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Five isle seniors are eager
to check out Oregon State

The Beavers came and saw, and now island football prospects are in a faraway town known as Corvallis.

Five players -- Spencer Hafoka and Al Afalava of Kahuku, Tyson Alualu of Saint Louis, Mika Kane of Kamehameha and Brashton Satele of Pac-Five/Word of Life -- are visiting the Oregon State campus this weekend.

Satele, who is a strong commit to Hawaii, went on the visit as a courtesy to the Beavers coaching staff. Building an early and solid relationship with Satele bore that kind of fruit.

And it's worth the expense for the Beavers, who got a recruit last year to change his decision after a visit.

It's not just Oregon State making waves in the islands. The hiring of Dick Tomey at San Jose State is causing a ripple effect.

Tomey, the former Hawaii head coach, hired former UH lineman Joe Seumalo as an assistant. The former Radford Ram is heading up local recruiting, and has already sought Farrington defensive end John Fonoti.

The 6-foot-2, 235-pound senior is an outstanding talent, and Governors coach Randall Okimoto raves about him. However, he is not an NCAA Division I qualifier, which scared away many recruiters.

SJSU hopes to land the speedy Fonoti and put him on Prop. 48, an option Hawaii doesn't use.

Here's an update on some of the state's top prospects.

Offensive Line

Shawn Sisifo Lauvao is on the road again, this time to Boise State. Lauvao returned from Arizona State recently with a strong impression, enough to tip the scales in favor of the Sun Devils over previous first choice Cal. Lauvao was hosted by former Aiea lineman Brandon Rodd.

Lauvao, who has a 3.7 GPA and 980 SAT, will visit Oregon next weekend and BYU on Jan. 21.

Utah is hoping Lauvao can be persuaded into canceling one of those visits. Lauvao, who didn't begin playing football until his junior year, can bench press 225 pounds 22 times. He also squats 495.

Kapolei's Ikaika Aken-Moleta is visiting BYU this weekend. Aken-Moleta is a Mormon, but says that it will not be the lone factor in his final decision. He visits Washington on Jan. 28.

"My parents and grandparents support whatever I decide," he said. The 6-2, 315-pound senior has already visited San Diego State, which offered him a scholarship. A BYU assistant coach had dinner with Aken-Moleta on Thursday.

McKinley's Raphael Ieru has a 3.4 GPA and he will take the SAT January 22. Arizona State may have him visit next weekend. Ieru hopes to go into graphic arts, a talent that runs through his family, particularly his uncles.

Aaron Kia of Mililani just got his SAT score back, not that he was worried. Kia has a GPA of 3.7 and an SAT of 930, as well as an ACT score of 27. He plans to take the SAT again, even though he's easily a D-I qualifier.

Oregon head coach Mike Bellotti visited Kia's home Dec. 20, but a visit date for Kia to Oregon has not been set yet.

"I just want to take at least one trip and see what Oregon has to offer and see how I'd fit in there," he said. "But I've always wanted to play for Hawaii. It's close to home, and (offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh) is a good coach."

Oregon State offered a scholarship to Kailua multi-sport standout Kainoa LaCount prior to the HUB Goodwill Classic.

Weber State, now coached by former Utah guru Ron McBride, is interested in Castle lineman Travis Pa'aga. The 6-2, 263-pound senior is not a qualifier and could Prop. 48 at Weber State.

Hawaii Prep's Daniel Te'o-Nesheim will visit Oregon next week, where former Ka Makani teammate Max Unger is a lineman. Te'o-Nesheim was coveted early on by Hawaii. Colorado is also interested in the agile 6-3, 235-pound senior.

Tyler Williams can explain jet lag to anyone who asks. The Kamehameha center returned from Ohio, where former Nebraska coach Frank Solich is in charge, Thursday at 4 p.m.

By 11 p.m., the 6-1, 280-pound senior was on another plane headed to Utah. Ohio offered a scholarship, though Williams still has visits lined up to Tennessee (next weekend) and Washington (Jan. 28). He's already visited San Diego State.

Kamehameha's Hayden Kahele is visiting Weber State this weekend. In addition to McBride, former Baldwin coach Chad Kauha'aha'a is a key part of the school's new pipeline to the islands.

Running Back

Kahuku's Micah Strickland is visiting San Diego State this weekend, confirming the Aztecs' interest in him since last month. Strickland is a qualifier who also drew attention from Utah, Oregon State, Washington and Michigan State.

Saint Louis senior Kevin Sullivan visited Air Force last month and was offered a scholarship opportunity. Utah has shown some interest.

Damien Torres of Kailua, the Oahu Interscholastic Association's top rusher, is not a qualifier and will likely attend Orange Coast CC or College of the Canyons.

Quarterback

Kauai's Kekoa Crowell drew interest from San Diego State last month, but no offer has been made.

Saint Louis' Stanley Nihipali recovered from a shoulder injury to play well in the HUB Goodwill Classic. Oregon, Western Oregon, Redlands and Puget Sound have expressed interest.

Tight End

San Diego State has shown interest in Kamehameha tight end/H-back Kamuela Kapunui. At last check, a visit date had not been confirmed for the 6-foot, 220-pounder.

Lahainaluna's All-State first-team pick, Stanley Malamala, is not yet a qualifier. Malamala, a quick 6-3, 220-pound senior, has a 2.5 GPA and hasn't taken the SAT yet. He will take it Jan. 22.

Kamehameha's Waika Spencer is visiting San Diego State this weekend. Spencer, a 6-4 220-pounder, will switch from wide receiver. San Diego State has already offered him a scholarship. He will visit Idaho next weekend.

Wide Receiver

Aside from Hafoka, the ball is still up in the air for several potential recruits.

Kaiser's Matt Ching, who has a 3.0 GPA, is waiting on his SAT results. He is a standout forward on the Cougars basketball team.

Shaun Kauleinamoku, Saint Louis' shifty slotback, scored 1050 on the SAT recently and is a qualifier. Hawaii has asked him to walk on. The 5-7, 165-pound senior has sent video to Oregon State, Portland State, UNLV, San Diego State and Nevada.

Mililani's sure-handed Jonovan Santos is also waiting on his SAT score. He has sent video to the College of the Redwoods, Pasadena Community College and Orange Coast Community College.

Defensive Tackle

Michigan State visited the Kane household last month, but he hasn't heard back from the Spartans since. Kane, who prefers to stay on the West Coast, is visiting Oregon State, and apparently having a good time, according to his mom, Jonalinn Kane.

Kane had breakfast with Cal assistant coach Ken Delgado on Thursday before boarding the flight to Corvallis. BYU and Washington are hoping he visits. Utah had been in the picture before Urban Meyer went to Florida, but has not contacted him since.

Aiea's Malo Taumua needs 20 more points on his SAT to become a qualifier. Utah and Colorado have been interested in the 6-2 295-pounder.

Defensive End

Jake Ingram's story is unique. He graduated from Mililani last year, and when no offers came, the 200-pounder took a year off. After gaining 35 pounds through an extensive workout schedule, Oregon grew interested. So did Hawaii.

"Boise called today and said they want to meet me, once they okay it with the head coach," Ingram said yesterday.

He didn't expect to hear from Boise State. Oregon had been interested, but filled its two D-line spots with a JC transfer and another recruit. The Ducks forwarded his videotape to Boise State.

Ingram is hoping to enroll at UH this spring. "If I impress them and prove myself, maybe I'll get a scholarship for the fall," he said. "Once you register, if you transfer, you lose a year of eligibility."

Ingram, 6-3 and 225 pounds, was 190 as a senior at Mililani. "I started lifting and got some help at Fudge's Gym," he said.

Ingram kept running sprints and stairs, added some plyometrics -- twice a week -- plus basketball on Sundays. Too much basketball, he said, would have kept his weight down. Same with too much time in the gym.

"I used to lift too much, and that was causing me to lose weight," he said. "People told me to keep the workouts shorter or your body starts breaking down."

Ingram has worked out at UH a number of times with strength coach Mel deLaura, and plans to talk again with walk-on coordinator and defensive backs coach Rich Miano this week.

Linebacker

Blaze Soares, Castle's standout defender, is visiting Utah this weekend. The 6-1, 210-pound senior also has trips slated for BYU (next weekend), Hawaii (Jan. 21) and probably San Diego State (Jan. 28).

Weber State is interested in Punahou linebacker Tysan Pa'aga as a possible Prop. 48 candidate.

No word yet for B.J. Fruean of Leilehua, who drew visits from Utah and UNLV coaches last month. Fruean, a 6-2, 185-pound speedster, was waiting on his SAT score.