Noah Macapulay is a builder, but he is an even better rebuilder.
The 5-foot-7, 160-pound junior has endured the limits of physical and emotional pain. The anguish hasn’t consumed the two-sport standout. Instead, he keeps moving forward, just the way his parents have always hoped and dreamed.
Peyton, his older brother, was 2 when baby brother was born.
“My dad wanted a bible name,” Noah recalled.
Dad was Arnold, a comic book collector who enjoyed taking his sons to MCU movies. Noah had his escapism, too, playing Clash Royale and Fortnite for hours on end. The brothers built their dreams together along with cousin Astin Hange. There were constant basketball workouts at Asing Park and Mahiko District Park gym.
“What really got me into football was my cousin asking me to play since we played basketball together,” Macapulay said.
Now juniors at Punahou, Hange leads an explosive offensive attack with 55 receptions for 1,009 yards and eight touchdowns. Macapulay has 40 catches for 610 yards and nine TDs.
“Noah is very smart on and off the field, so in games he really understands how to get open and read coverages,” senior quarterback John-Keawe Sagapolutele said. “Noah has progressed so much. I think our chemistry has gotten better throughout the season.”
Punahou will play Kahuku on Friday night for the Open Division state championship.
After a three-week break, the Buffanblu ousted Mililani from contention with a 52-24 win last weekend, another superlative effort by a team with equal doses of passion and maturity.
“We had to focus up. It’s been important to stay healthy because our team was busted up,” Macapulay said. “I feel like just doing our assignments, if everybody does their assignments, we should be good. Understanding how hard we worked for this. I feel like we work the hardest of anyone in the state to get to this point.”
Kahuku beat Punahou 27-20 in August, staving off the visitors with a stop in the final seconds near the goal line.
“I know Kahuku is going to get our best this weekend. We’re such a different team since the last time we played them. We kind of beat ourselves. We need to stay unselfish and it doesn’t matter who gets the credit. The only thing that’s important is the ‘W’.”
Peyton is now attending Washington, majoring in biology. Noah has learned to rebuild through every adversity.
“My new life skill is appreciating life. When my dad passed away, we had to persevere and step up for my mom and my family. Take each day, day by day, because you never know when your last day will be,” he said. “Me and my brother got closer. I learned to enjoy life. Nothing is promised in life.”
Punahou coach Nate Kia sees a gentleman and fighter in Macapulay.
“He’s been a fiery competitor since day one, yet he’s an exceptionally respectful young man off the field. He’s always been willing to hold his teammates accountable, and he backs it up with his work ethic and competitive spirit. He’s developing into a strong leader for our program,” Kia said.
During their elementary school years, the Macapulay brothers and their Hange cousins, three in all, attended St. Joseph in Waipahu, then matriculated to Punahou.
At their basketball and football games, Arnold Macapulay was in analytical mode. Rarely a sound from dad. Millie Macapulay did her part and more, filling the void with maximum vocal support. A true example of opposites attract.
“I’m the loud one,” she said. “I was a cheerleader. I still cheer on all the boys. My husband would be by the door and watching from there. He’s very competitive, too. After games, he would let them calm down, then he would ask, ‘What do you think you did wrong?’ “
Arnold Macapulay was a junior point guard at Waipahu back in the day. The Marauders were playing Campbell one night when he met a Sabers cheerleader accidentally.
“It was the Cane Knife Trophy game. He was their captain. He dove for the ball and bumped into me. I wanted to kick him. They were beating us. He just laughed,” Millie Macapulay recalled. “It’s funny. We talked about it all the time.”
Arnold went away for college and returned after graduating. He became an x-ray technician at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children.
In 2018, Noah Macapulay’s left hip began to hurt. After a few days, he was diagnosed with a MRSA infection.
“It was in my hip and in my bloodstream. That was really bad. It was chewing away at my (hip) bone, so they had to do surgery. I had four IVs a day. My dad worked at Kapiolani. He stayed with me every night after work,” Macapulay said.
He recovered and was back on his feet eventually, suiting up to play an intermediate game against Kamehameha. He scored two touchdowns in the first half, but the hip gave out.
“My hip popped out. It was the same hip that I had two surgeries on,” he said. “A lot of cartilage was lost in my hip, so the bones are closer together. I went to physiotherapy. I just need to keep stretching it out.”
He healed up, and by winter season, Macapulay joined the basketball team as a manager. He didn’t go back to the gridiron for two years. That is when Hange transferred from Saint Louis, and Macapulay had a long talk with his father.
“One time, we were just driving and talking. He said, ‘Whatever you want to do is up to you. If you have any regrets, you can’t do anything about it. It’s totally up to you.’ It was important that he told me. Now, I have no regrets playing football again. It’s a big part of me. It could’ve been totally different,” he said.
In the summer of 2021, the brothers traveled to Las Vegas with their family for basketball camps and club tournaments. When the family returned to the islands, Arnold was fatigued. Working two to three jobs, he was used to long hours, but this was different. After a few days, they took Arnold to the emergency room.
“It was the early stages of COVID. His breathing was fine, so they told him go home and quarantine,” she said.
The family went to stay with Millie’s mother.
“We didn’t want to take a chance. He was trying to fight it at home, the normal thing everybody tried to do,” she said. “Then he got really bad. The vitals were bad. The ambulance took him.”
While Arnold battled the virus in August 2021, sons Noah and Peyton continued to practice and attend classes. There was optimism on and off the field. Noah, Peyton and Hange were part of a young, talented group of receivers. Arnold Macapulay was gaining positive momentum, fighting the battle.
“We did Zoom calls with him when he was in the hospital every night. He was getting better, the doctors and nurses said,” Millie Macapulay said.
Aug. 26, she recalled, was going to be a small victory.
“He was supposed to come off the ventilator,” she said. “The delta took him.”
The coronavirus delta variant often struck victims more quickly, growing more rapidly in the respiratory tract.
“They all didn’t know how to handle delta. It was the worst of all COVID viruses. It was really bad,” Millie Macapulay said. “He died from a blood clot in his leg that traveled to his heart. Pulmonary embolism. The day he died, the following day they counted his death. It was the highest (death) count.”
The boys were in class when the message arrived.
“We get this text from our dean,” Hange recalled. “I just remember all of us, we were sitting on the curb waiting to get picked up. Peyton was crying. He was crying while he was playing a game on his phone, trying to get his mind off it.”
Peyton took after his dad. Noah took after mom.
“Noah is outspoken. When my husband passed away, they wouldn’t allow both of the boys into the (hospital) room,” Millie Macapulay recalled.
The visitor limit was two.
“Noah would be screaming bloody murder because they wouldn’t allow him in. So it was me and my mother-in-law. Noah was very, very vocal. Peyton was slouched over, knees buckling, crying quietly. They’re opposite.”
The following days were a blur. The brothers had the option to take time off. Instead, they went to school the next day and played in the season opener against Kamehameha.
“The day after he died, they said, ‘Dad would want me to go to the game, Mom. We’ll be fine, Mom. We’re not going to stay home watching you cry. It’s going to kill us.’ My brother-in-law, Pat, he cried. When we saw them on TV, my phone was blowing up,” she said.
It turned out to be Punahou’s lone victory in a 1-4 season, playing in an empty, restricted Aloha Stadium.
“We were crying in the car ride to school. We had to go or we couldn’t play. We were being strong and came out with the win,” Hange recalled. “My mom and dad, Auntie Millie watched it on TV seeing how strong we were.”
Coach Kia left the decision with the familiy.
“It showed us all the heart of their family. That’s how they chose to honor him. They powered through their grief and gave everything they had,” he said.
“Although they were experiencing a big loss, they persevered and understood that God was with them,” Sagapolutele said. “It only made our teammates want to play harder for them.”
That strength keeps the cousins marching forward. Peyton graduated with a 3.8 GPA. Noah has a 3.72 GPA.
“I said, ’Noah, why don’t you ask me for help,’ and he said, ‘Why would I ask you when I can ask my teachers and tutors?’ Here’s what I know. They know how to turn things on and off. They play video games, go to the park, go to the beach. It’s time management,” Millie Macapulay said.
This is Arnold and Millie’s legacy.
“They’re well-rounded, turning things on and off, and enjoy life,” she said. “My husband always told them, we put all the trust in you, but if you lose that trust, life won’t be fun anymore. If you want to enjoy life, this is what you have to do. I’m so blessed because I’ve never had problems with these two boys.”
NOAH MACAPULAY
Punahou football, basketball 5 feet 6, 170 pounds, Junior
>> Top 3 movies/shows
1. “Finding Nemo,” 2. “Victorious,” 3. “iCarly.” “I probably watched ‘Finding Nemo’ more than 10 times. Me and my brother watched it all the time. I did an assignment about it for my American Studies class. There’s an important life lesson.”
>> Top 3 food/snacks/drinks
1. Salmon, 2. spicy ahi, 3. crab. “I don’t really eat vegetables.”
>> Top 3 homemade foods
1. Totino’s pizza, 2. Uncrustables, 3. Tantan ramen
>> Top 3 music artists
1. NBA YoungBoy (“I Can’t Take It Back”), 2. SZA (“Broken Clocks”), 3. 98 Degrees (“The Hardest Thing”). That’s what my dad used to always listen to (98 Degrees).”
>> Favorite class/teacher
American Studies with Coach K (Ka‘eokulani Vasconcellos). “He always tells stories about when they played, the competition back then. He always makes it fun. He knows how much of a heavy load we have.”
>> Funniest teammate
John-Keawe Sagapolutele. “Me and him always crack jokes on the sideline. That helps with our chemistry on the field, too. It doesn’t have to be serious all the time.”
>> Smartest teammate
Ty McCutcheon. “He’s always telling us him and John, what they see on the field so that always helps the wide receivers and QBs.”
>> Favorite athlete: Kobe Bryant
>> GPA: 3.72
>> Time machine
“I think probably would go to the era where Boyz II Men and 98 Degrees were popular. Music is a big part of my life. I usually walk around with earphones on. I have music with me all the time.”
>> Bucket list
“I really want to go to Big Bear. I visited there, but it wasn’t snowing. I want to go skiing with my family there in California, I want to skydiving, too. My mom probably wants to go, too.”
>> Shoutouts
“Shout out to my mom. She’s the one who keeps me going. She’s the whole reason why I’m at Punahou, still. She does so much for our family. Shout out to my uncle (Patrick Hange) and auntie (Helen Hange). Shout out to Auntie Kathleen (Uchiyama). Shout out my two grandmas: Grandma Alvina (Macapulay) and Juanita (Lite). Uncle Mike, he helps me lift. And Aaron Mendoza, our strength coach at Punahou.
