GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Tualau Fale, a 6-foot-1, 230-pound senior, has gone virtually unnoticed by college recruiters despite his size and mobility.

A force of one

Linebacker Tualau Fale leads the
St. Louis defense with 79 tackles,
including 31 solo and 14 for losses

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By Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.com

AT 6-foot-1 and 230 pounds, Tualau Fale has the body of a man. But in football terms, the St. Louis linebacker is still a toddler.

Fale grew up in Tonga where he was an accomplished rugby player and moved to Hawaii last year. When he joined the St. Louis football team he didn't know a screen pass from a blitz, and don't even get him started on the equipment.

"The equipment manager said, 'OK grab your pads,' and I just stood there," Fale recalled. "I didn't even know what I'm supposed to get. I might have missed that day in practice because the equipment manager had to do everything for me. ... In rugby, for practice it's just shirt, shorts, shoes and you go."

But just a year after putting on a helmet for the first time, the senior has emerged as an enforcer for the St. Louis defense.

Heading into Friday's state championship game against Castle, Fale leads the Crusaders with 79 total tackles, including 31 solo and 14 for loss. In addition to his work as an outside linebacker, Fale is the team's leading tackler on special teams with the kickoff and punt coverage units.

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM "This is a lot more technical, there's a lot of little things that add up to something big." --Tualau Fale, on the difference between football and rugby

It was his work on special teams that helped St. Louis win its 17th consecutive Interscholastic League of Honolulu championship and advance to its fourth straight state title game.

With St. Louis facing elimination, Fale's block of an extra-point attempt proved to be the difference in the Crusaders' 14-13 win over Kamehameha on Nov. 9 to force a rematch with the Warriors for the ILH title. St. Louis prevailed the following week and has rolled through the first two rounds of the state tournament to return to the championship game.

Although Fale is relatively new to St. Louis, it didn't take long for him to grasp the level of expectations that surround Crusader football, especially after St. Louis lost to Kahuku in the state championship game for the second year in a row.

"I learned a lot last year about how much it means to the school and to the players," Fale said. "They come out from the beginning of the year and the first idea is we're here with a mission and we plan to carry out and fulfill it.

"When we lost last year everybody was crying and everybody was upset. It really means a lot to this team. We take a lot of pride in trying to get that."

Fale's comprehension of some of football's terminology and nuances took a bit longer to develop.

In Tonga, he earned a spot on the under-16 national rugby team as a standout at Tonga High.

He said an uncle talked him into moving to Hawaii last year and trying out for football. Prior to enrolling at St. Louis, Fale said he had watched "maybe three games" on television at a friend's house in Tonga.

"It was like somebody from a different planet coming over here and trying to explain football to them," St. Louis coach Delbert Tengan said. "He always had the aggressiveness from rugby so that part was natural, it was just trying to teach him the rules and the fundamental skills."

Said St. Louis linebackers coach Tim Seaman: "We didn't want him pitching the ball all around if he recovered a fumble or intercepted a pass. He's picked up the game and he's just scratching the surface of what he could become."

Fale got off to a rough start. Tengan said Fale would hit ball carriers after their knee had touched the ground and hammer punt returners even after they had signaled for a fair catch.

"He was getting personal fouls, everybody was thinking he's a dirty player," Tengan said. "But it was just because he didn't know the rules."

Fale played exclusively on special teams last year, but developed into a starter on defense over the summer. After he gained an understanding of the rules, Fale soon began to catch on to some of the finer points of playing linebacker.

"This is a lot more technical, there's a lot of little things that add up to something big," he said. "In rugby, it's 'do this and you'll be all right.' Over here, it's 'do this, this and this.'

"There's all these little minor things that if you don't do will really affect the way you play."

Said Tengan: "He's picked it up quickly. He doesn't have the natural instincts because football is so new to him. It's kind of a learn by doing type of thing because he wasn't exposed to football.

"His enthusiasm for the game and his positive attitude has really been contagious with the rest of the team. He's always pushing other guys to work hard."

Despite his size and mobility, Fale has gone relatively unnoticed by college recruiters. He said he hasn't received any calls from college coaches and if he doesn't get a scholarship offer the National Honor Society member plans to enroll at Brigham Young to pursue a law degree and perhaps walk on to the Cougars' football team.

But after developing into a key part of the St. Louis defense in less than two seasons of playing the sport, Fale's future could hold even bigger things.

"I think he'll be a steal at some point," Tengan said. "He's just an infant, his better years of football are definitely ahead of him if he sticks with it."

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