Warriors football team names four captains
Craig T. Kojima / 2019
Saint Louis School alum Eliki Tanuvasa has been named one of the four captains of the Warriors football team.
Two players who grew up in American Samoa and two players who began their college careers as walk-ons have been named captains for the University of Hawaii football team.
In voting by players, defensive tackle Blessman Ta‘ala, linebacker Penei Pavihi, running back Dedrick Parson and center Eliki Tanuvasa were selected for the leadership roles.
Head coach Timmy Chang said peer approval is “what makes it special. (They’re) rewarded (for) their body of work and what they’ve shown their teammates from January all the way to this point. … It’s pretty special. It’s a big honor, it really is, to be leaders of the team. Those four guys are who we hang our hat on, and we go as they go.”
Ta‘ala, a 2017 graduate of Faga‘itua High in American Samoa, is anchor of the Rainbow Warriors’ defensive line.
“This means a lot because it comes from my teammates,” Ta‘ala said. “They voted for us. It’s a big accomplishment for our peers to look at us in a leadership role.”
Except for redshirting in 2019, Pavihi has played in 47 of a possible 47 games since graduating from American Samoa’s Tafuna High in 2017.
After joining Howard as a non-scholarship player, Parson led the Bison in rushing in 2019 and 2020. He transferred to UH in July 2021, and ascended from third string to No. 1 running back.
“I’m going to do everything I can every single day to bring my best self and do what i can do to help this team,” Parson said. “It’s an honor (to be chosen as captain). Man, I’m blessed.”
Tanuvasa, a Saint Louis School graduate, was at Eastern Illinois for a season before transferring to UH in 2019 because of family reasons. He appeared in three games in 2019, nine on special teams in 2020, and started six games at guard last year. He was placed on scholarship at the end of the 2021 regular season.
“This is something I never expected,” Tanuvasa said of being named captain. “If you were to ask me, when I was a 7-year-old watching (former UH quarterback) Colt Brennan in the stadium, that one day I’d be captain of the same football team, I would tell you, ‘you’re crazy.’ If you said the same thing to me in high school, or maybe a year ago, I’d tell you, ‘you’re nuts.’ It’s probably the highest honor I’ve ever had. It’s pretty emotional.”
