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Junior Ah You, Riki Ellison, John Manumaleuna, Chris Naeole and Ma‘a Tanuvasa were celebrated Friday as the newest inductees of the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame at a dinner at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
They will officially be enshrined at noon Saturday at the Polynesian Cultural Center, where the Hall of Fame is located.
>> Ah You, a Kahuku High graduate, was a three-time All-WAC defensive lineman at Arizona State. He went on to a 13-year pro career and won two Grey Cup championships in the CFL with the Montreal Alouettes. He is a CFL and Arizona State Hall of Famer.
>> Ellison was a two-time Rose Bowl champion at USC and linebacker on the 1978 national championship team. He went on to be a three-time Super Bowl champion in a 10-season NFL career with the 49ers and Raiders.
>> Manumaleuna founded Samoan Athletes in Action, which was later named the Big John Foundation after his passing in 1980 at age 31. He enters the Polynesian Hall of Fame in the contributor category.
>> Naeole was a consensus All-American guard at Colorado in 1996 after having starred at Kahuku. The New Orleans Saints drafted him 10th in the 1997 draft. Naeole went on to miss just one game in 11 NFL seasons, starting 150 of 154 games.
>> Tanuvasa starred at Mililani before also doing so at the University of Hawaii. His eight NFL seasons included two Super Bowl wins with the Denver Broncos, where the defensive end led the team in sacks twice.