STAR-BULLETIN / 2001
St. Louis' Tolifili Liufau earned All-State first-team honors on the defensive line last season as a junior.
Liufau has At 6-foot-3, 290 pounds, Tolifili Liufau is a powerful figure on the football field. But last week the St. Louis defensive lineman learned words can pack more force than brute physical strength.
1 last chance
as Crusader
After learning a lesson
last week, the senior will
play his final high-school
game against KamehamehaBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comLiufau's words of disgust toward an official nearly cost the Crusaders a game and their season, and his words of encouragement in the huddle spurred his teammates to a key defensive stop.
But he may have delivered the most telling words of his high-school career in the locker room following St. Louis' 14-13 win over Kamehameha.
"He apologized for almost costing us the game and made a promise to the team he won't let his emotions get the best of him again," St. Louis coach Delbert Tengan said of Liufau's postgame speech.
"Any time you get a youngster that realizes his mistakes and is accountable for it and brings it out among his peers, you have to appreciate that. It's a lesson that goes beyond the football field and into life. The kids really look up to him, and to see him do that only gives him more respect among his peers."
Liufau will have one final chance to make a statement on the field tomorrow night when St. Louis meets Kamehameha for the Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship at Aloha Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
St. Louis can extend its string of consecutive ILH championships to 17 with a win. Kamehameha is searching for its first title since 1979.
Regardless of the outcome, Liufau's high-school career will end with tomorrow's game. Liufau repeated his sophomore year and will not be eligible for state tournament competition should St. Louis advance.
"This is my last game, so I have to go all out, practice hard this week and get the boys into the game," Liufau said. "I just can't wait until Saturday."
The Crusaders forced the rematch with last week's win. But he was involved in a key swing late in the third quarter that threatened to end St. Louis' season.
With St. Louis protecting a one-point lead, Liufau was called for a personal foul after hammering Kamehameha quarterback Kawai Akina. Then he lost his cool and was flagged an additional 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The 30-yard double whammy moved the ball from the Kamehameha 45-yard line to the St. Louis 25.
"He's a very emotional guy and when things go good you see him jumping around out there, and when things go bad he also reacts that way," Tengan said.
Liufau regained his composure on the sidelines and returned to the game later in the same drive and the Crusaders thwarted the Kamehameha scoring threat when he pounced on a Kamehameha fumble.
Liufau used his words to make his presence felt again in the St. Louis huddle late in the fourth quarter when the Warriors drove to the St. Louis 10.
"I was telling the boys, 'This is where defenses make a name for themselves,' " Liufau recalled.
On third down-and-two, Crusader defensive end Wilson Afoa dropped Kamehameha running back Travis Beyer for a 5-yard loss and the Warriors missed a field goal to preserve the St. Louis victory.
The win kept the Crusaders alive another week and gave the team's seniors another chance for redemption. Liufau said this year's seniors are keenly aware that their next loss will make them the first St. Louis class to fail to win a Prep Bowl or state championship at some point in their careers since the class of 1983.
"Ever since last year we trained hard and the coaches pushed us more and told us every day that we're the only class that didn't win a championship yet," Liufau said.
Liufau began his St. Louis career as a linebacker and moved to defensive end when he bulked up as a junior. He earned first-team All-State honors last season after recording seven sacks and 16 tackles for losses, increasing expectations for his senior campaign.
But he entered fall camp at 310 pounds and had to work his way into shape. But now that he's down to 290, Tengan said the quickness that made Liufau a devastating force last year has returned.
"That's the one thing the college coaches are impressed with, for a guy his size he has a lot of agility and quickness," Tengan said. "Earlier in the season he was a little too heavy, and that hampered him, but he still moved well for a guy that big. ... He's got that natural strength, that natural body, thick legs, and very strong in the hips and upper body."
In addition to being the Crusaders' defensive leaders, Liufau and safety Timo Paepule played a bit on offense to bolster the running game in key situations last week. Liufau lined up as a blocking tight end and Paepule carried the ball for the first time in his career.
Tengan said the moves came about as a result of St. Louis' loss to top-ranked De La Salle (Calif.) on Sept. 21.
"If we learned anything from the De La Salle game it's to put your best players out there," he said.
And Liufau is happy to have another way to impact the game.
"It's fun," Liufau said. "Especially when you put the guy flat on his back."
ILH Standings & Statistics
Division I W L T PF PA Kamehameha 6 1 0 222 70 St. Louis 6 1 0 242 73 Punahou 3 4 0 124 195 Division II W L T PF PA Iolani 4 3 0 147 156 Pac-Five 2 5 0 148 197 Damien 0 7 0 44 136
Offense G Rush Pass Tot Avg Kamehameha 7 1151 1667 2818 402.6 St. Louis 7 999 1389 2388 341.1 Iolani 7 1310 999 2309 329.9 Punahou 7 621 1200 1821 260.1 Pac-Five 7 640 1120 1760 251.4 Damien 7 548 377 925 132.1 Defense G Rush Pass Tot Avg St. Louis 7 352 994 1346 192.3 Kamehameha 7 386 1058 1444 206.3 Iolani 7 1047 1081 2128 304.0 Damien 7 1246 1018 2264 323.4 Pac-Five 7 1120 1214 2334 333.4 Punahou 7 1284 1425 2709 387.0 Rushing G Att Yds TD Avg YPG Stowers IOL 7 145 1032 8 7.1 147.4 Cabansag STL 7 76 451 7 5.9 64.4 Santos KS 5 61 436 2 7.1 87.2 Batts STL 7 56 425 7 7.6 60.7 Beyer KS 4 57 308 3 5.4 77.0 Mullen DAM 6 65 286 0 4.4 47.7 Monahan PUN 6 69 256 3 3.7 42.7 Hackney PUN 7 40 241 3 6.0 34.4 Leong P5 6 44 237 7 5.4 39.5 C.Spencer KS 5 25 205 2 8.2 41.0 Passing G Comp Att Pct Yds TD Int George STL 7 92 160 0.58 1279 12 5 Monahan PUN 7 91 170 0.54 1180 6 10 Dator P5 7 85 226 0.38 1091 5 13 Mageo IOL 5 79 152 0.52 909 8 5 C.Spencer KS 6 45 89 0.51 896 11 1 Akina KS 6 50 84 0.60 771 8 2 Williams DAM 6 32 79 0.41 263 0 6 Receiving G Rec Yds TD Avg YPG Vierra KS 6 28 550 9 19.6 91.7 Ruth KS 7 22 428 5 19.5 61.1 Fisher PUN 6 25 423 3 16.9 70.5 Duncan PUN 6 31 413 2 13.3 68.8 Butcher STL 7 27 386 4 14.3 55.1 Urabe P5 6 19 353 1 18.6 58.8 Suetsugu IOL 7 29 330 5 11.4 47.1 Rivers STL 4 18 297 1 16.5 74.3 Tyler P5 7 27 284 2 10.5 40.6 Amano STL 5 14 239 3 17.1 47.8 Scoring G TD FG 2pt PAT Tot Avg Vierra KS 6 9 0 0 0 54 9.0 Stowers IOL 7 9 0 0 0 54 7.7 Batts STL 7 8 0 0 0 48 6.9 Leong P5 7 7 0 0 0 42 6.0 Cabansag STL 7 7 0 0 0 42 6.0 Ruth KS 7 6 0 0 0 36 5.1 Hackney PUN 7 3 2 0 10 34 4.9 Keanini IOL 7 0 5 0 16 31 4.4 Suetsugu IOL 7 5 0 0 0 30 4.3 Dator P5 7 5 0 0 0 30 4.3 Butcher STL 7 5 0 0 0 30 4.3
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