JAMM AQUINO / SEPT. 6
Hawaii offensive lineman Elijah Tupai (56), left, and offensive lineman Ben Clarke (71) bear down on coach Brian Naeole during afternoon football practice on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2015 at UH Manoa in Honolulu.
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Not even a fracture in his foot could disrupt Ben Clarke’s run as a fixture on the Rainbow Warrior offensive line.
Playing through the injury throughout his senior season, Clarke capped his streak of consecutive starts at 50 in UH’s season-ending win over Louisiana-Monroe last Saturday. He then received UH’s Alec Waterhouse Most Valuable Player Award at the team’s luau on Sunday, becoming the fifth offensive lineman to receive the honor.
According to a UH release, Clarke graded out at a team-best 89 percent and allowed four sacks at left tackle this season. He joined Jesse Sapolu (1982), Amosa Amosa (1988), Derek Faavi (2005) and John Estes (2009) as offensive linemen to be selected team MVP.
The Warriors’ offensive player of the year award as a freshman center in 2012, Clarke received All-Mountain West Conference honorable mention recognition for the fourth time on Tuesday.
When Nick Rolovich makes his debut as UH head coach against Cal on Aug. 27 in Australia, it will mark the first time Clarke isn’t part of the starting offensive line since the 2011 finale, Rolovich’s last game as a UH assistant before moving to Nevada.
>> Class: Senior
>> Major: Biology
>> Hometown: Littleton, Colo.
>> High School: Chatfield
>> Quick Fact: Three-time academic All-Mountain West Conference selection
