For many players and coaches, success has nothing to do with individual postseason honors and accolades.

Nothing more than bells and whistles.

Yet, media and coaches vote anyway, and when they selected Keala Santiago of Kahuku the Star-Advertiser All-State Defensive Player of the Year, they did it with conviction.

The 6-foot, 185-pound safety was a near-unanimous selection after a resounding senior year. He was the quarterback of Kahuku’s shutdown defense with seven interceptions, including two pick-6s.

“Keala is a ball-hawker. We played them two years in a row and he had three picks on us,” Mililani coach Rod York said. “He’s like a coach on the field. You can tell he does a lot of film study because he’s always in the right position. Not only that, he can finish. He puts his offense in good field position or takes it to the house.”

Santiago’s experience, preparation and leadership helped kick-start the Red Raiders to a 13-0 state championship season. Kahuku coach Vavae Tata had high praise for Santiago: “It’s been an honor to coach Keala because the lineage he comes from is distinguished. He is a true student of the game. He is someone you don’t have to worry much about because he is always around the ball. He’s a quiet leader, but when he speaks, everybody listens because he has earned that respect. He has played a lot of football and I can’t wait to watch him during his college career.”

Santiago currently has scholarship offers from Army, Colorado, Hawaii, Navy and UNLV.

“I’m not a person that likes to talk a lot. I like to lead by example than by yelling at people. Share with my teammates whatever I can do to help (make) them better or (make) myself better,” Santiago said. “I pretty much talk whenever something needs to be done or something is important.”

Learning a new system under a new head coach was a major priority, but his position coach — father Louis Santiago, a former Kahuku star athlete — let him know that a great season could be in the making.

“My dad was talking about it all year, what I could do and if I kept it up, then I could possibly be the player of the year. It stuck in my head and I did the best I could, playing the game I love,” Keala said. “I feel very blessed and honored. It all starts with the coaches and my teammates. Without them, this wouldn’t happen.”

Top vote-getters behind Santiago were linebacker Isaac Slade-Matautia of Saint Louis, linebacker Manaia Atuaia and defensive end Bradlee Anae of Kahuku, and linebacker Jordan Loveni Iosefa of Saint Louis.

Voting for Offensive Player of the Year was tighter, but record-breaking Vavae Malepeai of Mililani outpointed Tua Tagovailoa of Saint Louis and Kesi Ah-Hoy of Kahuku.

Malepeai rushed for a whopping 1,930 yards and 28 touchdowns on 227 carries as the defending state champions reached the state-tournament semifinal round. The University of Oregon commit finished his career with 4,549 rushing yards and 71 rushing TDs, both state records.

He will play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 9 at San Antonio. After that, it’s a countdown until graduation and departure to Eugene, Ore.

“I’m pretty sure it’s going to be hectic,” he said after a recent official visit to the Oregon campus. “Everyone was telling me there’s literally no down time. By the time you get home, you’re kind of just exhausted and crash.”

Other top vote-getters were Ace Faumui of Radford, Kumoku Noa of Kamehameha, Kalakaua Timoteo of Mililani, Michael Eletise of Kaiser and McKenzie Milton of Mililani.

Malepeai was all business on and off the field, a throwback kind of playmaker with power and finesse. There was always an element of “Sweetness” to his effort during and in between plays. His coach, York, likened him to another old-school Hall of Famer.

“He’s like a Barry Sanders. He’s humble and does everything right, and he’s a great teammate, too,” York said. “People don’t know this, but he works out two times a day sometimes. He works out seven days a week. That’s probably what separates him from everybody else: his attitude and his work ethic.”

Tata was voted Coach of the Year by a wide margin after guiding the Red Raiders to their first state title since 2012. Tata was especially integral to installing Kahuku’s stingy defensive schemes, which led to seven games of shutting out opposing offenses.

“We didn’t know what was going on or what was going to happen,” Santiago said. “As a team we got together and said that we needed to trust him and buy into his game plan because he really knows what he’s doing, and it worked. He preached to us, ‘Every day, you’re getting better or you’re getting worse. Nobody stays the same.’ We knew it would take a lot of sacrifice and hard work.”

Tata got his players to completely buy into a philosophy of team-first goals. That included a no-frills, smashmouth “Elephant” offensive formation that did not include any wide receivers. Individual glory and media attention are, in his terminology, “bells and whistles.” But he pushed for his entire defensive unit to be on the All-State first team.

As it was, eight of his defensive starters were voted to first team, a number that beat the seven earned by the 2012 Kahuku and 1997 Saint Louis squads.

“What he did is tremendous, coming in his first year,” said York, who was last year’s coach of the year. “All the shutouts and going undefeated. It’s just amazing, but it’s not a surprise. Vae is a very smart guy. Yeah, he’s loaded with talent, but Kahuku hasn’t always finished out on top. For Vae to go through injuries, not having his starting quarterback, it’s a credit to him, his coaching staff and his team.”

Cal Lee, who led Saint Louis to the ILH title and the state-tournament final, and Fred Salanoa of Division II state champion Radford were the other top vote-getters. Also receiving votes were Joseph Wong of Kailua, Walter Young of Waianae, Brad Uemoto of Konawaena, Phillip Rapozo of Kapaa and York.

Malepeai and Tata share a strong bloodline. Malepeai’s father, Amako, is one of Tata’s older brothers. The younger Vavae was named after his uncle.

ALL-STATE FOOTBALL TEAM

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE

POS.	NAME	SCHOOL	HT.	WT.	YR.
OL	Michael Eletise	Kaiser	6-4	310	Sr.
OL	Nate Herbig	Saint Louis	6-4	330	Sr.
OL	Andru Tovi	Mililani	6-2	310	Sr.
OL	Sean Auwae	Kapolei	6-5	300	Sr.
OL	Tamatoa Neher	Kahuku	6-3	290	Sr.
REC	Kalakaua Timoteo	Mililani	6-2	200	Sr.
REC	Kumoku Noa	Kamehameha	6-0	180	Sr.
REC	Keoni-Kordell Makekau	‘Iolani	5-10	168	Sr.
RB	Vavae Malepeai	Mililani	6-0	205	Sr.
RB	Wayne Taulapapa	Punahou	5-11	205	Sr.
QB	Tua Tagovailoa	Saint Louis	6-1	210	Jr.
U	Kesi Ah-Hoy	Kahuku	6-0	215	Jr.

DEFENSE

POS.	NAME	SCHOOL	HT.	WT.	YR.
DT	Alema Kapoi	Kamehameha	6-0	275	Sr.
DT	Jess Kanongataa	Kahuku	5-11	210	Sr.
DE	Bradlee Anae	Kahuku	6-4	220	Sr.
DE	Christian Mejia	Kailua	6-4	210	Jr.
LB	Hirkley Latu	Kahuku	6-4	205	Sr.
LB	Tainoa Foster	Kamehameha	6-2	205	Sr.
LB	Manaia Atuaia	Kahuku	6-1	220	Sr.
CB	Kekaula Kaniho	Kahuku	6-0	170	Jr.
CB	Stokes Botelho	Kahuku	5-8	140	Jr.
S	Keala Santiago	Kahuku	6-0	185	Sr.
S	La’akea Kahoohanohano-Davis	Baldwin	6-1	180	Sr.
U	Aaron Tapusoa	Kahuku	5-8	208	Sr.

SPECIALISTS

POS.	NAME	SCHOOL	HT.	WT.	YR.
PK	Jet Toner	Punahou	6-4	190	Sr.
P	Kekoa Sasaoka	Kahuku	5-11	205	Sr.
RET	Kumoku Noa	Kamehameha	6-0	180	Sr.

SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

POS.	NAME	SCHOOL	HT.	WT.	YR.
OL	Jed Heffernan	Kahuku	6-0	262	Sr.
OL	Tytus Timoteo	Saint Louis	6-0	335	Sr.
OL	Vili Fisiiahi	Kahuku	5-10	260	Jr.
OL	John Kapua	Waianae	6-0	250	Sr.
OL	Julius Pedro Muasau	Punahou	5-11	270	Sr.
REC	Jeremy McGoldrick	Castle	5-7	140	Jr.
REC	Ty-Noah Williams	Kapolei	5-10	175	Sr.
REC	Ethan Takeyama	Punahou	5-8	155	Jr.
RB	Challen Faamatau	Farrington	5-10	193	Jr.
RB	Jensen McDaniel	Kaiser	5-10	170	Sr.
QB	McKenzie Milton	Mililani	6-0	180	Sr.
U	Ace Faumui	Radford	6-3	205	Sr.

DEFENSE

POS.	NAME	SCHOOL	HT.	WT.	YR.
DT	Aleki Vimahi	Kahuku	6-4	250	Jr.
DT	Jonny Morrison	Kapolei	6-2	230	Sr.
DE	Kaimana Padello	Mililani	6-0	200	Sr.
DE	Tanielu Evaimalo	Saint Louis	6-2	240	Sr.
LB	Isaac Slade-Matautia	Saint Louis	6-0	220	Jr.
LB	Laakea Look	Punahou	6-1	220	Sr.
LB	Pesa Lefau	Kahuku	6-0	215	Sr.
CB	Ronson Timbreza	Saint Louis	5-10	160	Sr.
CB	Mosiah Brame	Waianae	6-0	165	Sr.
S	Jalen Saole	Saint Louis	6-0	165	Jr.
S	Charles Watson	Leilehua	6-1	185	Jr.
U	Netane Muti	Leilehua	6-4	280	Sr.

SPECIALISTS

POS.	NAME	SCHOOL	HT.	WT.	YR.
PK	Kekoa Sasaoka	Kahuku	5-11	205	Sr.
P	Jet Toner	Punahou	6-4	190	Sr.
RET	Keala Santiago	Kahuku	5-11	205	Sr.

THIRD TEAM

OFFENSE

POS.	NAME	SCHOOL	HT.	WT.	YR.
OL	Keenan Eldredge	Punahou	6-2	270	Sr.
OL	Nilsson Gaisoa	Kailua	6-5	270	Sr.
OL	Chris-Jordan Ulufale	Kamehameha	6-3	322	Sr.
OL	Joshua Hauanio	‘Iolani	6-4	301	Sr.
OL	Atapana Amosa	Campbell	6-2	315	Sr.
REC	Noah Esprecion	Campbell	5-8	155	Sr.
REC	Drew Kobayashi	Saint Louis	6-2	195	Sr.
REC	Kingston Moses-Sanchez	Farrington	5-11	175	Jr.
RB	Michael Feliciano	Moanalua	5-10	185	Sr.
RB	Harmon Brown	Kahuku	5-11	185	Jr.
QB	Noah Auld	Kailua	6-2	205	Sr.
U	Billy Masima	Kaimuki	6-2	215	Jr.

DEFENSE

POS.	NAME	SCHOOL	HT.	WT.	YR.
DT	Patamo Soa	Punahou	6-1	305	Sr.
DT	Aaron Faumui	Radford	6-3	250	So.
DE	Christian Naeole	‘Iolani	5-9	196	Sr.
DE	Dillon Sunday	Radford	6-0	240	Sr.
LB	Jordan Loveni Iosefa	Saint Louis	6-2	220	Sr.
LB	Jordan Walker	Radford	6-2	225	Jr.
LB	Dylan Toilolo	Saint Louis	5-8	190	So.
CB	Aaron Woo	Punahou	5-8	150	Jr.
CB	Sipa Leafa	Radford	6-1	180	Jr.
S	Jay Amina	Kapolei	5-10	190	Sr.
S	Codie Sauvao	Kahuku	5-11	180	Jr.
U	Nic Tom	Kaiser	5-9	180	Sr.

SPECIALISTS

POS.	NAME	SCHOOL	HT.	WT.	YR.
PK/P	Adam Stack	Kamehameha	6-2	170	Jr.
RET	Michael Feliciano	Moanalua	5-10	185	Sr.

HONORABLE MENTION

OL

Devin Ide, ‘Iolani

John-Wendell Nisa, Kaimuki

Tayvis Passos, Radford

Russel Montibon, KS-Hawaii

Mealofa Sevao, Farrington

Sione Veikoso, Kailua

Talatonu Von-Koppel, Radford

Mo Unutoa, Kapaa

Kalei Hoewaa, Baldwin

Issac Pascua, Nanakuli

Ra Elkington, Kahuku

REC

Andrew Simanu, Waipahu

Ty Keough, Leilehua

Bryson Ventura, Mililani

Kame Kim Choy-Keb-Ah Lo, Aiea

Martin Tigilau, Kailua

Keanu Momoa, Nanakuli

Isaiah Freeney, Waianae

Kamakana Ching, Konawaena

Blaise Manabe, Radford

Taje Akaka, Baldwin

Thomas Reid, Radford

Shayne Teruya, Roosevelt

Jaymin Sarono, Kapolei

Eamon Brady, Punahou

Nick Kennedy, ‘Iolani

Cliff Cunningham, Nanakuli

RB

Javen Towne, Waianae

K.J. Pascua, ‘Iolani

Algene Kelekolio, Konawaena

Saitaua Lefau, Saint Louis

Kaeo Bacatan, KS-Hawaii

Sefa Ameperosa, Kahuku

Jurick Valdez, Waianae

LeRod Tongi, Kahuku

Kodi Ongory-Mathias, Radford

QB

Nick Kapule, Punahou

Ephraim Tuliloa, Punahou

Taulia Tagovailoa, Kapolei

Alaka’i Yuen, Moanalua

Bishop Rapoza, Farrington

Austin Ewing, Konawaena

Quintin Iriarte, Radford

Austin Ewing, Konawaena

Thomas Yam, Kamehameha

UTIL (Offense)

Fatu Sua-Godinet, Kamehameha

DT

Sidney Fonohema, Baldwin

Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, Kapolei

Austin Santos-Johnson, Konawaena

Joey Nuuanu-Kuhiiki, Waianae

Micah Atuatasi, Waianae

Kawehe Kohatsu, Kailua

DE

Ola Tatofi, Kapaa

Courtney Paaga, Damien

Tainano Gaulua, Farrington

Chanston Akiona, Kapolei

Sione Vea, Kalani

Chance Kalaugher, Kaiser

Isaac Liva, Mililani

LB

Melvin Hoomanawanui, ‘Iolani

Mosese Fifita, Kapaa

Maa Tanuvasa, Mililani

Parker Higgins, Kaiser

Jalen Olomua, Mililani

Shawn Borges, Damien

Jaylen Gonzales, Waianae

David Faletoi, Radford

James Gentile, Kaimuki

Noah Kealoha, Waianae

Randy Manewa, Nanakuli

Seyddrick Lakalaka, Punahou

Omar Mareko, Kapolei

Andrew Aneki, Farrington

Nicholas Kernaghan, Campbell

CB

Alexcio Meyers, Nanakuli

Austin Westbrook-Keliinoi, Waianae

Lancen Kuni, Waialua

S

Kyle Bender, Moanalua

Tielu Mamea, Mililani

Koolau Feltman, Kamehameha

Alexander Quijano, Waianae

Christian Acorda, Farrington

Dallas Mata, Hilo

Ramsey Tacadena, Mililani

Gage Asing, Aiea

Cameron Howes, Konawaena

Myles Mikasobe-King, Campbell

Ikaika Paaoao-Ahina, Waianae

Isaiah Tufaga, Saint Louis

Kalei Kealoha-Machado, Kailua

Helam Baldomero, Iolani

PK

Keoni-Kordell Makekau, ‘Iolani

Connor Murakami, Leilehua

Clifton Oliver, Kapaa

Beau Meyer, Kapolei

Cody Lau, Aiea

P

Nau Filiai, Lahainaluna

Billy Masima, Kaimuki

Makana Roque-Gonzales, Waianae

Kame Kim Choy-Keb-Ah Lo, Aiea

RET

La’akea Kahoohanohano-Davis, Baldwin

Blaise Manabe, Radford

Andrew Neves, Kaimuki

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