When Saint Louis dominated Hawaii high school football in the 1980s and ’90s, it developed a reputation in some corners as a sports factory with misplaced priorities. The truth is, it was still producing as many or more academic scholarship recipients as All-State football players — the latter just got a lot more publicity.

The school’s leadership has tried to dispel the jock image, while still maintaining a high level of interscholastic competitiveness.

It took a big step toward that kind of balance Saturday thanks to a graduate who just happens to be a college football player — the most outstanding college football player in the country, and now easily one of the biggest sports stars in state history.

At a theater on campus named for another Saint Louis quarterback — world-renowned heart surgeon Richard Mamiya — hundreds of Crusaders alumni and supporters gathered to watch the national telecast of their brother, Marcus Mariota, accepting the Heisman Trophy.

Of course, it’s his on-field prowess as Oregon’s star that won Mariota the award in a landslide and makes him an instant national celebrity of the first order. But it’s his team-first perspective and genuine humility that has his alma mater and the entire state proud.

We’re fiercely proud of our high school affiliations in Hawaii. But when an athlete hits the national stage, that is put to rest; and when he or she is the real deal like Mariota, it’s like cheering for a family member.

We cherish the values of aloha and ohana like he does. That is how Mariota truly represents us, regardless of wherever we came from, wherever we went to school or even if we like sports or not.

Saint Louis, an all-boys Catholic Marianist institution that has been in existence since 1846, has suffered enrollment downturns in recent years.

Alumni see Mariota’s notoriety as a boon.

"It’s how he comes across as a person," said Herman Chang, a 1977 graduate who formerly served on the school’s strategic planning and academic committees. "That’s going to help, big-time."

"He is the best role model the school could have," said Dave O’Connor, another 1977 graduate and formerly a basketball coach at the school. "Even if he didn’t play sports."

Legendary football coach Cal Lee was at the University of Hawaii while Mariota was at Saint Louis but returned to the Crusaders last season.

"It’s great advertising for the school. You can’t pay for this kind of publicity," Lee said. "And he did everything right — as a player, a person and the way he’s accepted everything coming his way. You couldn’t have written a better script."

Lee said admissions had been down the past six years but trended back up this year.

Russell Valente, Saint Louis admissions director, addressed the crowd at Mamiya Theatre shortly before the announcement that Mariota won the most storied individual honor in college sports.

"He’s making us believers that anything is possible," Valente said.

And, based on what Mariota himself said, that goes way beyond his high school alma mater. If he could, he’d let everyone in Hawaii clutch the Heisman the way he did Saturday. 

"If one is successful, the entire state is successful," he said.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.