honolulu second team all-star.
He had his best game of the year against Kamehameha on Nov. 2. He registered 10 tackles, three for losses, and two sacks to help the Crusaders beat the Warriors and clinch the school's 16th consecutive ILH championship.
"John's biggest asset is his quickness," St. Louis defensive coordinator Delbert Tengan said. "He wasn't the biggest guy physically, but he has good quickness and a real nose for the ball. I definitely think UH is getting a quality player."
Siofele, who is also a member of the St. Louis track and field team, said the Warriors' defensive scheme should help him make a smooth transition from high school to college.
"It's kind of similar to what we run," Siofele said. "They run a 4-3 and I'm pretty comfortable with that."
Siofele is also an honor roll student at St. Louis and is active in school and community functions.
"He's a lot like his brother," St. Louis assistant athletic director Georges Gilbert said. "He's involved in a lot of things with the church and student body activities and did a good job of managing his time and efforts to excel in a variety of activities academically and in athletics."
Siofele is the second Crusader senior in two days to commit to Hawaii. On Thursday, slotback Ross Dickerson announced he would sign a letter of intent on Feb. 6 to attend Hawaii.
"I'm pretty relieved it's almost over," Siofele said.
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Ka Leo O Hawaii
