Six players with local ties are among the 38 on the watch list for this year’s Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award.
Center Asotui Eli (Hawaii, Kealakehe), defensive lineman Breiden Fehoko (Texas Tech, Farrington), defensive lineman Canton Kaumatule (Oregon, Punahou), linebacker Tau Lotulelei (UNLV, Maui), defensive end Hercules Mata’afa (Washington State, Lahainaluna) and UH linebacker Jahlani Tavai are on the list, announced today by the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame.
Players not on the watch list (complete list here) now can be added later, and five finalists will be named Nov. 17. The winner will be announced Dec. 7 and honored Jan. 20, 2017, at the celebration dinner of the Polynesian Hall of Fame’s 2017 enshrinement weekend.
The first two winners of the award were Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota from Saint Louis School in 2014 and Notre Dame offensive lineman Ronnie Stanley last year.
Local surfers advance at Vans U.S. Open
Six surfers from Hawaii clinched their respective heats at the Vans U.S. Open of Surfing on Tuesday in Huntington Beach, Calif.
On the men’s side, North Shore’s Kiron Jabour led all local surfers with a score of 16.43. The other surfers who won their heat were Sebastian Zietz (15.30), Keanu Asing (14.87), Torrey Meister (14.07), and Granger Larsen (11.83).
Ezekiel Lau placed third in his heat behind Asing and Mitch Coleborn, while Nathan Florence, Ian Walsh, and Dusty Payne finished fourth in their respective heats. Tanner Hendrickson, Kaito Kino, and Joshua Moniz will surf in today’s final Round 2 matchups.
In the women’s division, Carissa Moore beat out Chelsea Tuach 15.37-11.70 in Round 2. She will face off against fellow Honolulu native Coco Ho and Australia’s Stephanie Gilmore in Round 3. Oahu’s Alessa Quizon fell to Sally Fitzgibbons in the second heat on Tuesday.
