Head football coaches Tupu Alualu of Saint Louis School and Sterling Carvalho of Kahuku High are ready to run it back.
Two weeks after Saint Louis defeated Kahuku in the state championship game, Alualu and Carvalho will be on opposite sidelines for Sunday’s showcase at Waipahu High.
“We’re doing this for the kids, not ourselves,” Alualu said of the showcase, which will provide exposure for under-recruited, high-school seniors seeking college-football opportunities.
The event will feature three games involving football players from across the state and a girls varsity flag football game.
The concept initiated with Terry Donahue, who put on showcase games, clinics and combines for football prospects in Southern California. Donahue, who was UCLA’s coach for two decades, died in 2021. There were two other similarly themed programs, the last of which discontinued during the pandemic.
Ray Maae of the National Football Foundation/Hawaii Chapter spearheaded the movement to establish a showcase in Hawaii involving seniors from six of the islands.
“Because college football recruiting has changed rapidly, almost daily, we feel the elite athletes are able to be recruited easily, even with the distance here in Hawaii,” Maae said. “But the majority of athletes — because of the distance and changing landscape — this is a way to help the other seniors get more exposure and help themselves to continue their path to getting (a college) education and playing their sport.”
The games will be streamed live at nfhsnetwork.com. Video copies will be sent to NCAA and NAIA teams.
Former UH head coach Norm Chow will coach the Big Island team. Chow’s staff includes head coaches Brad Uemoto of Konawaena High and David Murray of of Keaau High.
King Kekaulike head coach Tyson Valle will lead a Maui team that also includes players from Kauai, Molokai and Lanai.
Oahu Blue (coached by Waipahu’s Bryson Carvalho) and Oahu Gold (coached by Mililani High defensive line coach Mose Tuia) will feature players who competed in Division I and II. With rosters of Open Division players, Alualu will coach Oahu Red, featuring mostly ILH players, and Sterling Carvalho will lead Oahu White.
A player’s participation fee of $110 goes toward uniforms, meals, referees’ fees, field usage and insurance. Maae said Marcus Mariota’s Motiv8 Foundation, Ironworkers Union and Hawaii Army National Guard will cover the rest of the expenses. Starcomm Wireless and Herbig Brothers Foundation will assist with travel and lodging expenses for Kauai players.
Tickets are priced at $15 general admission and $10 ages 2-14, and are available at gofan.co/app/school/HI100668.
>> Noon — Oahu Blue vs. Hawaii Island
>> 3 p.m. — Maui vs. Oahu Gold
>> 6 p.m. — Girls flag football (Mauka vs. Makai)
>> 7 p.m. – Oahu White vs. Oahu Red
